Tomato 'Opalka'
Solanum lycopersicum
Hands down my favorite sauce tomato. Excellent taste, thick flesh, very few seeds. "Opalka is an extraordinary cooking tomato with an intense, concentrated flavor. Makes one of the thickest dark-red sauces" (Amy Goldman, The Heirloom Tomato).
Plants are droopy (which is normal) and vines are wispy but vigorous. They produce an abundance of plum-shaped tomatoes with pointy ends (people often ask me if they are peppers). I once had a neighbor stop by and ask if he could purchase them because they were exactly the kind his mother used to grow. We gave him some tomatoes and a few plants the following season :)
This is a family heirloom from Poland, brought to New York in the 1900s by the Opalka family. Carolyn Male got the seeds from her co-worker, Carl Swidorski, whose wife was from the Opalka family and introduced the seeds through the SSE Yearbook in the 1990s. Indeterminate.
Packet contains approximately 25 seeds.
DETAILS
Plant type: Annual
Shape: Plum, pointy and crooked
Days to maturity: 80 days
Light preference: Full sun
Plant spacing: 24” apart in rows 4’ apart
Hybrid status: Open pollinated
SOWING
Depth: 1/4 inch
Germination: 75–85°F
How to Grow
Sow indoors 5–6 weeks before transplanting out after danger of frost. There is no need to start any earlier as leggy, root-bound, or flowering transplants can cause stunting and reduce early production (we even prefer small transplants). Once germinated, grow at 60–70°F. At first true leaf, pot-up to 50-cell trays or 4" pots. Always bury all the way up to first set of leaves to develop strong root system (plants develop roots from stems).
We mostly grow indeterminate varieties, which are vine-like plants that continue to grow throughout the season. It's best to provide support, such as a tomato cage, trellis, basket weave, or string and clip system (anything they can grow up vertically). Indeterminates benefit by removing all suckers directly below the first flower cluster. Once fruit beings to set, we also prune out any leaves below to encourage air circulation.
Harvest & Storage
Once established, harvest leaves before flowering begins. Leaves can be harvested 3–4 times per year, cut at ground level. Leaves may be used fresh or dried. To dry, cut bundles into 1/4–1/2" lengths. Dry on a screen surfaced out of direct sunlight in an area with good ventilation. Stir periodically.
SHIPPING
FREE: $100 or more on any seeds
$3.95: 1–9 seed packets
$7.95: 10+ seed packets
