Tomato, Exserted Tiger

Solanum lycopersicum

A blue-tinted, striped cherry that can be direct-seeded in the Intermountain West!

Get ready to snack your heart out with these scrumptious little fruits! Exserted Tiger Tomato was bred by Montana seedsman William Schlegel after he noticed that its parents, Amurski Tigr and Blue Ambrosia, had both successfully produced fruit after being direct seeded in his garden. With shallow topsoil and a short growing season, producing fruit from direct-seeded plants is quite the accomplishment in Western Montana! In addition to being well suited for our climate, this variety also has  antioxidant properties thanks to its blue tint.

Seed Saving Tips: The flowers for this variety have a protruding stigma, making it an excellent option for amateur plant breeders who want to breed their own tomato variety. This also means that these plants will more easily cross-pollinate than other tomato varieties with shorter stigmas. So if you want to save true seeds from these exserted tiger cherries, make sure to isolate them from other tomato varieties with longer stigmas by at least 100'. 

Tomatoes are native to northwestern South America and by at least 500 BC they had been domesticated and were being cultivated as far north as modern-day Mexico, enjoyed by Aztec and other civilizations. They spread to Europe and the Caribbean through the Spanish colonizers, where they became staple parts of the food culture in many European countries as well.

Exserted Tiger Tomato was submitted to the Open Source Seed Initiative by plant breeder William Schlegel.

Seeds grown by Titbout's Seeds in Missoula, Montana.

30 seeds.

Directions: Start indoors 6-8 weeks before last frost and transplant out after...or do like William Schlegel and try direct-seeding! William recommends direct-seeding up to 20 days before your expected last frost date, or within 5 days after your last frost. In his experience, the young seedlings will survive a frost if they have just emerged from the soil. If transplanting, bury past first set of leaves, add eggshells to soil for calcium, and provide support.