Goliath Tomato Series Returns To Seeds ‘n Such Catalog

It took two years of careful planning, but veteran seedsman J. Wayne Hilton, who came out of retirement to found Seeds ‘n Such, was determined to bring back one of his best-selling tomato varieties—Goliath Original Hybrid VFFNTASt—and its return is featured on the front cover of the company’s new 2016 spring catalog. Also featured on the back cover are two additional offerings from the Goliath Tomato Series—Goliath Early Hybrid VFFNTASt and Goliath Sunny Hybrid VFN.

“When I founded the company ‘Totally Tomatoes’ in 1993, I began looking for a big red beefsteak-type to compete against Burpee’s Big Boy or Park’s Whopper,” said Hilton, “and in 1995 I introduced Goliath (Indeterminate, 65 days), a European version of Big Beef, with gorgeous, blemish-free, bright red fruits, weighing 10-15 ounces and endowed with a perfect balance of acids and sugars to give it that old-timey, real-tomato flavor. The current strain ‘Pio’ further refines the original Goliath to add more productivity, better disease resistance and greater adaptability to rank it among the greatest home-garden tomatoes yet bred. Try it and you will agree!”

Joining Goliath Original Hybrid will be Goliath Early Hybrid, which Hilton says, “features the awesome size, shape, production, flavor and disease resistance of Goliath Original, but is a full week earlier to extend the season! Big, 8-ounce, deep red, tasty fruits are round to deeply oblate (Indeterminate, 58 days), with bigger yields than other early types.” Also added in 2016 is Goliath Sunny Hybrid, “Goliath’s golden-yellow version (Indeterminate, 70 days), with big, 7-8-ounce, juicy fruits, the mildest-flavored of the series. Pick when they first turn yellow or wait until they ripen to rich gold. It features continuous production until frost. Stunning contrast in salads!

Other special tomato variety introductions for 2016 include two Chef’s Choice Hybrid Series varieties, which are bred to combine contemporary colors chefs adore to the old-fashioned flavor of heirlooms. Chef’s Choice Pink Hybrid VFNTA (Indeterminate, 78 days), Hilton says, “is winner of a pair of AAS Awards in consecutive years, which attests to this new series’ adaptability and popularity with judges across the country. Huge, 6-7-inch, 12-14-ounce fruits, these bright pink beefsteaks have the perfect acid to sugar balance. Crack-resistant, flattened globes are ideal for sauces or canning. Massive yields, often more than 30 fruits per plant.”

Also new is Chef’s Choice Orange Hybrid T (Indeterminate, 75 days), which Hilton lauds as “an AAS Award winner with bright, glowing orange skin on big, beefsteak-sized, 5-6-inch, 9-12-ounce fruits with old-timey flavor. This new hybrid is bred from old heirloom Amana Orange to retain its superb color and flavor, but to add earliness, disease resistance and uniformity. Chefs will love its neon orange color, which is retained whether sliced into salads or cooked into sauces. Vigorous, prolific plants have resistance to Tobacco Mosaic Virus and anthracnose, and are crack-free.”

There are also two new additions to the Heirloom Marriage Hybrid Series with Cherokee Carbon Hybrid and Big Brandy Hybrid joining Genuwine Hybrid from last year’s introductions. Our founder Hilton says, “We all love heirlooms for their rich, unbeatable flavors and strange, unusual appearances. But we can live without their lower yields and late maturities. So our breeders crossed the best of these heirlooms to create a series of new hybrids superior to either parent—earlier, more prolific, with fewer blemishes—while keeping that great heirloom flavor. Try all three!”

Cherokee Carbon (Indeterminate, 78 days) shouts “Dark tomatoes rule!,” adds Hilton, “To capitalize on the current craze, our breeders crossed Cherokee Purple with Carbon to create a robust purple beefsteak with intensely rich flavor. Big, 10-12-ounce fruits with a pleasantly sweet taste are the essence of delicious summer eating.” Big Brandy (Indeterminate, 75 days), says Hilton, “is the largest of the Heirloom Marriage Series at 12-15 ounces, featuring gigantic, meaty, pink beefsteaks. A cross between Brandywine and New Big Dwarf, its flavor is sensational and perfect for salads and sandwiches.”

Another new tomato headliner is Beauty King, the latest addition to the Wild Boar Series, featuring 100% Organic Seed. Hilton cites these works by “Brad Gates, the owner of Wild Boar Farms, as one of the hottest new tomato breeders around who hand picks his varieties based on exceptional flavor and stunning appearance, preferring bi-colors and stripes. Several varieties were featured in a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living. His ‘Wild Boar’ Series is equally good for the home or market gardener—even where the climate is extreme. You’ll want to try all five!”

Beauty King joins last year’s Wild Boar Series list of all indeterminate varieties, including Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye (70 days), Mint Julep (75 days), Pork Chop (75 days) and Solar Flare (75 days). Beauty King (Indeterminate, 90 days), Hilton says is “ the largest of the ‘Wild Boar’ offerings and also the most dramatically colored, with the outside striped with red and orange, and the inside orange with red marbling. Beefsteak-sized fruits weigh 8 to 16 ounces, with a great, sweet flavor. This is a cross between heirlooms Big Rainbow and Green Zebra.