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Heinz 2653 Paste Tomato - Organic

seeds
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$3.25
Item: 4125-A
$4.50
Item: 4125-B
$6.95
Item: 4125-C
$12.50
Item: 4125-D
$35.00
Item: 4125-E
Solanum lycopersicum
Red skin. (68 days) Open pollinated.

Determinate. An early red plum type that often ripens all its 2½–3 oz fruits before frost. Firm fruits for cooking, on compact rather homely plants. “The perfect canning tomatoes for a short-season huge late-blight–pressure area. Small, loaded plants, fruits stayed clean even after all the leaves were gone. Most ripened at once so I could collect a huge canner load from a small number of plants,” reported the Wolperts from WV. Resists F and V. Our legal department notes: Our seed originated from tomato plants grown from Heinz 2653 seed; there is no affiliation or association with Kraft Heinz Food Company.

Supplier Transparency:
① Small seed farmers including Fedco staff
ships year-round
Quick Details
Hybrid Status
open pollinated
Skin Color
red
Days to Maturity
68 days
Lifecycle
perennial grown as an annual
Compare
Compare with other Paste Tomatoes
Variety Product Type Hybrid Status Skin Color Days to Maturity Lifecycle
Mr. Fumarole
ECO 		seeds open pollinated pinkish red 65 days perennial grown as an annual
Heinz 2653
Organic 		seeds open pollinated red 68 days perennial grown as an annual
Grandma Mary’s
Organic 		seeds open pollinated red 68 days perennial grown as an annual
Bellstar
Organic 		seeds open pollinated red 74 days perennial grown as an annual
Sheboygan
Organic 		seeds open pollinated pinkish red 80 days perennial grown as an annual
Opalka
ECO 		seeds open pollinated red 82 days perennial grown as an annual
Vilms
ECO 		seeds open pollinated blood red 82 days perennial grown as an annual
Orange Banana
Organic 		seeds open pollinated orange 85 days perennial grown as an annual
Speckled Roman
Organic 		seeds open pollinated yellow-striped scarlet 85 days perennial grown as an annual
Amish Paste
Organic 		seeds open pollinated red 85 days perennial grown as an annual
Hog Heart
Organic 		seeds open pollinated deep red 86 days perennial grown as an annual
Blue Beech
Organic 		seeds open pollinated red 90 days perennial grown as an annual
Plum Regal seeds F-1 hybrid red 75 days perennial grown as an annual
Additional Information

Open-pollinated Paste Tomatoes

300–500 seeds/g unless otherwise noted.

Tomatoes

  • Days to maturity are from date of transplanting

Culture: Usually started indoors Feb–April. Minimum germination soil temperature 60°, optimal range 75–90°. Transplant after frost danger has passed. Avoid using fresh manure as it causes lush foliage with few ripe fruits. Instead use generous amounts of well-rotted cow or horse manure or compost to boost plant vigor, and crushed eggshells or gypsum at the bottom of each hole for calcium. Heavy phosphorus needs. Responds well to foliar sprays.

  • Determinate (Det.) bush varieties may be staked, should not be pruned.
  • Indeterminate (Ind.) climbing varieties are customarily staked and pruned. Tomato experts Carolyn Male and Kokopelli’s Dominique Guillet both oppose pruning, arguing more abundant foliage provides more photosynthesis.

Organically and sustainably grown seed was rinsed with a sodium hypochlorite solution to reduce risk of seed-borne disease. This treatment poses no health risks.

Saving Seed: Saving tomato seed is easy! Remove stem-end and crush the fully ripe fruit into a container. Ferment uncovered for a few days until the slurry forms a moldy cap. Rinse in a fine strainer and dry seeds on a coffee filter. To ensure true-to-type seed, grow open-pollinated varieties and separate by 50 feet.

Diseases:

  • ASC: Alternaria Stem Canker
  • BRFV: Brown Rugose Fruit Virus
  • EB: Early Blight
  • F: Fusarium
  • GLS: Grey Leaf Spot
  • LB: Late Blight
  • N: Nematodes
  • SEPT: Septoria Leaf Spot
  • TSWV: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
  • TMV: Tobacco Mosaic Virus
  • TYLC: Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl
  • V: Verticillium

Pests and Disease Remedies for Tomatoes

Early Blight shows up as drying and dying leaves at the bottom of the plant. EB can be managed culturally; should not result in significant crop loss. Mulching deters EB by reducing rain splash on foliage. Do not compost affected plants as EB can overwinter even on dead tissue.
Cultural controls: Rotation, avoid stressing plants, staking, minimize leaf wetness, mulching, indeterminate varieties are more resistant/tolerant, disinfect stakes & cages.
Material controls: Regalia, Cease.

Late Blight usually starts on the foliage of the plant. Early in the season, late blight infection shows as roundish lesions on leaves that uniquely will cross the center vein of the leaf. Later, blotches appear on stems. Still later, hard crusty lesions form on fruits. LB on tomatoes is not seed-borne and does not survive on dead tissue. Letting plants freeze on soil surface kills LB spores.
Cultural controls: Destroy cull potatoes & potato volunteers, avoid overhead irrigation.
Material controls: Regalia, Copper, Cease.

Septoria Leaf Spot can appear almost overnight. It is characterized by yellowing and small circular spots on older leaves. It can eventually spread to the entire plant in conditions of high humidity and temperatures. It can be spread by wind or carried on clothing and tools. Septoria can live over the winter on live tissue, so don't compost affected plants.
Cultural controls: Space plants for good air circulation.
Material controls: Regalia, Copper, MilStop.

Anthracnose
Cultural controls: Rotation, mulching, minimize plant wetness, staking, use compost.
Material controls: MilStop, Copper, Regalia, Cease

Tomato Hornworm
Cultural controls: Look for frass (droppings) and handpick. Eeeuww! Use a blacklight to find them. See if you can get the chickens to eat them.
Material controls: Bacillus thuringiensis subsp.kurstaki, Monterey Garden Insect Spray.

Tarnished Plant Bug
Cultural controls: Floating row covers, good weed control.
Material Controls: Pyrethrin.

Bacterial Canker, Spec and Spot
Cultural controls: Disinfect greenhouse materials & cages, farming tools & gloves, avoid overhead irrigation, don’t work crop when wet, rotate crops, use compost.
Material controls: Copper.

Preventing Late Blight

Dry conditions spare us some years, but late blight is here to stay, especially for field-grown crops. Cool temperatures, moist conditions, still air and lack of sunshine favor sporulation; spores can occur and advance in any condition of high humidity. LB might spread quickly... or not; wind-borne spores can travel hundreds of miles on storm fronts, but also can be baked into submission by the hot sun. Once LB lesions develop on your plants take immediate action to halt the disease in hopes of salvaging a crop. Our recommendations:

  • Where possible, use resistant varieties.
  • Try to find tolerant cultivars—use anecdotal evidence and experiment.
  • Grow your own tomato plants or buy locally grown seedlings. Avoid big-box seedlings. Know your farmer!
  • Do not use saved potatoes as seed stock. Purchase only new certified disease-free seed potatoes. More potato-related late blight info.
  • Plant in areas with full sun and few wind blocks. Avoid shade and moist environments. Facilitate air movement. Maintain high soil fertility.
  • If you choose to spray, have a plan and materials on hand, so you can make quick and timely application(s) when conditions indicate. Order supplies from Organic Growers Supply
  • Most market growers and many home gardeners now grow at least a portion of their tomatoes in high tunnels, which greatly reduces vulnerability though still requires vigilance.

Information Sources

Germination Testing

For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.

Our Seeds are Non-GMO

Non GMO

All of our seeds are non-GMO, and free of neonicotinoids and fungicides. Fedco is one of the original companies to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.

Shipping

From early May through mid-December, items shipping from our garden seeds warehouse ship twice a week, usually Tuesday and Thursday. For quickest turnaround time order online by noon Monday or Wednesday.