Ancient Landraces

A focus of our seed company is growing tomatoes from Mesoamerica and the Andes, the ‘primary center of tomato diversity’. About 7000 years ago, the tomato was domesticated from its wild ancestors in this region, and over centuries and centuries tomatoes in Mesoamerica and the Andes have had to thrive and adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions, such as temperature fluctuations, rainfall variabilities, diverse soil types and biotic stressors. When you grow tomatoes that trace their origins back to this area, you are not only benefiting from all of that adaptation, but also contributing to the next generation of tomato genetic diversity.