Old Gold/High Crimson

What does ‘Old Gold/High Crimson’ mean, you ask? ‘Old Gold/High Crimson’ refers to the ‘og’ gene that some tomatoes have. Tomatoes that have the ‘og’ gene have 25% to 75% more lycopene than standard red tomatoes (Ilhay et al 2018; Wann & Jourdain 1985). Lycopene is an important antioxidant that has cardio-vascular, anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties, to name a few of its benefits. Does the ‘og’ gene have anything to do with genetic engineering? No. In the 1950s, Canadian researchers isolated the ‘og’ gene in a tomato from the Philippines and developed several tomatoes using the ‘og’ gene. These tomatoes were developed using traditional breeding methods in the 1950s-1980s. These are the tomatoes we offer. What do ‘og’ tomatoes taste like? They are some of the best tasting tomatoes we have ever eaten! That is one of the main reasons we grow them.