This is a wonderful, but forgotten, Gleckler’s variety (the pioneering, but now closed, seed company). Cluster-Mato is a hardy, very productive, good tasting tomato that has beautiful round fruit about 100 g in size. Plants are a very manageable 2 ft and would do well in a container.
Cluster-Mato was developed by the Gleckler’s seed company of Ohio in the 1950s. Here is a description of Cluster-Mato in the 1956 Gleckler’s catalogue:
“Our own extra early selection for staking or ground culture, for the first on the market. Extremely solid and meaty, large to medium in size, borne in generous successive clusters … Although slightly flattened in the first setting, becomes globular-shaped in the following clusters. The meaty interior, thick outer walls and tough skin resist cracking and bruising. Very mild in flavor, together with the juicy and meaty texture, present a real table treat. Delightfully smooth and free of blossom-end scars. Plants are very adaptable for staking and semi-open at ripening time. Cluster-Mato has a most notable characteristic of setting fruit in cooler temperatures than permissible with other extra early varieties.”
Information in the USDA genebank records indicates that Cluster-Mato’s ancestry includes a tomato variety from Afghanistan.
Our original seedstock came from long time seed saver Mandy B. in Tyndall, Manitoba.
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How to Plant: Start seeds indoors 6 weeks before the last frost. Plant seed 5mm (¼ inch) deep. Transplant after the danger of frost has passed/later spring.
