A beautiful Italian longkeeper. Longkeepers are a great way to extend the gardening season. Pick this Italian longkeeper at the end of the summer when it is green or light yellow and bring inside. Over the next few months, its skin will turn golden yellow when ripe and its internal colour will be a beautiful peachy-pink. Think of how lovely it will be to eat one of your own garden tomatoes in December.
We collect seed from our longkeepers in January; so, you will be able to store yours until November/December.
Colour when Ripe: Giallo a Grappoli will turn golden yellow (exterior) when ripe. It will be firm.
How to Store: In their classic how-to book, Root Cellaring, food storage experts Mike and Nancy Bubel suggest storing tomatoes at 13 to 18 C (55 to 65 F) to keep them on “hold” for a while. A spot in your basement would do or a colder room in your house. On the other hand, the Bubels also suggest you can store tomatoes at room temperature (15 to 21 C / 60 to 70 F)–on your kitchen counter, for instance, but it will speed up the ripening process a bit. Keep it simple, and do whatever works for you.
How to Plant: Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost. Plant seed 5mm (¼ inch) deep. Keep moist. When true leaves appear, transplant to a larger container if needed. Transplant outside after the danger of frost has passed/later spring.
