Johnny Jumpup is a fantastic Canadian-bred tomato from the 1950s. Unlike its more famous flower namesake, this tomato is almost unknown in the seed trade, which is just crazy because it has so many good things going for it. We made a list:
-It is small and compact. Johnny Jumpup is only 16-18 inches tall and would make a great container variety.
-It is over the top productive. The plant is covered with small fruits (25 g to 35 g).
-It tastes very good, tangy and sweet. (One of its parents is Burbank; a classic, great tasting tomato.)
-It is one the earliest tomatoes in our garden and produces all summer.
A bit of history:
Johnny Jumpup was bred at the Provincial Horticultural Station in Brooks, Alberta in the 1950s. Its ancestry is Burbank x Farthest North. The following description of Johnny Jumpup was published in the Vegetable Cultivar Descriptions of North America in the 1950s:
Johnny Jumpup–Breeder: Provincial Horticultural Station Brooks, Alberta, Canada. Vendor: Billy Helper Co., Durham, New Hampshire. Parentage: Burbank x Farthest North. Characteristics: high yielding, small fruit, seven to nine on one hand; small leaves, small to medium plants. Resistance: leafroll. Similar: Farthest North. Adaptation: Alberta, Canada
In 1958, the Billy Helper Seed Company (mentioned above) published this description of Johnny Jumpup:
This new and extremely early tomato comes to us from Brooks, Alberta, Canada Experimental Station; P.D. Hargrave, originator. It had ripe tomatoes in early August from seed planted outdoors at the University Farm [New Hampshire] June 2. The tomatoes are red in color, small in size, averaging 1 ½ to 2 ounces.
Our original seedstock came from the USDA genebank.
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.
