This stunning tomato comes from the village of Aritzkuren in the Basque region of Spain. Aritzkuren (also spelt Arizkuren) is an ancient village in the Pyrenees mountains in the province of Navarra. Ariztkuren has had a tumultuous history and by the 1940s it was mostly abandoned. The sturdy stone village was empty for years, although today its population is recovering. The village’s name, Aritzkuren, comes from the Euskara word aritz, or ‘oak’; Euskara is the Basque language spoken in this area.
We get a sense of Aritzkuren’s character, and isolation, in the quote below. It’s from the book Trip through Navarra (2004)–the author describes his visit to Aritzkuren:
“We ascended to Aritzkuren. Terrible climb, under a fiery sun, marching along an almost vertical path, between red pines and green and yellow boxwoods. Sweating and breathing our last, we reached the town. Honoring its Basque name, at the entrance are some large, old oak trees that look as if they have been there for many centuries. All the houses, rather large, are built in stone, with powerful buttresses, also made of stone. Despite the solidity of their construction, some appear dilapidated and on the verge of collapse. For centuries its ancient inhabitants would support themselves from livestock. They had to be very tough people to be able to survive at this altitude and in these terrains that are impressively rough and unproductive. No wonder they abandoned them as soon as they could.”
The Basque region is indeed a captivating and mysterious place; its language the only one like it in the world. You can read more about Aritzkuren (using google translate) at this website. It is where our pictures of Aritzkuren come from: https://www.valledearce.com/pueblos/arizkuren/
There is something very special about growing a Basque tomato.
Tomato Characteristics: Glorious, ribbed fruit with tones of pink, brown and black (150-250g). Sweet and smoky. Indeterminate, 3-foot plants.
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.
Photo #1 Caption: St Peter’s Church (1976)
Photo #2 Caption: Old suspension bridge on the way to Ariztkuren (around 1985).
Photo #3 Caption: House in Ariztkuren (1976)
