This tomato looks like a beautiful sunset. It comes from the home gardens of Zapotec farmers (Indigenous farmers) living on the Sierra Madre del Sur, a mountain ridge in Oaxaca, Mexico. Although Oaxacan Jewel looks like a modern cultivar, this is an ancient tomato. Indeed, you can see pictures of other ancient tomatoes from Mexico with yellow skin and red-flesh in the USDA collection that were acquired in the 1920s and 1930s during seed collecting expeditions.
Oaxacan Jewel was introduced to the seed trade in the early 2000s by the JL Hudson seed bank (California). See our description of another Zapotec variety, Ojo de venado, for more information about JL Hudson’s Zapotec Collection.
Plant Characteristics: Oaxacan Jewel has a good sweet taste, with a balance of tang. Fruit size is variable; some fruits are more rounded, others more scalloped, ranging in size from 60g to 190g (2oz to 6oz). Plants are potato leaf, but there might be variability in the leaf type, as other growers report both potato and regular leaf types. 4-5 foot plants need a stake, but that is about it. This is a hardy, low-maintenance tomato.
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.
