We love longkeeper tomatoes and this is one of the best.
Winter Gold is a Tim Peters tomato. We are always on the lookout for tomatoes developed by this master American breeder from Oregon. This tomato is a longkeeper, which means it is a storage tomato that you pick unripe at the end of the season, then wait a few months until it ripens. With this tomato you can eat tomatoes from your garden at Christmas! Which is so fun.
Colour when Ripe: Winter Gold will turn yellow (exterior) when ripe. It will feel firm.
We collect seed from our longkeepers in January; so, you will be able to store yours until November/December.
Plant Characteristics: Winter Gold plants are a compact 1 foot in height. Dark, green, rugose leaves cover the medium-to-large size yellow (when ripe) tomatoes. Winter Gold would do well in a container. In December, you will have lovely, crunchy, ripe tomatoes. Taste-wise Winter Gold is on the mild side, but waaaayyy better than store-bought tomatoes in December.
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.
