This beautiful Ancient Landrace tomato was collected in the Nahua village of Zacatipan, Mexico. The Nahua are Indigenous people in Mesoamerica who speak the Nahuatl language.
Zacatipan has beautiful pink criollo fruits (see below) and mildly sweet flavour. The sturdy plants are 4 feet tall.
The fact that this tomato thrives in both Mexico and Canada speaks to its deep genetics.
Our original seedstock came from the Seed Savers Exchange (USA). Their seed was donated by longtime seed saver George McLaughlin who collected seeds for Zac (our nickname) in the 1980s from the village of Zacatipan. In the 1990 Seed Savers Exchange yearbook he described ‘Zac’ as:
A rare criollo heirloom, from a tiny Nahua village in the highlands of Puebla, Mexico. Typical criollo type, which means it is ribbed and ruffled.
George donated another one of our favourite varieties, Ixtepec Highlands, you can read about it HERE.
In the 1970s, Margarita de Oreliana visited Zacatipan and described her visit in the article, ‘A Nahua Village.’ Although her visit (1970s) is a little earlier than George McLaughlin’ (1980s), it gives us a glimpse into village life around the time this tomato was collected.
Zacatipan is a typical village of the lower and warmer slopes of the Sierra. It is two hours from the nearest highway by a trail which its inhabitants travel once or twice a week when they take their coffee and fruit to market and buy cotton cloth, thread, salt, chilies, and other necessities. Along these trails one is constantly meeting mule trains loaded with bottled waters, cordage, and detergents which are brought in to stock the village’s five stores. The mule drivers are always on the move to nearby villages or to and from coffee plantations carrying coffee to the processing plants. Some come from Zacapoaxtla with sashes from Tlayacapan or skeins of blue wool. They spend a day at the village and the next are on their way again to another, always returning to the Sunday market at Cuetzalan and the Thursday one at Zacapoaxtla.
This description reminds us that this tomato was grown for subsistence and everyday living. If this tomato didn’t thrive with minimal inputs it wouldn’t have been grown. These are the kinds of tomatoes that were saved from generation to generation because they fed communities. These are the kinds of tomatoes we treasure and are so grateful to be able to grow.
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.
