There has never been a better moment to reintroduce to you a variety of tomato, the Hurma Ukraine, which was mentioned in a 2019 blog post here.

Right now, I would rather forget any association with Russia.

Two years ago I bought a healthy plant from the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Garden’s annual tomato sale. After a good crop and harvest, I collected seed from a couple of outstanding specimens. By September last year every seed I planted had germinated (inside the house in my sunny front porch) and now I have a number of plants growing profusely in my garden. Their many arms keep spreading out, and my staking for support leaves a lot to be desired.

Whether because of climate change or simply a wetter end of last year, tomatoes in my neighbourhood have been slow to colour up. Almost begrudgingly the plants soften one fruit at a time and days pass before they start colouring up another. At the moment I have dozens of green tomatoes, and they are ordinarily unspectacular.

But it is worth waiting; the ripe fruit adds sunshine to my life. Golden, even orange, each one glows in the fruit bowl once picked. The flavour is not strong, but the firm flesh sits well when chopped in salads or sliced within sandwiches.

If you live around Hobart and would like me to collect seed for you in a month or so, please make contact.