Get Growing: I heart Oxheart Tomatoes

As May approaches, folks are considering which tomatoes will rule their garden. Since they will be hogging all the primo sun spots this season, it’s not a decision to be made lightly.

Readers will know that I have a long-lasting love affair with tomatoes, having grown up over 100 varieties in a single season on occasion (my driveway got involved).  I’ve grown micro-dwarfs that only got a foot tall, hydroponic cherries indoors, dwarfs that max out at about three feet high, rare heirlooms and the newest trends. After such experimentation, what do I plant? As time and family have whittled down my plans to a more manageable size, I tend to hover in two groups of tomatoes. The first is cherry tomatoes, because, in sun-challenged Seattle you need some insurance, and cherries are the most likely to ripen. (Some favorites include ‘Sun Gold,’ ‘Pink Bumblebee,’ ‘Black Cherry,’ and the newer ‘Karma Miracle.’)

The second group would be slicers, and for slicers, my heart now belongs to oxhearts. Do you know about oxheart tomatoes? The tend to be meaty, with a smooth texture, and very few seeds, which lends them to work perfectly eaten fresh in sandwiches or cooked for sauce. The most famous variety which you may see is ‘Cuore de Bue,’ translating from Italian as, no surprise, heart of an ox. 

The introduction that wowed me was ‘Anna Russian,’ a deliciously sweet pink. I first read about it in heirloom seedsaver Craig LeHoullier’s book “Epic Tomatoes,” a love affair to tomatoes which chronicles his discoveries of varieties like ‘Cherokee Purple’ and ‘Captain Lucky.’ ‘Anna Russia,’ was listed as one of the top ten tomatoes that changed his life. The same year I tried ‘Marianna’s Peace,’ another Russian pink oxheart heirloom that was just as tasty. They melt in your mouth.

Erica Browne Grivas 

 The nursery where I worked had a taste-testing that year, and by the next season it was selling ‘Anna Russian.’

If you notice a theme, there’s a reason. Tomatoes from Russia, the Ukraine, Northern California, British Columbia, and anywhere that shares the same cool night temperature profile as Seattle are likely to produce more reliably here than perhaps, ones from the Deep South or the East Coast (like the popular non-oxheart slicer ‘Brandywine’).

Oxhearts are not uniform, can vary dramatically in shape and size, either smooth-skinned or pleated and ribbed, even on one plant. They can be fist-sized or up to three pounds or more, with fruit usually in red or pink. Very often they come to a point at the base, creating that telltale heart.

The leaves may give you a start, however. Many oxhearts have what’s called the “wilty” gene, and their lacy foliage often looks like its weeping.  Some first-time oxheart growers assume their plants are ill mid-season and tragically rip them out. I recommended noting what it looks like healthy so you can tell if it is truly wilting.  

Since those two I’ve discovered many more, notably a whole group from Victoria, British Columbia, bred by amateur breeder Karen Olivier of True North Seeds. Her potato-leafed oxhearts are laced with many colors: yellow, red, green, and purple, with complex flavors to match. They are even more beautiful sliced when their true colors show. They are both cold and heat-tolerant. Some I’ve really enjoyed so far are ‘Taiga,’ and ‘Midnight Sun.’

A note before you go shopping: unless you have a greenhouse or coldframe, resist the urge to plant out your tender tomato starts until temperatures are reliably over 50 degrees – at night. You can cheat a little with “Wall of Waters” to keep your plants warm, but in general it’s better to wait until the soil has warmed up to keep from shocking or potentially stunting your plants.

Some old and new oxhearts to keep an eye out for include:

‘Anna Russian’

‘Cuore de Bue’/ ‘Coeur de Boeuf’

‘Hungarian Heart’

‘Italian Large Red Pear’

‘Kosovo’

‘Marianna’s Peace’

‘Orange Russian’

‘Orange Strawberry’

‘Russia 117’

‘Tundra’

‘Taiga’

‘True Colors’

‘Midnight Colors’

‘Curtis Cheek’

Which will grace your garden (and plate!) this year?