Banadura Baladiyya (Heirloom Tomato)

25 seeds

Solanum lycopersicum

Origin: El-Khalil, Palestine

Grown by: Wild Dreams Farm & Seed

These big, beautiful, pink-hued tomatoes have ancestry in the Beit Omar/Hebron region of the West Bank. As a Ba’al (rain-fed) variety, they are traditionally not irrigated in Palestine, but seeded in March and later transplanted into a 10-12 inch hole filled with water. The soil around each plant is covered with hay or dry grass, not to be watered for the remainder of the season.

Growing Instructions for Turtle Island: These heirlooms can be grown as one normally would grow slicing tomatoes in the US. Start seeds 3-6 weeks before your last frost date and transplant into the garden well after the danger of frost has passed. Surface-sow (or sow no more than ¼-inch deep) and space 24-36 inches apart. Plants can be pruned and trellised, though in Palestine they traditionally bush out and stay close to the soil. In regions of Turtle Island where the summer climate tends towards hot and humid, make sure there is good airflow and plants don’t receive too much moisture or they will be susceptible to rot and disease. You can let them bush out but we recommend you prune the suckers that form in the crotches of the branches by the main stem to allow for good air flow. Water at the base of plants avoiding getting leaves wet. For best flavor, do not overwater once fruit production begins.