Solanum lycopersicum

The story of a South African heirloom tomato.

This is probably one of our most exciting releases ever for us. The story behind this tomato is what saving and sharing heirloom seed is all about.

Andries Mostert was fondly known by family and friends as Oupa Andries. Long retired, he spent the last remaining years of his life living on the family farm in the Riebeekstad district of the Free State. This is where he tended the farm veggie garden and grew produce for the family, including his famous tomatoes.

Oupa Andries' tomatoes were renowned as the best-tasting tomatoes in the district, and he grew and shared his celebrated tomatoes and other produce with everyone who cared to sample them. After he passed, his belongings were put into storage in an outside storeroom on the farm. If you know anything about these storerooms, especially in the Free State, you will know that they are blisteringly hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter.

For years, whenever there was a big family gathering, Oupa Andries was fondly remembered, and especially recollections of his amazing tomatoes. The family mourned the loss of the seed and the treasured memories that the seed represented. Three decades passed, and the family farm was eventually sold. In the process of cleaning out the storerooms, the family found his chest of drawers… and in one of the drawers was a small pill bottle with tomato seeds. And they knew exactly what the seeds represented. But at 30 years old, would the seed grow?

They planted a number of the seeds, and sure enough, a single tomato plant came up and the tomato was exactly as they remembered!

The family once again feared the loss of this tomato as they didn’t have any dedicated vegetable gardeners or seed savers in the family. They wondered what they could do to ensure that it remained alive for others to enjoy. A family friend told them about Livingseeds and what we do, so the Mostert family approached Livingseeds and handed us the pill bottle with a few remaining seeds and a single ripe tomato that they had grown from the plant. They relayed the above story to us and we knew we had a veritable treasure in our hands.

We have continued to grow out this variety every year and have been enjoying it tremendously. We are excited and proud to release the tomato named in his honour back to the South African gardening public.

These sublime tomatoes are heavy, hearty, meaty beefsteaks that are packed with flavour – they're sure to capture your heart and stomach!

Ready for harvest in 70 days after transplant.

Standard packet contains approx. 25 seeds

Petite packet contains approx. 10 seeds