{"product_id":"tomato-taiga","title":"Tomato, 'Taiga'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e(Lycopersicon esculentum)\u003c\/em\u003e Karen Olivier is an independent tomato breeder here in the PNW, based near Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island. We are very excited to have been introduced to her work (on the recommendation of a farmer friend with impeccable taste) and had the opportunity to trial some of her varieties at the home farm. Taiga (and its sibling \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/uprisingorganics.sbs\/products\/tomato-midnight-sun\"\u003eMidnight Sun\u003c\/a\u003e) are part of her \"True North\" series of ox-heart tomatoes bred for a combination of cool season production, beautiful and unusual bi-color appearance, and, most importantly, flavor.\u003cbr\u003eTaiga has an unusual beauty, green streaked with bronze and red, cut to reveal flesh with a marbling of more of the same but with even more intensified colors. The flavor is 10\/10, with a balanced combination of sweetness, richness, and depth. The meaty flesh has very few seeds or gel cavities and is equally at home sliced for a sandwich or cooked to passata.\u003cbr\u003ePotato leaf plants produce quite large fruits with minimal cracking.\u003cbr\u003eOxheart types grow differently than many of our favorite tomatoes and require a different strategy to maximize harvests. Rather than a strong central stem and abundant foliage that lends itself to more common two-leader pruning and \"florida weave\" style trellising, most oxhearts display slender willowy leaders, sparse leaf coverage, and many suckers that we only very minimally prune in order to prevent sun scald and maximize fruit yield. \u003cbr\u003e80 days, Indeterminate. UO\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePacket: 20 seeds\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e[split]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch5 data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eGrowing Info\u003c\/h5\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSOWING:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSow 5-8 weeks before your last frost date. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eTransplant out after danger of\u003cem\u003e \u003c\/em\u003efrost (45+F nighttime temps).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eNote: \u003c\/em\u003eDon't start too early or plants will be leggy and root-bound! Tomatoes do well in clay to loam soils. \u003cem data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003ePLANTING DEPTH:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e1\/8-1\/4\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSPACING:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e18-30\" spacing in rows 5' apart.\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eEMERGENCE:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e5-10 days @ soil temp 70-85F\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eLIGHT:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFull sun\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFERTILITY:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eMedium-Heavy. Prefers well-drained, well-balanced fertile soil with a pH between 6.0-7.0. Note that excess Nitrogen will encourage foliage, not fruit! Low calcium and irregular watering will result in blossom end rot. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eADDITIONAL NOTES:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRow cover may be used for extra warmth and possible earlier fruit set. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIrregular watering can result in blossom end rot. Even watering and supplemental calcium can help prevent this. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlant deeply to encourage healthy root structure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIndeterminate varieties may benefit from pruning suckers to encourage air flow, plant health, and energy towards plant top and fruit. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDeterminate varieties do not need pruning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrellis Indeterminate varieties! We really like the Florida weave.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Uprising Seeds","offers":[{"title":"Pkt","offer_id":46338300018921,"sku":"TOM-TA-pkt","price":4.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"100 seeds","offer_id":49967024865513,"sku":"TOM-TA-100s","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0504\/6203\/2046\/files\/Taiga2.jpg?v=1704730598","url":"https:\/\/www.uprisingorganics.sbs\/products\/tomato-taiga","provider":"Uprising Seeds","version":"1.0","type":"link"}