Ongweh Ias (aka Phil Seneca of Good Mind Seeds, USA) is a Native American tomato breeder from the North Eastern United States, who we should all get to know. Ongweh belongs to the Seneca people, or Onöndowa'ga:, 'the people of the great hill'. He grew up on his parents' smallholding near New York, and developed a love of growing food, and all things heirloom, at a young age. Something of a child prodigy in tomato genetics and breeding, he set up Good Mind Seeds over a decade ago, and you may have heard of or grown one of his varieties - Gargamel - which has become widespread in Europe. He has developed many tomato varieties, often using wild-type genetics to improve disease resistance, then carefully back-crossing mutiple times to culinary tomatoes. The result? Really carefully curated tomatoes, in fantastic shapes and colours, which never compromise on flavour! This tomato shares his name, not to glorify himself, but rather because he, and the tomato, share their name with a figure from Native American mythology. The Onodowaga Haudenosaunee tell stories of a cave-dwelling, man-eating giant, with the name Ongweh Ias.
As for the tomato… The plants are vigorous, with very large potato leaves. They are quite compact, and the thick stems can easily support several leaders. They produce large, meaty, pale yellow / white, ribbed beefsteaks, with a pink blush emanating from the blossom end, and occasionally permeating into the flesh. While many white tomatoes are mild, lightly fruity, and sometimes even watery, this tomato is packed full of flavour and has been very highly rated in connoisseur circles since it was publically released. The first taste is almost as though it has been pre-salted, followed by a mix of fruity, sweet and savoury deliciousness. Definitely one of the top flavoured beefsteaks from this season!
Indeterminate plants are vigorous plants with a vining tendency.They set their fruits at intervals along their stems, and will readily grow side shoots and suckers (shoots from ground level).They need good, strong support, and it is advisable to remove the majority of the side shoots and suckers unless you have plenty of space and fertile soil to allow them to grow to their full potential.See the guide on pruning indeterminates in the resources section of the website for tips.
Sow Jan-April indoors
Height Band G
10-15 open-pollinated seeds
Ongweh Ias (aka Phil Seneca of Good Mind Seeds, USA) is a Native American tomato breeder from the North Eastern United States, who we should all get to know. Ongweh belongs to the Seneca people, or Onöndowa'ga:, 'the people of the great hill'. He grew up on his parents' smallholding near New York, and developed a love of growing food, and all things heirloom, at a young age. Something of a child prodigy in tomato genetics and breeding, he set up Good Mind Seeds over a decade ago, and you may have heard of or grown one of his varieties - Gargamel - which has become widespread in Europe. He has developed many tomato varieties, often using wild-type genetics to improve disease resistance, then carefully back-crossing mutiple times to culinary tomatoes. The result? Really carefully curated tomatoes, in fantastic shapes and colours, which never compromise on flavour! This tomato shares his name, not to glorify himself, but rather because he, and the tomato, share their name with a figure from Native American mythology. The Onodowaga Haudenosaunee tell stories of a cave-dwelling, man-eating giant, with the name Ongweh Ias.
As for the tomato… The plants are vigorous, with very large potato leaves. They are quite compact, and the thick stems can easily support several leaders. They produce large, meaty, pale yellow / white, ribbed beefsteaks, with a pink blush emanating from the blossom end, and occasionally permeating into the flesh. While many white tomatoes are mild, lightly fruity, and sometimes even watery, this tomato is packed full of flavour and has been very highly rated in connoisseur circles since it was publically released. The first taste is almost as though it has been pre-salted, followed by a mix of fruity, sweet and savoury deliciousness. Definitely one of the top flavoured beefsteaks from this season!
Indeterminate plants are vigorous plants with a vining tendency.They set their fruits at intervals along their stems, and will readily grow side shoots and suckers (shoots from ground level).They need good, strong support, and it is advisable to remove the majority of the side shoots and suckers unless you have plenty of space and fertile soil to allow them to grow to their full potential.See the guide on pruning indeterminates in the resources section of the website for tips.
Sow Jan-April indoors
Height Band G
10-15 open-pollinated seeds
