Afghan Tomato

The Burmese Sour Tomato is an heirloom variety from the town of Yangon, Myanmar (Burma). Dramatically ribbed and averaging between 5-10oz. It is a very productive, indeterminate variety that ripens to a bright red color. These tomatoes are slightly less sour than our Desi Girl tomatoes but still impart a tangy flavor to dishes.

As an open pollinated variety, anyone can save seeds and regrow this same variety next year! Simply squeze the flesh of the ripe tomato into a small glass, add a bit of water and let ferment for a few days. Decant the seeds by adding more water and slowly pouring off the seeds and flesh that float to the top. Do this a few times until the water runs clear and the remaining seeds have settled to the bottom. Strain seeds, dry them on a plate of piece of wax paper and then store in a paper envelope or glass jar out of direct sunlight. Seeds stay viable for 5-7 years.

Minimum 100 seeds per packet.

A delicious South Asian tomato variety. Seeds are originally from India and thought to have evolved over time to lend the classic, yet essential, sour component to South Asian dishes. From a community tomato tasting we held, the top tasting notes for these tomatoes were determined to be tangy, juicy, meaty and earthy. In general, they are more acidic than sweet and level up typical South Asian tomato based dishes such as rasam, tomato chutney, channa masala and tomato prawn curry…

Fruits are 2-3” in diameter and plants are extremely prolific. We named these tomatoes “Desi Girl” as they are similar in size to the Monsanto owned hybrid “Early Girl.” However, our seed is open pollinated and distinctly more tart than the early girl tomato.

Each Desi Girl tomato plant can produce up to 10 pounds of fruit through the season. As a determinate variety, it will set dozens of flowers at the same time and produce fruit within a 1 month window. Can benefit from a tomato cage although it is not necessary. Do not prune off the lower branches.

Because of how prolific these plants are, we always end up cooking down a bunch of the leftover tomatoes and freezing or canning them to use during the Winter!

These tomatoes were also featured front and center in SF Chronicles best dishes of 2023 thanks to Tacos Sincero and their Tomato Tostada (Ranked #2)

As an open pollinated variety, anyone can save seeds and regrow this same variety next year! Simply squeze the flesh of the ripe tomato into a small glass, add a bit of water and let ferment for a few days. Decant the seeds by adding more water and slowly pouring off the seeds and flesh that float to the top. Do this a few times until the water runs clear and the remaining seeds have settled to the bottom. Strain seeds, dry them on a plate of piece of wax paper and then store in a paper envelope or glass jar out of direct sunlight. Seeds stay viable for 5-7 years.

Minimum 25 seeds per packet.

We named this tomato after the South Asian dish 'Kachumber' as an ode to the humble, yet ubiquitous side dish that we grew up eating. These tomatoes are firm, juicy, umami with the perfect ratio of sweet to tangy. They're a delicious fresh eating tomato and adding them to any tomato salad or side dish levels up the flavor profile exponentially. It's remarkable how delicious a simple dish can be when using heirloom vegetables that are not mass produced with GMO or hybrid seeds and pesticides.

This is a determinate tomato variety meaning it will set all its flowers within a 1 month period and the harvest period will soon follow. Each plant produces nearly 100 tomatoes that are each 2-3 inches in diameter. The plant grows in a bush habit so no staking is necessary although it can help with ease of harvest. We do not recommend pruning off the lower branches. These tomatoes are perfect for fresh eating but can also be used as a cooking or canning tomato.

Kachumber is just one of many 'tomato salads' that exists throughout the SSWANA region but also in the Mediteranean and Central America. In East Africa there is a nearly identical dish called Kachumbari; in Iran it’s known as Shirazi; in Iraq it's Summag. There are countless variations of this kind of salad and they always contain fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and a variation of other vegetables, herbs and citrus. Here in the US we are all probably familiar with the variation from Mexio known as Pico de Gallo.

Here is our family’s recipe for Kachumber:
Equal parts tomato, cucumber, onion all diced very finely, with a squeeze of lemon, some cilantro and salt. Other additions to this simple salad are optional (such as avocado or green mango) but using fresh, locally or home grown vegetables always makes this dish go from ordinary to extraordinary.

Our seeds are originally from India and this is our second year growing this variety for seed.

25 seeds per packet.

An heirloom pepper variety originally from Hubli, India. These peppers are long (5-6”), thick walled and spicy. They’re the classic Indian chillies, an essential for any and all South Asian cooking.

The plant itself is extremely prolific, sending out dozens of chillies that go from green to orange to red, affecting the spice level with it. The is our most favorite pepper variety on the farm. Perfect for those who like to have a few spicy green peppers to munch on with their meals. We have also made a delicious achaar (Indian pickle) using these green peppers and green mango. When the peppers turn red we like to put them in the oven on the lowest heat to quickly dry them down and either blend them into a chilli powder or into chilli flakes. Highly recommend using the chilli flakes for a chilli crisp! They have the perfect heat and smokiness.

These seeds were gifted to us by one of our customers at the Irvington Farmers Market in Fremont. He brought them back from his hometown of Hubli, in the Southern State of Karnataka, India. We have been stewarding this variety for the past four years.

25 seeds per packet.