Write to Us
Shop Categories
- Vegetables
- Asparagus
- Beans
- Beets
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Carrot Seeds
- Cauliflower Seed
- Chard
- Cole Crops
- Corn
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Garlic Bulbs
- Gourds
- Greens
- Heirloom Vegetables
- Herbs
- Kale
- Kohlrabi Seed
- Lettuce
- Melon
- Okra
- Onions
- Peas
- Peas - Southern
- Peppers
- Potatoes
- Pumpkins
- Radish
- Rhubarb Plants
- Root Crops
- Seed Tape
- Spinach
- Sprouts/Microgreens
- Squash
- Sweet Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Web Exclusives
- Fall Harvest Vegetables
- Fruits
- Perennials, Bulbs & Flowers
- Trees & Shrubs
- Customer Favorites
- Supplies
- New This Season
- Gurney's Choice
- Niles' Favorites
- Only From Gurney's
- Gifts
- Web Exclusives
- Deer Resistant Plants
Tomato - Open-Pollinated
Why Grow Open-Pollinated Tomatoes?
Open-pollinated tomatoes have parents of the same variety. If you save and plant the seed of open-pollinated tomatoes, you will get tomato plants that are like the parent. (As long as they are not cross-pollinated with other varieties that might be growing nearby).
Generally, open-pollinated tomatoes are more flavorful than hybrids. Many hybrids are bred for characteristics such as disease resistance, consistent size and storage qualities.
Heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated. There are also newer varieties of tomatoes that are open pollinated. Hybrid tomatoes are a controlled cross of two different tomato varieties. They are said to possess hybrid vigor, and are often bred for good disease resistance, higher yields and other traits.
