Solanum cheesmaniae
Origin: Galapagos Islands via Paradise, Utah
Improvement status: Evolutionary Population
Seeds per packet: ~30
Germination tested 12/25: 94%
Life cycle: Annual
From the high-desert gardens of our friend Joseph Lofthouse, the great evolutionary plant breeder of Paradise, Utah, this Galápagos Island tomato carries wild ancestry and new adaptability. Joseph selected this population for two key traits: the ability to thrive in a short growing season and to germinate easily, without heroic pre-treatment.
The flavorful orange fruits grow slightly larger than most wild or semi-wild tomatoes, offering a taste that bridges the tropical origins of the species and the cool nights of northern gardens.
These plants grew alongside the other Galápagos island tomatoes, Solanum galapagense (another endemic wild Galápagos tomato) and Solanum pimpinellifolium (currant tomato), and also near Joseph's Profoundly Promiscuous and Totally Tasty Tomatoes—a three-species hybrid project aimed at increasing the tomato's ability to outcross. According to Joseph, "around ten percent of plants showed 'off-type' features, hinting at gentle cross-pollination and an ongoing evolutionary dance."
Save seeds from the plants you love most—the ones that thrive, taste best, or ripen first. Each generation brings this remarkable species closer to true ecological partnership in your own soil.
GROWING TIPS: Grow as you would any other tomato.
