The Tomato Man and Daughter

About us
Darrell Merrell "The Tomato Man" & Daughter, Lisa Merrell
At The Old Home Place Farm (click here for a map)
2208 W. 81st St. South
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74132
6/10 Mile West of Hwy. 75 South (Okmulgee Beeline)
918/446-7522
tomatomansdaughter@gmail.com

Our Prices
All Plants (heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, herbs and flowers) are $3
Garlic-$ to be determined (Garlic available August)

We do not ship plants or sell seeds, but you may pull into my driveway.

Our 2008 Hours
Earlybirds April 3-11, 2008
Opening weekend April 12-13, 2008
7 days a week 8am-6pm (Open April and May)

Links to Friends, Family and other Troublemakers

New for 2008
All Plants (heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, herbs and flowers) are $3
Buy 12 plants and get one free!

OUR TOP TEN TOMATOES FOR 2007-2008
Selected for Flavor, Production and Over-all Hardiness

1. CHEROKEE PURPLE: The Best of the Best. Absolutely magnificent flavor!!! Most years Cherokee Purple has consistently out performed all my other tomatoes. The flavor is a perfect blend of rich sweet/tartness that rivals Brandywine. Marches to the beat of a different drum when it comes to color. It ripens to the color of a deep hematoma bruise, a deep dark smoky, brownish/reddish/purple with green shoulders and dark brick red flesh. Round to oblate, 8 to 16 ounces plus. Hearty, pest and disease tolerant plants with excellent production. Heavy autumn production right up to a killing frost. My number one seller by three to one over any other tomato. Introduced through the Seed Savers Exchange in 1991 by Craig LeHoullier, a tomato seed collector from Raleigh, NC. A Mr. J.D. Green of eastern Tennessee sent Craig the seed, saying that it had been in his family for over 100 years and they had received them from the Cherokee Nation of that area.

2. ROYAL HILLBILLY: In 2005 & 2006, this was the best tasting tomato in my patch! And was the best producer to boot! Introduced by me in 1997. From a selection of a tomato named "Hillbilly" given to me by Ruth Marcum of Collinsville, Oklahoma, which she received from her brother Ralph Miller of Ohio. Ruth's seeds grew out three different tomatoes. Through selection I have established one to a tomato with a color of deep, deep pink, with a purplish or violet tinge, hence the "Royal" tag. I can't quite describe its exquisite flavor-very complex blend of sweet and tartness, snappy yet smooth. Grows an abundance of one pounders. Bill Pulley, my good friend who lives in Oklahoma City, says It Is his favorite. It has also received great reviews from my Seed Saver Exchange friends in all parts of the country.

3. THE YELLOW 1884 PINKHEART: By the number of plants they have purchased over the past four seasons, gardeners have voted this one into a high position in my "Top Ten". It was developed by me from a chance cross between "The 1884 Tomato" and an unknown yellow. I have been selecting seed for nine years and think I have it stabilized it to produce a light yellow skinned tomato with pink on the blossom end and pink striations in the meat and sometimes a pink splotch right in the middle of the meat. It has a creamy smooth, sweet flavor. The more pink, the sweeter the flavor. (Low acidity.) Prolific, and I mean prolific production, one of the best producing tomatoes of all that I grow. Early on the tomatoes are up to one pound and oblate in shape.

4. SIOUX: This is the original Sioux. The most popular tomato in Oklahoma, back in the 1950's. Released in 1944 by the Agricultural Research Station of the University of Nebraska from a cross between Allred & Stokesdale. Very, very heat tolerant! Good pest and disease tolerance. Best of all it is a heavy, heavy producer of globular, red, somewhat acidic "Old-Fashioned" flavored tomatoes. My mom canned many a quart of this one! My sister, Virginia, loved its flavor and with salt shaker in hand would eat them by the plate full. When I re-introduced it in 1996, it was no longer commercially available in seed or plant form anywhere in the United States or Canada.

5. GRANDMA SUZY'S BEEFSTEAK: If you want a big old fashioned beefsteak type of tomato, this one is it!!! Large, up to 2 lbs, juicy, with an excellent tangy flavor. Excellent production on disease resistant vines. Al Cockrell of Sapulpa, OK. gave me the seeds and I have grown it since 1999. His Grandma Suzy has raised it for years from seeds that were originally brought over to this country from Germany by family friends.

6. GERMAID RED: One of my favorite reds. Juicy, sweet, rich tomato flavor. Deep red, somewhat elongated beefsteak type. Up to 1 pound. Finally made my top ten list this season. My original seed is from the garden of my friends, Joe & Bobbie Cavanaugh of Delaware, N.J.

7. JAUNE FLAMMEE: "Yellow Flame." This is an extremely productive heirloom from France. These persimmon orange tomatoes are very juicy and have a nice sweet flavor with fruity overtones. Tomatoes weigh 2 to 3ozs. Was one of my Daughter's most productive plants last year. Not only great for summer salads but wonderful to roast in the oven, pureed then canned or frozen.

8. RED BRANDYWINE: Entirely different from the Legendary Brandywine. Only similarity is in the name. They were both named after the Brandywine River which flows through the Amish country in Pennsylvania. It dates to 1885 and is from the Amish Community in that area. Round-globe shape, red smooth skin 10 to 14 ounce tomatoes. Delicious multi-lobular red flesh. Disease resistant and a heavy producer. Excellent all-purpose main crop tomato. One of the best in overall performance in 2005. Regular Leaf.

9. BRANDYWINE CHERRY : Introduced in 1998 by fellow SSE Member,Tim Diermann of Marthasville, MO. Tim called it a "genetic fluke" from a Legendary Brandywine seed. It has the color, but best of all, the Legendary Brandywine flavor! Bountiful production, but it may not be completely stabilized- marble size to golf ball size tomatoes. Produces all season, fruit is very versatile. Potato leaf.

10. ARKANSAS TRAVELER: For over 25 years my favorite tomato until I discovered the Brandywine. Pink, globular and usually slightly elongated, 5 to 7 oz. tomatoes. Terrific somewhat mild (low acid) flavor. Good heat/ humidity tolerance, pest/ disease tolerant. Excellent production.

Click here to see the rest of the more than 50 varieties of heirloom tomato plants, as well as peppers, eggplants, herbs and flowers (PDF download of the 2007-2008 Plant list)