Opalka Tomato

Strong grower in zone 5 MI, excellent for sauce; meaty and few seeds.

The Opalkas have thrived year after year here in zone 7a Maryland. The plants produce heavy clusters throughout the season. The dense flesh is flavorful, great for salads or for making sauce. This is a very good all-purpose tomato. Wish there were a photo feature on the reviews so you could see how pretty the clusters are on the vine.

These tomatoes were a little challenging as seedlings, they were the smallest and not as robust as the other varieties I started. I wasn't sure how they would do once in the garden. Well they have been out there about two months and are blowing away all the other varieties. They have outpaced and outgrown all the other varieties and are one of the two most productive types I have. I would definitely recommend them, but be patient getting them started,it worth the wait and TLC.

As for the multiple heirloom Romas varieties that I've grown spanning more than fifty years, this Opalka outproduced them all, plus its flavor is truly exceptional. Expect at least four gallons of fruit from each well-tended plant.

This tomato is prolific, better have a sturdy support from the beginning, store bought tomato cages may be inadequate. It's a good paste tomato, on the dry side with few seeds

I've tried many paste tomatoes, and this is the driest of them all. So dry, that a 6"-7" fruit is practically weightless. It does not take long to cook these down for sauce or paste; and they hold their shape well when diced for salsa. In my garden, the plants typically produce so many tomatoes that they pull over the average tomato cage or ladder. I use a 7' T-Post to support them. The flavor is better than most paste types; and puts Roma to shame. It's good enough to use fresh on sandwiches and the like. Opalka is also an excellent choice for dehydrating because of it's inherent dryness; but also because the cylindrical shape makes for even-sized slices. My garden space is very small, but I always make room for Opalka.

Without a doubt this is the very best "paste" tomato. It qualifies as a paste tomato because of its dense flesh with few seeds, but the flavor is so superior to the standards like Roma or San Marzano. It tastes like a real tomato. Absolutely delicious sliced and put on on a hot dog or brat. Incredibly productive. A neighbor who grew up on Better Boys liked it better than the Brandywine I gave him. Must be careful, though; I've had one "Opalka" seed from a commercial seed source that wasn't the one described herein. If you get a good one, save the seeds. 10 stars!