Opalka Tomato
- Organic
- Red fruits grow to 3 inches by 6 inches
- Excellent flavor and few seeds
- Perfect processing tomato
- Fruits hold well on the vine
- Indeterminate - Fruit ripens throughout the season
- 85 days from transplant
Item Details
Introduced into the 1991 SSE Yearbook by Carolyn Male. It was given to her by co-worker Carl Swidorski, who said the seed originated in Poland circa 1900. Phenomenal set of 3" by 6" red paste tomatoes on vigorous wispy vines. Excellent flavor and very few seeds make this a perfect processing tomato. Fruits hold well on the vine. Indeterminate, 85 days from transplant.
Learn to Grow Opalka Tomato
Start Indoors: 6 weeks before last frost
Germination: 7-14 Days
Plant Outdoors: 24-36” Apart
Support: Cage, stake, or trellis
Instructions - Sow seeds indoors ¼" deep. Tomatoes are sensitive to freezing temperatures, so wait to transplant outdoors until the soil is warm. Plant in full sun.
Ratings & Reviews
6 reviews
Best sauce tomato
by PepperReed
Strong grower in zone 5 MI, excellent for sauce; meaty and few seeds.
Consistently Strong Producer
by John
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.
Slow starter, but really starts roaring in the garden!
by Bob Majewicz
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.
The most prolific heirloom Roma I've ever grown
by Frank from Winchester Virginia
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.
Prolific!!
by Alice
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
Fantastic Paste Tomato!
by Kimby
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.