Heirloom Marriage Genuwine
Solanum lycopersicum 'Heirloom Marriage Genuwine'
A stunning bicolor heirloom that produces large, ribbed fruits with yellow and red striping that creates a beautiful marbled appearance when sliced. This variety combines the best traits of multiple heirloom parents, delivering exceptional flavor complexity with fruity sweetness and balanced acidity. Perfect for gardeners who want to grow something truly unique that will be the centerpiece of any garden or dinner table.
Harvest
80-85d
Days to harvest
Sun
Blossom-End Rot of Tomato
Zones
10–11
USDA hardiness
Height
1-10 feet
Planting Timeline
Showing dates for Heirloom Marriage Genuwine in USDA Zone 7
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Heirloom Marriage Genuwine · Zones 10–11
Growing Details
Zone-by-Zone Planting Calendar
| Zone | Indoor Start | Transplant | Direct Sow | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | April – April | June – July | — | September – October |
| Zone 4 | March – April | June – June | — | September – October |
| Zone 5 | March – March | May – June | — | August – October |
| Zone 6 | March – March | May – June | — | August – October |
| Zone 7 | February – March | April – May | — | July – September |
| Zone 8 | February – February | April – May | — | July – September |
| Zone 9 | January – January | March – April | — | June – August |
| Zone 10 | January – January | February – March | — | May – July |
Complete Growing Guide
Light: Blossom-End Rot of Tomato, Pepper, and Watermelon. Soil: Clay, High Organic Matter, Loam (Silt), Sand. Soil pH: Acid (<6.0), Neutral (6.0-8.0). Drainage: Good Drainage, Moist. Water: Blossom-End Rot of Tomato, Pepper, and Watermelon. Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in.. Spread: 1 ft. 0 in. - 4 ft. 0 in.. Spacing: 3 feet-6 feet. Growth rate: Rapid. Maintenance: High. Propagation: Seed. Regions: Coastal, Mountains, Piedmont.
Harvesting
The fruits are smooth, shiny, glossy, and are classified as berries. The size, shape, and color will vary depending on the variety or cultivar. The color of the fruits may be red, yellow, orange, green, purple, or pink. The fruits may contain over 100 yellow to light brown seeds.
Color: Gold/Yellow, Green, Orange, Pink, Purple/Lavender, Red/Burgundy, Variegated. Type: Berry. Length: > 3 inches. Width: > 3 inches.
Garden value: Edible, Showy
Harvest time: Fall, Summer
Bloom time: Fall, Summer
Edibility: The fruits or berries of the tomato are edible. They may be eaten raw, cooked, dried, or processed. They are a rich source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, folic acid, and antioxidants. Lycopene is an antioxidant that gives the tomato its rich red color. Many plants will drop fruit when ripe or the fruit will come off easily. Tomatoes will continue to ripen once picked. Store them at room temperature.
Storage & Preservation
Store freshly harvested Heirloom Marriage Genuwine tomatoes at room temperature away from direct sunlight to maintain their complex flavor profile. These fruits will continue to ripen and develop flavor for 3-5 days after harvest. Once fully ripe, they'll keep for up to one week at room temperature.
Refrigerate only fully ripe tomatoes if you need to extend storage beyond a week, though this will diminish their exceptional flavor. For preservation, these meaty fruits excel when frozen whole (slip skins after thawing) or made into sauce. Their balanced acidity makes them suitable for water-bath canning in salsas and sauces. The beautiful marbled slices also dehydrate well for gourmet sun-dried tomatoes, though expect longer drying times due to their high moisture content.
History & Origin
Heirloom Marriage Genuwine represents a modern approach to heirloom tomato development, created through careful open-pollination breeding to combine desirable traits from multiple classic heirloom varieties. While the exact parentage remains proprietary to its developers, the variety shows clear influence from bicolor heirlooms like Cherokee Purple and Striped German, along with the robust growth habits typical of traditional Italian paste tomatoes.
Developed in the early 2000s by specialty seed growers focused on creating new heirlooms that maintained the complex flavors of old varieties while improving disease resistance and uniformity, this variety represents the "marriage" of multiple heirloom genetics—hence its distinctive name. The "Genuwine" spelling reflects the grower community's playful approach to naming while emphasizing the variety's authentic heirloom characteristics and open-pollinated nature, allowing gardeners to save seeds and maintain the variety's traits through generations.
Advantages
- +Attracts: Bees, Pollinators, Predatory Insects
- +Wildlife value: The plant is pollinated by bees, especially bumblebees.
- +Edible: The fruits or berries of the tomato are edible. They may be eaten raw, cooked, dried, or processed. They are a rich source of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, folic acid, and antioxidants. Lycopene is an antioxidant that gives the tomato its rich red color. Many plants will drop fruit when ripe or the fruit will come off easily. Tomatoes will continue to ripen once picked. Store them at room temperature.
- +Fast-growing
Considerations
- -Toxic (Leaves, Stems): Medium severity
- -High maintenance
Companion Plants
Plant Together
Basil
Repels aphids, whiteflies, and hornworms while potentially improving tomato flavor
Marigold
Deters nematodes, aphids, and whiteflies with natural pest-repelling compounds
Nasturtium
Acts as trap crop for aphids and cucumber beetles, drawing pests away from tomatoes
Parsley
Attracts beneficial insects like hoverflies and parasitic wasps that prey on tomato pests
Carrots
Loosens soil for tomato roots and doesn't compete for nutrients due to different root depths
Chives
Repels aphids and may help prevent fungal diseases with natural sulfur compounds
Borage
Attracts pollinators and beneficial insects while potentially deterring hornworms
Lettuce
Benefits from tomato shade during hot weather and has shallow roots that don't compete
Keep Apart
Black Walnut
Produces juglone toxin that causes wilting and stunted growth in tomatoes
Fennel
Inhibits tomato growth through allelopathic compounds released by roots and foliage
Brassicas
Compete heavily for nutrients and may stunt tomato growth when planted too close
Nutrition Facts
Per 100g serving. % Daily Value based on 2,000 calorie diet. Source: USDA FoodData Central (FDC #321360)
Pests & Disease Resistance
Resistance
Moderate resistance to common diseases, prone to cracking in wet weather
Common Pests
Tomato hornworm, cutworms, aphids, spider mites
Diseases
Blossom end rot, early blight, late blight, fruit cracking