Antique Roman Tomato
Price: $3.95
SKU: 340508190 days, indeterminate — The large, regular leaf plants of 'Antique Roman' produce good amounts of red fruit that vary considerably in shape and size. They range from large, blocky, plum / heart to elongated, and classic paste-type shapes, weighing between four and twenty-two ounces each. The fruit is of high quality in both texture, which is quite meaty, as well as flavor.
'Antique Roman' is an Italian heirloom variety, introduced by seed saver John F. Swenson of Glencoe, Illinois (IL SW J) in 1991. In the 1991 Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook, John described it as a, "...giant plum, sweet, small cavities, very little juice, five inches long, variable shape." In the 1994 Yearbook he added, "... was a big hit with chefs in Chicago in 1991 and 1992."[3]
In her 2008 book entitled, "The Heirloom Tomato," author Amy Goldman stated that John Swenson had, "... received the seed in 1990 from Anne Salomon[1] of Tweefontein Farm in New Paltz, NY; her seed had come from an elderly Italian neighbor."[2]
As an interesting aside, 'Antique Roman', along with 'Banana Legs', is a parent of 'Speckled Roman', which was also introduced by John Swenson. Our original seed was sent to us by Cindy Stone of Middle Tennessee who worked with her friend, Valorie Marburger, to obtain seed from the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE Tomato 2402 - Accession 123798). Each packet contains at least 20 seeds.
Fruit Color: Red
Harvest Timing: Late Season
- "A Biography of Anne Salomon," Tweefontein Farm, New Paltz, New York.
- "The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table: Recipes, Portraits, and History of the World's Most Beautiful Fruit," by Amy Goldman, Bloomsbury Publishing, New York, NY, 2008, page 128.
- "Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook," Seeds Savers Exchange, Decorah, Iowa, 1994.
Customer Reviews:
By David J Geier (San Diego, CA) on August 16, 2024
This is a great tomato. There is mostly meat inside the tomato and as the description states above, the fruits grown in different shapes and sizes. I had several that were 1lb and over in weight. An item of note: Since the fruits are very heavy, a very strong support system is needed for this plant. What worked for me was to use posts and garden Velcro. But any support system should work. Also, another interesting item is this plant grows very tall. I only planted one this year of this variety, but my plant is over 10' tall and still growing. Here in San Diego, we have a growing season from March thru the end of October. However, this plant won't grow much more since the heat is starting to stunt the plant. This is a really interesting tomato.
By Stacy (Just south of Atlanta zone 7b) on June 22, 2023
I thought Amish paste was the largest heirloom paste tomato until I tried this variety. My Antique Roman is covered in huge oblong tomatoes. I picked my first one today, and it covers my whole hand. It weighs 11 oz. It will probably only take two tomatoes to make a pint of sauce. I trained it to a single vine and grew it vertically using the Mittleider method.
By Landon Vaughn on November 19, 2021
Hardy plant with medium to large tomatoes
