Porter Tomato
Price: $4.45
SKU: 3402111'Porter' was developed by V. O. Porter and released by the now long defunct Porter & Son Seed Company of Stephenville, Texas. They were a regional seed provider from its founding in 1912 until is closing in 1994.
Originally grown from USDA accession number PI 270281 which was donated to their collection by Porter & Son Seed Company. Although the Porter seed catalogs always referred to them as being some shade of red color, all samples that we have grown, including from Porter, actually result in dark pink colored fruit (clear skin over dark red flesh).
Fruit Color: Purple
Special Groups: Market Growers
Harvest Timing: Main Crop / Mid-Season
Full light and cooler temps (60° to 70°) will help to prevent the seedlings from becoming too leggy. If plants become rootbound before you can safely set them into the ground, transplant them into larger pots.
Harden off plants before planting outside. Young plants are very susceptible to frost and sunburn damage. Avoid too much nitrogen. Water evenly but not in excess.
Click here to view our full tomato growing guide.
Customer Reviews:
By High Desert Gardener (Silver City, NM) on September 18, 2025
Porters are the one tomato I always grow. They are dependable, heat-tolerant, and prolific. Pinkish-red, the size and shape of a small egg, traditional flavor, and good for everything from eating fresh in salads and sandwiches to making sauce. I first encountered them when I lived in Central Texas in the 1980s, where they were a favored local heirloom. I now live in the high desert in far-southwestern New Mexico, and it's hard to find tomatoes that can truly deal with our exceptional early-summer heat; my Porters might slow down when it's above 95 degrees F, but they always deliver. Improved Porters are great, too, but the smaller old-fashioned "standard Porter" variety has a place in my heart.
By Brenda E (Granbury Tx) on May 19, 2025
My Family has grown Porter and improved Porter since they were developed. Great taste of summer goodness. We would drive 35 miles to Stephenville Tx just to purchase these varieties of tomatoes.
They grow very well in the Texas heat and long summer dry spells. We would have a 25 ft row in our garden.
This tomato is easy to grow with few problems. My father would plow the garden with his big farm tractor until the plants grew too big. Then it was the kids job to keep the tomatoes weeded and hoed around. Everyday we kids would follow our parents out to the garden to pick. Of course we took a salt shaker with us so we could enjoyed the fresh Porter tomatoes fresh in the garden.
After the company closed we couldn't get Porter tomato plants anymore but lucky we had some seed.
This year I was at a Russell Farm and Ranch Store to buy tomatoes plants. I was late buying these this year. But there was 1 Porter Tomato plant. I only had to pay $1.00 for it. (I would have paid $10.00 ). Thanks for the memories that one plant has given me. I am looking forward to keeping a washed bowl of tomatoes in my refrigerator just to snack on!
Thank you,
Brenda Elrod.
