Porter's Pride (Improved Porter) Tomato
Price: $4.45
SKU: 3402771The 1959 Porter & Son Seed Company catalog has the following description:
We spent over a decade of growing seasons trialing every sample of seed being sold as 'Porter's Pride'. In every instance, they all turned out to be inaccurate and incorrect. Most of the seeds being sold as 'Porter's Pride' turned out to be the small, plumb-shaped 'Porter' variety. Finally, in 2021, we received a sample of seeds from Seed Saver Exchange member, Neil Gillard (ONT GI N) of Ontario, Canada. Neil received his seed in 1996 from fellow seed saver, Glenn Longino (TX LO G2) of Hico, Texas who had purchased the seed directly from Porter & Son Seed Company.
Harvest Timing: Main Crop / Mid-Season
Full light and cooler temps (60ยฐ to 70ยฐ) 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.
- "Seed Savers 1995 Summer Edition," Seeds Savers Exchange, Decorah, Iowa, 1995.
Customer Reviews:
By Niels Saustrup (Texas) on November 27, 2024
Put out the Improved Porter into patio containers instead of the usual patio tomatoes. In a heat wave they gave less fruit than various cherry varieties, but they did give moderate amounts under high heat. Good flavor. Still has fruit on vine in November in Texas.
By D. Murphy (PA) on December 7, 2022
I’m so glad you picked up this variety! I grew it decades ago, then one year all sources got it mixed up with Porter—same experience as you. A few years ago I discovered the real Porter’s Pride at Tomatofest, but it’s now on their list to be discontinued (still available this year). It’s an excellent tasting drought hardy variety—not flashy but worth growing. Some years, all our tomatoes stopped producing and died because of heat and drought, but Porter’s Pride jumped right back into production. It’s always been shorter season for me, though—maybe 70 days.