Sioux Tomato

84 days, indeterminate — The regular leaf plants of 'Sioux' reach four to five feet in height and are very productive. Its smooth-skinned, red colored, firm but juicy fruit provide a nice, mild, slightly sweet, classic red-fruit flavor. As an all-purpose variety, it is an excellent choice for fresh slicing or used in salads, as well as for canning, freezing or processing into pastes and sauces. Although the fruit typically average about six ounces each and are globe to slightly flattened-globe in shape, we have noted some variability, in both size and shape, and will continue to rouge out those traits.

Bred at the Department of Horticulture, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln from a cross between 'Stokesdale' and 'Allred'.^[1,2] Originally developed for commercial tomato production, it exhibits dependable fruit setting in hot weather, and was considered generally suitable for home or fresh early market throughout Upper Mississippi Valley. In reality, it seems well-suited for nearly anyone's climate.

Introduced in 1944, the USDA noted in 1945 that the, "Sioux tomato distributed a year ago by the Nebraska Station proved to be an acceptable variety throughout most of Nebraska as well as in nearby States. Sioux produces consistently an unusually high percentage of vitamin C."^[3] Our seed stock originated from USDA Accession Number PI 270210 which entered into the USDA's collection on December 7, 1960. Each packet contains at least 20 seeds, and there are about 85 seeds per 0.25 gram.