Shackelford Giant Pink Tomato

90 days, indeterminate — If you are looking to grow a giant tomato, this old family heirloom is a great choice. 'Shackelford Giant Pink' has regular leaf, extremely vigorous, spreading vines that produce remarkably huge crimson-pink colored tomatoes that are variably shaped, very meaty but juicy, and possess a well balanced, mildly sweet, pleasant flavor. Here on our farm in Northern Oregon, the tomatoes were monstrous, ranging in size from one to two-and-a-half pounds each!

'Shackelford Giant Pink' originated when Harrison and Ruby Garrett answered a classified advertisement that appeared in a Progressive Farmer magazine in the early 1970s offering "Mexican Tomatoes." The Garretts grew and enjoyed the monstrous fruit, passing it down to their daughter, Carla Shackelford. Along with her husband Tom, the Shackelfords took up the charge, and grew the tomatoes for many years in their North Mississippi garden. A family favorite, Carla described how one tomato, peeled, cored, and chopped was enough to entirely fill a quart jar. Tomato sandwiches were a staple as well, made memorable by the extreme size of the tomatoes - one slice, one sandwich!

We received our original seed sample from Craig LeHoullier who had received the variety from Philip Shackelford, Carla's grandson.^[1,2] Introduced by the Victory Seed company for the 2022 gardening season. Each packet contains approximately 20 seeds.