(60 days) F-1 hybrid. Indeterminate. Delectable little plum-shaped fruits come in clusters everywhere, each truss bearing 6–8 of the 1–2 oz grapes for an astonishing total of 50–80 glossy red fruits per plant. With an engaging sweetness, they make good stewing tomatoes, excellent salad tomatoes, and, despite their juiciness, a tangy sauce with a diverse complex richness and full sweet tomato flavor. Lynn Sagalyn of Philadelphia reports that “Juliet is my favorite tomato for drying. Cut them in half, flip out the seeds and dehydrate…They are like tomato ‘raisins’—chewy and sweet to just eat, put on pizza, or add some red to a winter stir-fry.” Scout Proft of East Dorset, Vt., says, “Entertained by your description, but the plain truth is they are the highest yielding most versatile tomato out there—both for greenhouse and field use in all culinary ways. Period.” This 1999 AAS winner is firm enough to hold on the vines for up to two weeks and off the vines for several weeks as well Crack resistant, tolerant to EB and LB, and fairly invulnerable to insect or slug damage. In fact, the only damage we’ve seen to this fruit is from gastronomic mice. In the short growing season of 2020 Juliet was Nikos’s only tomato to withstand a late spring frost. In 2021 we received an anonymous phone message regarding Juliet: “Glorify that little sucker! You set it on the counter for two weeks, it just gets sweeter and sweeter and sweeter.” ③
Juliet Small-Fruited Tomato
Juliet Small-Fruited Tomato
(60 days) F-1 hybrid. Indeterminate. Delectable little plum-shaped fruits come in clusters everywhere, each truss bearing 6–8 of the 1–2 oz grapes for an astonishing total of 50–80 glossy red fruits per plant. With an engaging sweetness, they make good stewing tomatoes, excellent salad tomatoes, and, despite their juiciness, a tangy sauce with a diverse complex richness and full sweet tomato flavor. Lynn Sagalyn of Philadelphia reports that “Juliet is my favorite tomato for drying. Cut them in half, flip out the seeds and dehydrate…They are like tomato ‘raisins’—chewy and sweet to just eat, put on pizza, or add some red to a winter stir-fry.” Scout Proft of East Dorset, Vt., says, “Entertained by your description, but the plain truth is they are the highest yielding most versatile tomato out there—both for greenhouse and field use in all culinary ways. Period.” This 1999 AAS winner is firm enough to hold on the vines for up to two weeks and off the vines for several weeks as well Crack resistant, tolerant to EB and LB, and fairly invulnerable to insect or slug damage. In fact, the only damage we’ve seen to this fruit is from gastronomic mice. In the short growing season of 2020 Juliet was Nikos’s only tomato to withstand a late spring frost. In 2021 we received an anonymous phone message regarding Juliet: “Glorify that little sucker! You set it on the counter for two weeks, it just gets sweeter and sweeter and sweeter.” ③
Additional Information
Hybrid Cherry, Grape & Salad Tomatoes
350–600 seeds/g unless otherwise noted.
Tomatoes
- Days to maturity are from date of transplanting
Culture: Usually started indoors Feb–April. Minimum germination soil temperature 60°, optimal range 75–90°. Transplant after frost danger has passed. Avoid using fresh manure as it causes lush foliage with few ripe fruits. Instead use generous amounts of well-rotted cow or horse manure or compost to boost plant vigor, and crushed eggshells or gypsum at the bottom of each hole for calcium. Heavy phosphorus needs. Responds well to foliar sprays.
- Determinate (Det.) bush varieties may be staked, should not be pruned.
- Indeterminate (Ind.) climbing varieties are customarily staked and pruned. Tomato experts Carolyn Male and Kokopelli’s Dominique Guillet both oppose pruning, arguing more abundant foliage provides more photosynthesis.
Organically and sustainably grown seed was rinsed with a sodium hypochlorite solution to reduce risk of seed-borne disease. This treatment poses no health risks.
Saving Seed: Saving tomato seed is easy! Remove stem-end and crush the fully ripe fruit into a container. Ferment uncovered for a few days until the slurry forms a moldy cap. Rinse in a fine strainer and dry seeds on a coffee filter. To ensure true-to-type seed, grow open-pollinated varieties and separate by 50 feet.
Diseases:
- ASC: Alternaria Stem Canker
- EB: Early Blight
- F: Fusarium
- GLS: Grey Leaf Spot
- LB: Late Blight
- N: Nematodes
- SEPT: Septoria Leaf Spot
- TSWV: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
- TMV: Tobacco Mosaic Virus
- V: Verticillium
Pests and Disease Remedies for Tomatoes
Early Blight shows up as drying and dying leaves at the bottom of the plant. EB can be managed culturally; should not result in significant crop loss. Mulching deters EB by reducing rain splash on foliage. Do not compost affected plants as EB can overwinter even on dead tissue.
Cultural controls: Rotation, avoid stressing plants, staking, minimize leaf wetness, mulching, indeterminate varieties are more resistant/tolerant, disinfect stakes & cages.
Material controls: Regalia, Cease.
Late Blight usually starts on the foliage of the plant. Early in the season, late blight infection shows as roundish lesions on leaves that uniquely will cross the center vein of the leaf. Later, blotches appear on stems. Still later, hard crusty lesions form on fruits. LB on tomatoes is not seed-borne and does not survive on dead tissue. Letting plants freeze on soil surface kills LB spores.
Cultural controls: Destroy cull potatoes & potato volunteers, avoid overhead irrigation.
Material controls: Regalia, Copper, Cease.
Septoria Leaf Spot can appear almost overnight. It is characterized by yellowing and small circular spots on older leaves. It can eventually spread to the entire plant in conditions of high humidity and temperatures. It can be spread by wind or carried on clothing and tools. Septoria can live over the winter on live tissue, so don't compost affected plants.
Cultural controls: Space plants for good air circulation.
Material controls: Regalia, Copper, MilStop.
Anthracnose
Cultural controls: Rotation, mulching, minimize plant wetness, staking, use compost.
Material controls: MilStop, Copper, Regalia, Cease
Tomato Hornworm
Cultural controls: Look for frass (droppings) and handpick. Eeeuww! Use a blacklight to find them. See if you can get the chickens to eat them.
Material controls: Bacillus thuringiensis subsp.kurstaki, Monterey Garden Insect Spray.
Tarnished Plant Bug
Cultural controls: Floating row covers, good weed control.
Material Controls: Pyrethrin.
Bacterial Canker, Spec and Spot
Cultural controls: Disinfect greenhouse materials & cages, farming tools & gloves, avoid overhead irrigation, don’t work crop when wet, rotate crops, use compost.
Material controls: Copper.
Preventing Late Blight
Dry conditions spare us some years, but late blight is here to stay, especially for field-grown crops. Cool temperatures, moist conditions, still air and lack of sunshine favor sporulation; spores can occur and advance in any condition of high humidity. LB might spread quickly... or not; wind-borne spores can travel hundreds of miles on storm fronts, but also can be baked into submission by the hot sun. Once LB lesions develop on your plants take immediate action to halt the disease in hopes of salvaging a crop. Our recommendations:
- Where possible, use resistant varieties.
- Try to find tolerant cultivars—use anecdotal evidence and experiment.
- Grow your own tomato plants or buy locally grown seedlings. Avoid big-box seedlings. Know your farmer!
- Do not use saved potatoes as seed stock. Purchase only new certified disease-free seed potatoes. Click here for more potato-related late blight info.
- Plant in areas with full sun and few wind blocks. Avoid shade and moist environments. Facilitate air movement. Maintain high soil fertility.
- If you choose to spray, have a plan and materials on hand, so you can make quick and timely application(s) when conditions indicate. Order supplies from Organic Growers Supply
- Most market growers and many home gardeners now grow at least a portion of their tomatoes in high tunnels, which greatly reduces vulnerability though still requires vigilance.
Information Sources
- See the Cornell Vegetable Resources website for excellent photos and info.
- University of Maine Cooperative Extension: Potato IPM bi-weekly tells where LB infections have been confirmed in Maine or the eastern United States, umaine.edu/potatoes, 1-888-USE-UMCE.
- Or use the forecast model uspest.org/risk/tom_pot_map to assess potential for spore germination and lesion formation in your area.
Germination Testing
For the latest results of our germination tests, please see the germination page.
Our Seeds are Non-GMO
All of our seeds are non-GMO, and free of neonicotinoids and fungicides. Fedco is one of the original companies to sign the Safe Seed Pledge.