Aunt Ruby's German Green
What's special about Aunt Ruby's German Green
Green-when-ripe heirloom — sweet and spicy with a hint of amber blush. Ripe when soft.
Growing this variety
Aunt Ruby's German Green follows the same growing basics as Tomato. Variety-specific maturity above; everything else below applies to the whole Tomato family.
Germination
Spacing & depth
How to plant
Start indoors under lights 6–8 weeks before last frost. Pot up once. When transplanting, bury 2/3 of the stem — roots form along the buried stem for a stronger plant. Cage or stake at planting.
Grower's tip
Prune suckers on indeterminates for airflow and bigger fruit.
Soil preferences
Deep, rich, well-drained loam with lots of organic matter.
6.2–6.8
Bury a handful of crushed eggshell + a spoon of bone meal in each planting hole to prevent blossom-end rot. Side-dress at first fruit.
Watering
1–2 in per week — steady is more important than heavy.
Drip at the base; wet leaves spread early and late blight.
Overwatered: split skins, blossom-end rot, yellow lower leaves. Underwatered: rolled leaves, dropped blossoms.
Prefers top-watering — Top-water at the soil line with drip or soaker. Wet leaves spread early and late blight fast — never overhead in the evening.
Temperature tolerance
70–85°F (21–29°C) for warm-season; 60–75°F (15–24°C) for cool-season
55–65°F (13–18°C)
Warm-season crops (tomato, pepper, squash, cucumber, bean) are frost-tender. Cool-season (brassica, pea, spinach, radish) tolerate light frost, some (kale, spinach) sweeten after one.
Container growing
Yes — great in containers
5+ gal (19 L) for determinate; 10+ gal for indeterminate
Determinate ('bush') types finish and fall over — perfect for pots. Cage every container tomato.
Succession planting
One main sowing per season indoors 6–8 weeks before last frost. Sow a second batch 4 weeks later for a fall crop in mild climates.
Detailed harvesting
Pick when color is even and fruit gives slightly to a gentle squeeze — twist gently or clip. Ripen borderline fruits on the counter, never the fridge.
Post-harvest storage & preservation
Cure winter squash and onions in a warm airy spot 2 weeks, then store cool. Freeze most vegetables blanched. Ferment or can surplus.
Culinary, medicinal & other uses
Fresh eating, cooking, preserving. Save the biggest and best specimens as seed stock, not for the table.
Medicinal or traditional uses are shared for interest only — this is not medical advice. Consult a qualified professional before using any plant medicinally.
Seed saving
Self-pollinating (95%+); a light shake helps set fruit.
10 ft between varieties. Currant and potato-leaf types cross more readily.
Squeeze a ripe fruit into a jar of water; ferment 3–4 days until it molds; rinse, sink the good seed, dry on a plate 2 weeks. Keeps 5+ years dry.
Your zone's planting calendar
Pick your USDA hardiness zone and we'll estimate the key dates for tomato in your area. These are regional averages — always check your own last-frost forecast before sowing.
My Aunt Ruby's German Green Tomato notes
Aunt Ruby's German Green Tomato seeds on hand
Track packets and loose seeds you already have. Private to your account.
Par level — leave at 0 for no alert. Anything below par shows on Seed Starting and your shopping list.
From your kitchen — grow tomato from what you already have
Tomato seed is easy to save from any ripe open-pollinated (heirloom) fruit — a store tomato works too, but hybrids like Roma or Cherub won't grow true.
- 1Scoop the seeds and gel from a fully ripe tomato into a jar with a splash of water.
- 2Loosely cover and leave at room temperature for 3–5 days — a mold layer forms as the gel ferments off. This kills seed-borne disease.
- 3Rinse under a fine sieve. Viable seeds sink; floaters and pulp float off.
- 4Spread on a paper plate (not a coffee filter — they stick) and dry 1–2 weeks until snap-brittle.
- 5Store in a labeled envelope. Sow next spring on a heat mat like any other tomato seed.
Storage: Fermented, dried seed keeps 4–6 years in a cool dry drawer.
Order more seeds
Running low? Reorder from one of these seed stores.
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