Artisan Tomatoes

We will focus on tomatoes, and primarily on seed of varieties sold under the Artisan Tomato^TM brand.  In addition to varieties from our breeding program, we are recruiting breeders and varieties that demonstrate the combination of traits we find compelling - primarily great flavor and unique phenotype.  On the Artisan Tomato blog, we'll be listing this short list of Artisan Tomato^TM varieties - most of which will be available on our upcoming website this fall/winter. Captain Lucky was added earlier today, an excellent new variety from Millard Murdock in North Carolina.  Stay tuned. 

Why Artisan Seeds?

We live in an age when it’s difficult for most people to fully understand where their food comes from, and most consumers eat food that was produced on an industrial scale, and from crop (and animal) varieties bred specifically for industrial scale production and/or processing.  Tomatoes are a classic example: the crop benefits from a tremendous investment in research and breeding – but for types primarily serving processing and food service markets where harvest and transportation efficiency trump selection for flavor and nutrition. 

Heirloom varieties offer a good alternative for small scale growers, home gardeners and consumers that frequent farmer’s markets, food coops and selected grocery stores.  However short shelf life, a tendency to crack and catface, low yield and susceptibility to key tomato diseases often plague heirloom growers.  Over the last decade (or two) there is an emerging group of small farmer/tomato breeders, crafting unique OP varieties from accidental or intentional crosses between various heirloom and/or selected commercial types.  Green Zebra (Tom Wagner), Berkeley Tie Dye (Brad Gates), Purpe Haze (Keith Mueller) and Lucky Cross (Craig LeHoullier) are notable examples. There are scores of new and exciting varieties in the wings, being developed by focused breeding programs that leverage the size of a collaboration of small growers – and resulting in “hand crafted” varieties bred specifically for small/medium sized producers and local/specialty markets and focusing on a combination of taste, fruit quality, unique fruit color/stripe combinations, yield and plant health. 

A new AS breeding line

Why the name? Historically Artisans are craftsmen skilled in a trade and using traditional methods to produce products of exceptional quality.  That sounds like many of our tomato farmer/breeder colleagues. 

Artisan Seeds is designed to be a commercial venue for the marketing of seed of tomatoes and selected other vegetables that meet high quality standards and have been developed by artisan breeders, or teams of breeder/grower collaborators.  A percentage of seed sales revenue will be shared with the breeder(s), encouraging further local research efforts.  We are focusing initially on tomatoes, in part because of the Baia Nicchia and Frogsleap Farm focus on this crop, but also because of the significant interest in collaborative breeding within the online heirloom tomato community and the growing specialty market for tomatoes generally.  We hope to attract, as partners, grower/breeders who have developed something truly special.

We hope that this seed venue will also attract seed customers that want to support small scale, but highly focused breeding programs developing exceptional varieties in taste, appearance and local adaptation.  Any variety sold by our company and carrying the Artisan Tomato^TM  trademark will have been thoroughly tested in regional trials and will be part of a limited number of exceptional varieties, developed by exceptional and dedicated artisan breeders.

New striped cherries

 

Introducing Artisan Seeds

Artisan Seeds LLC is a joint venture between two breeding programs/farms - Baia Nicchia  and FrogsLeap Farm.  Baia Nicchia is located in Sunol, CA and has been breeding tomatoes and other selected vegetables for over a decade.  Baia Nicchia has previously released the acclaimed tomato varieties Blush and Maglia Rosa nationally, and a handful of other unique varieties in the San Francisco bay area.  Frogleap Farm  is located near Prior Lake, MN and has focused on introducing new combinations of traits in tomatoes.  In 2011 Baia Nicchia and FrogsLeap Farm combined the two breeding programs and continue to focus on combining excellent flavor with unique colors and shapes - both programs have used stripes to further distinguish their varieties.  The combined breeding program has multiple breeding and testing nurseries throughout the U.S.

New Artisan Tomato^TM Cherries

In addition to introducing their own new varieties, Artisan Seeds is working to identify, trial and market exceptional new tomato varieties developed by like-minded breeders, dedicated to quality, taste and uniqueness.  Artisan Seeds will offer a commercial venue for breeders of outstanding new tomatoes – with a portion of seed sales revenue returning directly to the artisan breeder.  Tomato breeders should contact Artisan Seeds directly to inquire about submitting varieties for trialing (artisantomato@gmail.com).

Our first releases of Artisan Tomato^TM tomato varieties will be announced this summer, with seed and/or plant purchases available Fall 2012.