Spring Plant Sale with Variety List

 

PLANT SALE LOCATION: 5311 Scotts Valley Drive, Scotts Valley, CA (behind Ivy's Porch)

We are currently open to the general public for our annual spring plant sale, through July 23. 2023.

Open seven days a week from 10:00 - 5:00 (including all holidays) 

Address: 5311 Scotts Valley Dr., Scotts Valley, CA (do not simply ask Google to direct you to Love Apple Farms, as they will navigate you to our home address and not the nursery).

Any other questions? Feel free to text us at 831-588-3801.

PRICES:
Tomatoes, Peppers & Eggplants in 3" pots $6.49 
Veggies in 3" pots $6.49
Herbs in 3" pots $6.49
Six-packs $8.99 (only a few items are available in 6-packs)
Plus a full array of gardening supplies, soils, amendments and compost.

Consider a gardening class to sharpen your skills, or a gift certificate  for plants, supplies, or workshops. 

Download 2023 Variety Sheet (aka "Yellow Sheet") in a PDF format

Download 2023 Variety Sheet (aka "Yellow Sheet") in an Excel Spreadsheet format.

To see photos of the varieties below, try our favorite tomato database: World Tomato Society.

Tomato Varieties	Color	Shape, Size	DTM	All varieties are indeterminate (tall) unless noted otherwise. "C" means ok w/ tough growing conditions, such as fog, shadier gardens, or high elevations.
Ananas Noire	Bi-Color	Beefsteak, M/L	80	Gorgeous green, red, yellow bi-color. One of our favorites.
Beauty Lottringa	Red	Ruffled, M/L	85	Rare heirloom show-stopper. Deeply ribbed, ruby red beauty.
Bella Rosa F1	Red	Round, large	70	Highly disease resistant hybrid with 'heirloom flavor' NEW
Berkeley Tie-Dye	Bi-Color	Beefsteak, M/L	80	Red, yellow and green stripes, with tri-color interior. Complex flavor.
Better Boy Plus F1	Red	Beefsteak, large	80	Hybrid with high disease resistance and yield. NEW
Black Beauty	Bi-Color Black	Beefsteak, M/L	80	Starts out jet black, turns gorgeous purple/red.
Black Cherry	Purple	Round, cherry	65	Our favorite black cherry. Delightful color, full flavored. “C”
Black Krim	Purple	Beefsteak, large	80	Fantastic, intense, slightly salty flavor. Very tasty!
Brad's Atomic Grape	Bi-Color	Grape, large	70	Starts dark purple, ripens to gold/purple stripes. "C"
Brandywine Sudduth's	Pink	Beefsteak, large	90	100-year-old variety, incredibly rich taste. Potato leaf.
Camp Joy Cherry	Red	Cherry, large	70	Heirloom large red cherry. Created by local farm.
Carmello F1	Red	Beefsteak, M	75	Classic hybrid French slicer. Perfect sugar/acid balance. "C"
Caspian Pink	Pink	Beefsteak, large	85	Taste test winner. Customer favorite. Sweet flavor.
Celebrity Plus F1	Red	Round, M/L	68	Very reliable determinate bush-type. High disease resistance. "C"
Chef's Choice F1	Orange	Beefsteak, M	75	Award winning hybrid with wonderful old-fashioned flavor.
Cherokee Purple	Purple	Beefsteak, large	85	Customer favorite. Sweet with a rich smoky taste.
Chocolate Cherry	Chocolate	Round, cherry	70	Bursting with flavor. Performs even in toughest conditions. "C"
Delano Green	Green	Beefsteak, large	80	One of our all-time favorites. Rich flavors of guava and honey.
Fruit Punch Cherry	Pink	Round, cherry	75	Super fruity & sweet. Crack-resistant thin skin. Prolific plant. "C"
German Red Strawberry	Red	Oxheart, large	80	Our favorite red oxheart. Robust, traditional flavor.
Gold Medal	Bi-Color	Beefsteak, large	80	Sweet and beautiful. Gold and red bi-color. Thin skin.
Green Zebra	Striped	Round, small	70	Green with yellow stripes. Customer favorite. “C”
Hawaiian Pineapple	Bi-Color	Beefsteak, large	85	Sweet and luscious. Yellow, orange, and red blushes. Gorgeous!
Hippie Zebra	Striped	Beefsteak, M	80	Excellent taste. Purple, green, and red striping. "C"
Indigo Cherry Drops	Bi-Color	Round, cherry	70	Prettiest cherry around! Red/purple/yellow. Delicious! "C"
Jaune Flamme	Orange	Round, small	70	Fantastic flavor and performs well in tough growing conditions. "C"
Kentucky Beefsteak	Orange	Beefsteak, large	95	Large, golden orange beefsteak. Big, sweet flavors.
Lemon Boy Plus F1	Yellow	Round, medium	75	High yielding hybrid with VFN disease resistance. "C"
Love Apple	Dark Red	Beefsteak, M	85	Mahogany fruits, wonderful taste. Our signature variety.
Lucid Gem	Bi-color	Beefsteak, M	80	Starts out indigo, turns orange/yellow from bottom up.
Momotaro F1	Pink	Round, medium	70	Japanese hybrid with superb taste & perfectly sweet fruit. "C"
Mortgage Lifter	Pink/Red	Beefsteak, M	82	Famous old heirloom. Prolific. Tasty. Meaty. Few seeds.
New Girl F1	Red	Beefsteak, M	62	Hybrid with better flavor & disease resistance than Early Girl. "C"
Nova F1	Orange	Grape, cherry	60	Productive, fast-growing, hybrid snacking tomato. "C"
Orange Russian 117	Bi-Color	Oxheart, M	80	Love this one: orange and red stripes. Fairest of them all!
Paul Robeson	Chocolate	Beefsteak, M	80	Chef’s favorite. Complex flavors. Prize-winning tomato.
Plum Regal F1	Red	Plum, medium	75	High disease resistance and production on a short plant. "C"
Ramapo F1	Red	Round, large	85	Hybrid by Rutgers that packs that old "Jersey tomato" flavor.
Red Robin F1	Red	Round, small	65	Novelty micro plant for patio tabletops. "C"
San Marzano II	Red	Plum, medium	78	A suped-up version of an old favorite. Classic Italian sauce tomato.
Sexy Beast	Pink	Oxheart, large	80	Love Apple's own cultivar. Beautiful pink heart-shaped and sweet!
Sisters	Red	Beefsteak, M/L	80	Deep red fruits come in fast and furious. Great flavor too!
Stupice	Red	Round, small	52	Abundant, early. Customer favorite. Bush-type. "C"
Sungold F1	Orange	Round, cherry	65	Hybrid. Sweetest cherry around. Extremely popular. “C”
Sweet Million F1	Red	Round, cherry	65	Disease resistant (FNT), wonderful flavor and yield. Hybrid. "C"
Texas Star	Bi-color	Beefsteak, large	85	Gorgeous marbling of red, yellow, and orange. Sweet and delicious.
Tomatillo	Green	Round, small	70	Tomato relative. Great in salsa verde. Need 2 plants to pollinate. "C"
Tomatoberry F1	Red	Oxheart, small	65	Cute little heart-shaped cherries w/ incredible sweetness. NEW "C"
White Oxheart	Pale yellow	Oxheart, M	75	Rare variety! Creamy fruit have excellent flavor with low acid. "C"
Yellow Pear	Yellow	Pear, cherry	70	Customer favorite. Prolific and cute. Great in salads. "C"
Zebra Heart	Bi-Color	Oxheart, large	80	Hippie Zebra colors, but heart shaped. Unusual and delicious! NEW
Pepper Varieties	Description
Anaheim	Classic hybrid stuffing pepper. Anyone up for some chiles relleños? Medium
California Wonder Bell	Colorful, sweet, & tasty. Pick when green, or allow to ripen until red. Sweet
Carolina Reaper	Guinness World Record holder for hottest pepper. Extremely Hot
Espelette	From the Basque region. Dry & grind into powder. Fav of fine chefs. Hot
Habanero	Definitely a spicy one! Productive hybrid, very tasty for chile fans. Very Hot
Jalapeno	Good fresh or pickled. The classic nacho pepper! Hybrid. Hot
Jimmy Nardello	Perfect, super sweet, frying pepper. Try it, you'll love it! Sweet
Orange Sun Bell	Thick walls, sweet, gorgeous color. Starts green; ripens to orange. Sweet
Padron	Pick at 1” long. Fry in olive oil & salt for a delicious snack. Mild
Poblano	Dark green matures to brown. Slight taper, blunt end. “Ancho” dried. Medium
Serrano	Chili that’s great for salsas and sauces. Crisp, fresh flavor. Hybrid. Hot
Shishito	Japanese type used green & fresh. Abundant harvests. Hybrid. Mild
Eggplant Varieties	Description
Galine F1	Glossy, uniform fruit. Ripens earlier than most. Hybrid.
Little Fingers	Clusters of 3+ more. Harvest when at least the size of your pinky.
Orient Express F1	Dark purple at lightest. Heat & cool weather resistant. Early hybrid.
Other Veggies	Description
Artichoke	Each plant will give one to three artichokes. Space them two feet apart, as they get big!
Arugula	Mildly spicy salad green. Several plants per pot, separate when planting out to get larger yields.
Bean, Bush	Like pole beans, but plant stays short. Stake each one to hold it upright. 6 to 12 plants.
Bean, Pole	Pole beans need a tall trellis for support. Our six packs contain 6 to 12 plants.
Cucumber, American Slicing	Slicing cucumber. Covering the ground with plastic keeps it warm and prevents fruit from rotting.
Cucumber, Armenian	Easiest cuke to grow. Delicious! Let them scramble around the garden, or train up a trellis.
Cucumber, Lemon	They are ripe when the white fruit turns a bit yellow. A delicious addition to your garden patch.
Cucumber, Persian	Persian cukes are shorter and a bit skinnier than your standard green cucumber.
Cucumber, Pickling	You'll need several plants for a proper harvest if you're pickling.
Cucumber, Suyo Long	Our favorite Japanese-type cucumber. Long, curved, and very prolific. Tender and sweet.
Kale, Toscano	A long-lasting veggie in your garden, giving you edible leaves for more than 6 months.
Lettuce, Mixed	6 pack of delicious, tender lettuces. Protect all greens with organic slug control when planting.
Melon, Sugar Baby Watermelon	Easy to grow and don't take much space, as they like to vine around. 1-2 melons per plant.
Onions, Mixed (Bulbing)	Mix of small onions. Both root & leaves are edible. 6-12 plants. Separate & space 2" apart.
Pea, Sugar Snap	Not for shucking, you eat the whole pod. Needs staking. Separate & space 12" apart.
Pumpkin, Jack O' Lantern	Halloween pumpkin. 2-3 fruit per plant. Space plants 1' apart, and they will vine around.
Squash, Patty Pan	Green disc inside yellow skin. Will grow into a large bush. Space them two feet apart.
Squash, Zucchini	Smooth, dark flesh. Will become a large bush. Space them 2' apart.
Squash, Yellow Crookneck	Zephyr crookneck has a long yellow neck & green bottoms. Very unusual! Space 2' apart.
Strawberry	Protect them from slugs, earwigs and pillbugs. You'll want more than 1!
Herbs	Description
Basil, Genovese	Keep pinching back the growing tips to create a bushier plant. Pinch off flower pods to keep the plant producing.
Basil, Red Rubin	Red basil (aka purple basil) is similar to green Genovese, but with gorgeous color. Try this on a caprese salad!
Basil, Thai	A flavorful garnish for sweet dishes. Green, 2" long leaves have a spicy, anise/clove flavor. Beautiful &delicious!
Chives	An easy to grow herb, with many culinary uses. They bloom a pretty little round purple flower that is also edible.
Cilantro	A summer staple, especially for salsa. The flowers are delightfully edible. Their dried seeds are called coriander.
Dill	Dill has an interesting licorice flavor. Essential for some fish dishes. Try adding a few fronds to scrambled eggs.
Mint	Mint is a staple herb for many dishes. It can be invasive, so put it in a pot. It will last for years.
Oregano	Oregano is the "go-to" herb for pasta sauces, pizzas, and other meals. This is a low-growing hardy perennial.
Parsley, Italian	Parsley is essential in any robust herb garden, and our favorite is the flat-leaf Italian version.
Rosemary	Rosemary is a beautiful landscape perennial as well as a culinary herb. Cut sprigs and enjoy for years to come.
Sage, Culinary	Essential for roast turkey, it can be used in myriad ways, even in gorgeous edible landscapes.
Tarragon, French	Quintessential tarragon has a licorice flavor. This can live from year to year with careful tending.
Thyme, French	The upright stems with small gray-green leaves are very aromatic and flavorful. Low growing perennial.
Flowers	Description
Marigold	Rumored to ward off bugs. They attract pollinators and are a sweet addition to your veggie garden.
Nasturtium	Some of our favorite edible flowers. Sweet and spicy, throw them in salads. Oh, and don't forget the petals too.
Sunflower	Sunflowers just scream summer, don't you think? A nice pollen-less cutting type with multiple blooms.
Sweet Pea	Color Mix. Lovely aroma and long stems for easier cutting. Six packs contain 6-12 plants. They will need a trellis.

 

 

 

Comments

[Cynthia Sandberg]

Dear Kathryn: Sorry to hear you haven't had much luck with tomatoes or vegetables. I'd suggest coming to our Summer Vegetable Gardening class. We have several coming up. Take a look at the page entitled "Classes and Workshops" and you'll find it. Common errors I see are: insufficient light (too much shade), insufficient fertilizer (assuming your native soil has proper nutrients may be incorrect), improper spacing, watering using sprinklers rather than by hand or drip irrigation. Hope to see you out for a workshop or a visit to the nursery. Our plant sale and classes are at the same location in Scotts Valley.

[KATHRYN AKATIFF]

Delighted to find this event on Palo Alto Patch and hope to make it over there sometime. We are in our eighties. My husband and I have not had success with tomatoes, or vegetables in general. Perhaps their need for very regular watering, not too much, not too little. Pruning errors? I bought Sweet 100s from Ace and got about 10 little tomatoes. Three other varieties did slightly better. Squirrels got to them before we did. I think I have found a source of information that will help! We will try again this year with better information and plants. Isn't it too early to transplant in mid-April?

[Linda]

I would like to know if you sell and ship your tomato plants?
Also, have you considered doing your classes on line or webcam for those of us that live in other parts of the country? I'd love to take some of them but I live in Va. I'm sure there are a lot of others that feel the same way.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Linda

[Rose]

Please say that the White Oxheart will be back this year! It was one of the stars of our 2014 garden. In our garden in Emeryville, it produced until the end of November.

[Bonnie]

What are the best varieties to grow in pots?

[Cynthia Sandberg]

Hi Laurie. No, it's not possible to grow them inside an apartment or a house. So sorry!

[Laurie]

Hi I'm interested in having a tomato plant, but as an apartment renter I don't have my own space outside. Is it possible to grow potted tomatoes indoors?

[Marilyn Fleming]

Dear Cynthia.
Just wanted to tell you how nice it was to really meet you last Sunday at the SF Flower Show and to thank you for 'hooking me up' with some suppliers. Altho the GeoPot people were out of the 20 gal. containers, Amanda assured me she would take my order by phone. I called them on Tues., got the order on Wed. Nice to know you can order by phone or online and don't have to find a local supplier wherever one lives. Since I'm in Alameda, your resources don't always work for me. Then I talked to the Gardner & Bloom people and they dropped of bag of Blue Ribbon Blend at my local nursery that doesn't normally sell that particular product.

I have so many tomatoes from your seedling class - an ABUNDANCE. Last year I grew 5 in my limited space, small yard. This year I'm aiming for 10 using the GeoPots to add more plants. I guess this year is going to be the Year of the Tomato in my garden.

I'd just like to add one item for your readers. . .I gardened with my kids as they were growing up and am now doing so with my grandkids who fortunately live locally. It's something we can do together. This is my contribution to their 'education'. It is SO enriching. I would just encourage anyone with a child available to get them out there. Do whatever is age appropriate, let them set the pace, and do it enthusiasm and reverence.

A small anecdote. . .when my grandson was 3 or 4 (he's now 7), he was invited over for a half day, it was tomato planting time and I made the mistake of telling him we needed to dig a hole 2 ft. deep but whatever he could dig would be great. I figured that was a lot of digging for a little guy. I told him about five times he could stop whenever he got tired, but we measured and he dug, measured and dug, etc. and the little guy made my 2 ft. hole for me. So you just never know what will take their fancy.

I could go on and on with rewarding experiences in the garden with my kids and grands, it's part of our history together.

I love getting your newsletter and really appreciate your thoughtful instructions and updates. Take care & have a busy, fun growing season.

Marilyn Fleming

[Love Apple Farms]

Hi Anjil. The grafted tomatoes for 2013 sale will be $6.99 each. I know, I know...PRICEY! But there is a LOT of work on our part associated with a grafted plant. So we can't let them go for the price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks. I also just saw grafted toms up at SF Flower show going for $8 each.

[Anjil]

"Legend" is an awesome tomato !! Glad you are going to offer it. Have you guys ever tried "Carol Chyko" ? Another great one. See you at the sale, end of March. How much will the grafted ones sell for ?

[Trent]

Count me in. I'm not a farmer (well cofrnimed by my depressing little veggie patch) but I've read So Shall We Reap' and I'm on a sharp learning curve. I want a future where my son can afford to feed his family good, healthy, clean food, sustainably/humanely produced, so I'd be very pleased to join you in this campaign.

[Rusty Willingham]

To whomever might read this I just want to say how much I enjoy my tomatoes from the plants I purchased from you guys last spring. One of my plants was unbelievable. It was a green zebra that was grafted. I had never heard of a "grafted" tomatoe plant. I have now! It grew to be 12 feet by 12 feet across and produced more than two hundred tomatoes! I'm not exagerating. I also didn't fertilize my garden this year. I keep it organic. I live on the eastside of santa cruz and have a small garden, about 700 sq. ft. I hope you have many more grafted tomato plants this year. I also had about ten other heirloom and other tomato plants from your farm and they did good also. FYI. One of my volunteer sunflowers grew a head 24 inches across.I look forward to your tomato sale in march.

Thankyou guys for your hardwork and nice farm.

[Love Apple FArm]

Hi Lynda. What you probably had last year was Late Blight. I put out a newsletter blast about it and tutored folks on how to combat it so as not to lose their tomato patches. That's a good reason to sign up for our email newsletter! I'll add you to it!

[lynda haller]

I always have at least 20 tomatoe plants, heirloom, each year for baking. Last year all went well, the tomatoes set and when they started to ripen all my vines turned brown, wilted and died. What can I do to not have this happen again We live in Corralitos.

[Love Apple FArm]

Hi Anton. You can add some bone meal and dry organic fertilizer to the top of the soil and try to dig it into the pot. You can also add soil on top of those amendments, to top off the pot. I would also water every week, without fail, with worm casting tea.

[Anton]

I planted my tomatoes in pots before reading your article on container tomatoes. What fertilizer or amendments can I add to the surface of the soil to help my tomatoes?

[Love Apple Farms]

Hi Vicky. We use Gardner & Bloom's Organic Tomato, Vegetable and Herb fertilizer in addition to our biodynamic compost and worm castings. We also throw some bone meal, eggshells and a fish head in our tomato planting holes.

[Vicky Matisi]

What does Love Apple use as Tomatoe Fertilizer and do yo have this posted on your website for us to read?

[Love Apple Farms]

Michael: There are lots of reasons for tomato leaves curling: too much nitrogen, varietal predilection, bright sunlight after extended period of low light or overcast days, or a virus of some sort. If you can rule out all the other possibilities, you may want to send a plant sample in for diagnosis to a reputable lab, like Plant Disease Diagnosis in Walnut Creek. But if your plants are otherwise doing well, you may want to ignore it.

[Michael]

So my wife and I picked up both an OSU Purple (which she won by way of a guessing game with the young gent running the stand that day) and a Great White.

Both are happily potted (~15-20Gal) basking in the sun on a deck in Burlingame getting approximately ≥10 hrs of sun daily... The OSU is starting some small fruit and the Great White is thinking hard.

Question:
Why would either of these plants have curly leaves? They are certainly getting enough water and I've pretty much run by the book you've prescribed sans fish head. ;-)

Thoughts?

[Hillary Schalit]

I would LOVE to give my husband this week's contest prize, Tomato Goodness, because I am SO proud of all he has learned and done in our garden these past few years. He has built 7 raised beds out of recycled lumber and is trying to convince me to let him take over the rest of the lawn. We weren't very successful with our tomatoes last year but we bought 8 more seedlings from you a few weeks ago and intend to try again. I know he'd love to have 8 more! And, his birthday is coming up (5/25)!!

[Anita]

My current fav color is chocolate-purple! Love your website and newsletter :)

[Susie]

My favorite tomato color is deep, brilliant red.

[Love Apple Farm]

Hi Asinsigalli: I'm going to suggest for top of the summit (higher elevations): Elfie, Siletz, Jetsetter, Jet Star, Marmande, Black Ethiopian, Juane Flamme, Matina, and Taxi. Those are all available at our tomato plant sale at 46 El Pueblo Road in Scotts Valley. Come on over!

[tanya]

My favorite tomato color is orange! Tobolsk was one of my best-tasting and most productive tomatoes last year. Every time I went to the garden and saw new ones coloring up, I was thrilled.

Hmm, but Tobolsk tied with Purple Brandy last year for taste and productivity, so I also love purple/black tomatoes.

But my favorite tomato color to let other people taste is green. Green is the only color I let vine-ripen, because the critters usually don't taste it. It's fun to hand someone a piece of Aunt Ruby's German Green, warm from the garden, and watch the surprise on their face as they eat it.