Growing Heirloom Tomatoes in Quito Ecuador

I have been living in Ecuador for over 15 years. One of the things I miss most is vine ripened tomatoes. Unfortunately they pick their tomatoes green down here and have very little taste. A few months ago I planted some hybrid seeds that I purchased here and they came up and did well but the tomatoes were tasteless and woody. Back in March, some friends who came to visit brought me some heirloom seeds. I have both Brandywine and Black Krim. The Brandywine are doing great and hope to see some fruit soon. The Black Krim germinated but did not grow well. They eventually contracted a white fungus and died. I planted new seeds for the Black Krim but after 10 days I don't see any seedlings.

My question is this: "Quito is at 9000 ft. elevation. The average year-round temperatures are 66ºF during the day and 50ºF at night. We have a rainy season and a dry season. The sun is very direct and can be quite intense. We have 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night each day. 90% of the days have sun every morning. What heirlooms might do well in this type of climate?

I have a friend who is bringing me the following: Boxcar Willie, Cosmonaut Volkov, San Marzano, Velvet Red and Aunt Ruby's German Green. I will receive those in about 2 weeks and will see how they respond. Any help would be appreciated


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50 is pretty chilly for 'maters at night. Here in TX we have the opposite issue, its too warm at night. Tomatodirt has a tomatoes-for-cold-climates list that I can't argue with. Heavy foliage varieties might help cover the fruits from any extra ultra violet sunlight. Gregori's Altai is in our garden every year. It is early-ish, and does pretty good in the coolest part of our season. Kimberley is a good saladette sized one for us. Good luck

I have fruit now, not much (about 5 fruit but still flowering), but it is progress. Dealing with some local pests at the moment.

Are there other local gardeners in your area to talk to? Perhaps they could give some insight as to what varieties grow best. Maybe a university or Ag Co-op could help.

We are in a cool short season area here in NY, but some varieties grow better than others. At 9000' your situation is certainly unique, but it's always fun to tackle a challenge.

Al

Just an update on my tomatoes in Quito. Although I do not get a whole lot of fruit they are producing. I have one plant that is a year old now and still producing a few tomatoes. I have Sugar Sweets that are producing like gangbusters as well as my San Marzanos. The Cosmonaut Volkov has fruit right now and the Boxcar Willy is showing signs of life.

We have some cool-early varieties here such as SubArtic Maxi, Early Girl, 4th of July, and many others. Some are hybrids, others O/P. I may be able to send a few if postal regulations allow. Please contact by D-Mail if interested.

Al

That is fantastic ! Good job !