Tomato 'Costoluto Genovese'

This was my first year growing Costoluto Genovese (or Costos, as I lazily shorten their name), and I was definitely satisfied. The plant...Read More was quite prolific, setting dozens of pumpkin-shaped fruit over the growing season. The only problem I had with it compared to other varieties I've grown is that it seemed more susceptible to blossom end rot. In fact, almost all of my first round of tomatoes from this plant had that problem. After I started feeding it half-strength miracle-gro all-purpose plant feed every week, the blossom end rot disappeared. Also, the plant was in a 3-gallon container, so perhaps with a larger container or by planting in the ground, I wouldn't have had this problem.

Thin walled and low yielding, though I admit it's been growing in cramped and rather shady conditions. Taste is good, but Palestinian, B...Read Morerandywine, and Mortgage Lifter rate better By golly though, it is a beautiful tomato (and what a name).

I love growing this plant. It's huge, productive and has much prettier fruit and foliage than most tomatoes. I also really like the flavor.

I started these wonderful plants from seeds in a slightly shaded east facing window, and germination was near 100%. In PA this year we ha...Read Mored an overly wet season, and all my tomato plants (about 20) had fungal leaf spot problems by mid summer, but that did not stop Costoluto Genovese at all. Production was higher then the 2 other time tested hybrids I planted along side with, and the flavor is unmatched! Flavor is acidic...real tomato taste, and my wife and I used them fresh and for cooking with. They are highly lobed, and some say ugly looking. I prefer to say that these tomatos are so ugly that they are beautiful. I will always grow this variety in my gardens!

We love this tomato. Enormously productive, right until frost, with very little effort. Definitely needs (ground and plant) suckers remov...Read Moreed vigilantly. We found the flavor incredible. A bit tangier and acidic than a Beefsteak or Brandywine so great in salads, especially with Italian cheese! Also a great sauce tomato. And each tomato is like a work of art. The people who grew the unribbed version may be growing the vastly inferior Fiorentino.

One of the most heat tolerant varieties I've tried (Roosevelt, AZ). Prolific, but important to nip sucker shoots or fruit size suffered....Read More I liked the taste, my wife thought it so-so, a co-worker the best tasting tomato ever. Go figure.

This is a wonderful tomato with that "old world" tomatoey flavor. Perfect for off the vine eating in the backyard. My fruits weren't terr...Read Moreibly large, but the plant produced by the hundreds and the taste -- again -- is absolutely out of this world good. Not the eye opening taste that you get from a Kellogg's Breakfast or Brandywine, but still worth its weight in GOLD. A winner in my garden. Will plant again and again.

I grew this tomato as an alternative to the romas I grew last year. I wanted a meaty heirloom tomato for making sauce. This plant grew we...Read Morell even in the hot dry summer we had here in southern Ohio. It yielded about 50 small to medium tomatoes. It was meaty but bland. I would say it's just like a roma tomato but with a more interesting shape. It was OK but I'll try something else next year.

This is the prettiest tomato I've seen. My seeds from Tomato Growers Supply Company turned out heavily lobed and beautifully red as promi...Read Moresed. It's the heartiest of my tomato plants. The favor is normal, not fabulous, but then I first had them when I was also trying my Carbon tomatoes, which would probably make any other tomato taste blah in comparison. I think it would be better in sauces rather than fresh, though I like how the lobes are perfect for guiding your knife when slicing.

I grew this variety a few years ago. Pretty fruits, but the flavor just didn't quite do it for me. A bit on the mild side.

My plants// fruits for some reason? were not really ribbed at all. They looked slightly? ribbed when young but wound up quite smooth. Al...Read Moreso the plants grew HORRIBLY! while other plants thrived in my garden these tomatos took forever to fruit, and then even, not much. Would not grow again. Fruit is decent taste/ texture, but does not look like it says it does, and grew terribly. (I may? have gotten wrong seed variety? since mine were smooth maybe they were marked wrong? as Costoluto fiorentino? when they were supposed to be Costoluto genovese?) ...... either way, I wouldn't grow them again (even if the seeds were mislabeled) because they grew miserably!

I have an abundance of tomatoes, but I have not experienced the accordion shape that they are known for. The taste is OK, though a little...Read More watery and bland - a bit like a supermarket tomato in flavor.

Somewhat mixed experiences with it, but definitely a positive rating on balance. Hardy plant, excellent taste for sauces (and for eating...Read More fresh) and (for me) moderately productive. My only reservations have to do with the variations I've seen in the mature fruit. I've grown it two or three different times, with seed from different companies, with remarkably different appearances in the mature fruit. I loved the bright red, heavily lobed or ridged fruits I grew the first year (like some of the photos on this website) but never got that same appearance in subsequent attempts. Flatter, rounder, and plainer. When I grow it again I'll go back to the original seed company that gave me the best results.

Truly an awesome tomato! It grows quickly and the tomato is beautiful at every stage. I'm having a HUGE problem with whitelies this yea...Read Morer, but this plant remains totally undaunted. This tomato is currently ranked in my top two!

Seems to be growing here in Juneau, Alaska. I have 3 plants going. No ripe tomatoes as of today, July 21. One fairly large green one -...Read More about the size of my fist - and twenty smaller green tomatoes. The plants are about 6 ft tall. One plant is in a container that I move in and out of the house on bad weather days. The other two are partially protected in a open sided cold frame.