Dester produces very fleshy, distinctly flattened fruits with a delicate skin. In our cultivation, they weigh about 150–500 g and ripen about 92 days after the seedlings are planted. They are perfect for sandwiches. This tall plant requires a stake or staking.
The variety’s history traces back to Dr. Dester of Indiana and his family’s seeds from Germany. In the 1970s, he shared them with Anna, an Amish woman who helped around his home. Anna preserved the tomato and continued to grow it even after moving to Missouri. She then passed the seeds on to farmer Larry Pierce, through whom they found their way to the Seed Savers Exchange.
In 2011, “Dester” won the Seed Savers Exchange tomato tasting competition. Thus, this family story has continued both in the seed collection and around the dinner table.
