If you love oxheart tomatoes and prefer yellow varieties, “
Homer Fike’s Yellow Oxheart” is the perfect choice. This variety originates from West Virginia, where it was grown by Homer Fike for many years and passed down through generations of his family. The fruits are enormous, weighing between 200 and 500 grams, and sometimes even up to 1.5 kg. They have a distinctive heart-shaped form, a golden-yellow color, and fleshy pulp with a sweet, fruity flavor. These tomatoes are nearly seedless, making them perfect for eating raw and for canning. The plant is tall (about 2 m), requires staking, and its leaves are delicate, as is typical of most oxheart varieties. The fruit ripens in about 80–90 days, and the plant’s yield is high and consistent. This variety is particularly prized for its history as well as the exceptional size and flavor of its fruit.
The seeds were given to Gary Ibsen at TomatoFest in 2006 by Karen Teets of West Virginia. She shared a family account: Homer Fike had been growing this variety for as long as his 78-year-old daughter could remember. This is concrete evidence of the continuity of cultivation, preserved along with the seeds.
