According to extensive scientific studies on Tomato Crop Success Rates,
Climate conditions ( Average Weather of the Season )
account for over 40% of our success in receiving a Tomato crop that is
1) Plentiful
2) Healthy
3) Tasty
4) Low Maintenance.

Other important factors include: soil quality, feeding, watering and pest/disease control.


EXTREME GRADE scale
( for Tomato Varieties )
runs from 0 to 3,
with a prefix of
“ + ” for HEAT enduring varieties and
“ - ” for COLD enduring varieties,
often with a “ HUMID ” or “ DRY ” sub-specification added to grades 2 and 3.



Extreme Grade Scale
represents a Variety's
level of NATURAL EVOLUTIONARY adaptation
to specific CLIMATE CHALLENGE(s).
(Simply said, the Scale grades
the level of “Natural Insurance” built into a Tomato by Nature –
against a particular weather mishap, such as
droughts, cold spells, torrential rains, heat waives in any combinations)
Knowing this “Natural Insurance” level allows us, gardeners,
to easily make the perfect pick of “customized” Tomato varieties ,
the very best to grow in our particular area.
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IDEAL CONDITIONS
for Tomatoes are:
Day Temperatures: 21-29ºC
Night Temperatures: 15-21ºC
Humidity : 40-70%


Every single Tomato variety on the planet,
from the tenderest “0” Grade “Drama Queens”
to toughest Grade “+- 3 Dry/Humid ” Extremophiles,
will LOVE weather like this.
Means that in the season that guarantees these conditions as AVERAGE,
any variety of tomato will be happy WEATHER-WISE.
Example: in a typical British summer, ALL tomato varieties will be suitable for growing.
ANY weather condition outside of the Ideal Range above is called a CHALLENGE.
Any long periods (more than a week per season ) of Challenging Weather
that occur regularly,
are called a CLIMATE CHALLENGE and
need to be taken into good consideration
when picking your future tomato varieties
to ensure good crop instead of disappointment:)
Example: For Darwin, Climate Challenge for Tomatoes is : “Extremely Hot and Humid” in wet season and “Moderately Hot and Moderately Dry” in dry season. Recommended: Grade “+3 Humid “ Extremophile for Wet season, Grade “ +2 Dry ” Specialist for Dry season.

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WHAT HAPPENS
to the “WRONG GRADE” varieties
during CHALLENGING weather ?
Here are only a few “ less obvious” examples:

HUMIDITY
Humidity too high or too low:
1)it interferes with the release of POLLEN and with pollen's ability to stick to the stigma. So pollination will not occur. Hence no fruit set.
2)CRACKING of the fruit. Considerable fluctuations in water supply cause the plant alter the volume of fruits - either depositing excess water, or withdrawing some for survival needs during droughts.
Quick changes in fruit volume cause ruptures of fruit surface, so the exposed flesh becomes breeding bays for fruit flies, fungus, food for the bugs etc. etc.
Specialist varieties possess Naturally evolved thick walls of fruit which buffer these volume fluctuations and result in much smaller number, if any, of damaged fruits and health hazards to your beloved tomato!
3)If humidity is too high, Fungus diseases easily consume non-resistant varieties.
4)High rainfall may simply drown the roots of a non-specialized plant.

TEMPERATURE

1) Lowered temperatures
that are not enough to freeze the plant to death,
WILL shock it into EMERGENCY SUPER-FAST ripening of the fruit – to have a chance to leave offspring through seed before the parent plant perishes,
EMERGENCY Super-fast fruit ripening means weaker seed (think of a human baby born only after 6 months of gestation) and fruit with CONSIDERABLY poorer in FLAVOUR and NUTRITIONAL content.
Specialist varieties for cold weather will not be that shocked, to begin with,
plus their development is Naturally expedited from day1,
so the nutritional value (and hence flavour content ) of their fruit
grows a lot quicker every day -
quick enough for a shortened season.
(think of kittens who are born fully developed only after 2.5 months of gestation
compared to human babies who need 9 months in the womb )
Lowered temperatures are very commonly accompanied by shortened daylight time,
which will delay the development of the non-specialist variety seedling
and result in a weak “underperforming” adult plant,
which will set very few fruit of poor quality, containing seed of poor genetic background.

2) Heightened temperatures
are one of the most common reason for flower/fruit drop.
Results of research performed in the University of North Virginia, USA reveal :
“ While non-specialized tomato plants can tolerate more extreme temperatures for short periods,
several days or nights with temperatures outside the ideal range
will cause the plant to abort fruit set and focus on survival.
...temperatures over 100 F / 37 C for only four hours can cause the flowers to abort."
Extremely high temperatures applied to thin-walled fruit of non-specialized varities will simply grill it right on the bush. (which is probably not that bad by itself because you get sun dried tomatoes right off the vine:) - seriously, we got some one summer! )
But of course it will definitely result in the stunted growth (if not death) of the parent plant,
plus severe sunburns, leaf curl (in desperate attempt to hide at least part of feeding surface from being burnt away by sun) and major defects to fruits, if any.
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Now, down to the actual
EXTREME GRADE scale
( for Tomato Varieties )


EXTREME GRADE “ 0 ”
“ DRAMA QUEENS ” :)
Comprises 65% of all tomato varieties known.
Unofficially, we call these varieties “Drama Queens”, because
they are only ever happy in IDEAL conditions.
Outside of Ideal range, symptoms like
no fruit set, fungus, fruit abortion or it's poor quality are very common.

While they may offer exciting shapes, unusual colours and supreme taste
when grown in Grade 0 No-challenge areas
( such as long, balmy Central European summers ),
we feel that Australian Conditions are far too versatile and unpredictable
for receiving reliable crops off them and/or achieving all the beneficial fruit characteristics the variety offers under “0” grade challenge (such as superb taste, XL fruit, unusual colour etc)
Example: If we grow a “0” Grader famous for its prize taste and extra-large fruit in Australian subtropics, at the first strike of hot weather (over +29C) the taste and fruit size will very likely be affected to the point of being of far lesser quality than a good +2 or +3 grader variety.
Grade “0” contains the lowest percentage of
Hybrids and GMO varieties,
which are mainly focused on increased crops and unusual shapes/tastes.

EXTREME GRADE “ 1 ”
TOLERANT varieties.
( if exact Numeric grade is not given, these varieties are usually referred to as
“Heat/Cool conditions Tolerant”,
“Moderate Hot/Cool Weather” variety )

Comprises 20 % of Tomato varieties.
Tolerant varieties will faithfully stay in garden and treat you to healthy crops
at SUSTAINED TEMPERATURE Challenge
( no more than 3-4 degrees Celsius out of Ideal Range either way).
The varieties graded with a “+” refer to HEAT tolerant
( cope well with + 29 to +32ºC Daytime, their Pollen normally becomes sterile above +32ºC )
the ones with a “-” in front of their grade refer to COOL tolerant.
( no less than +10ºC Nighttime. Will produce well into COOL season ).
Because Grade 1 Climate Challenges are not too extreme,
the humidity rating does not usually make a significant difference to their survival rates
and therefore is often omitted.
Grade 1 varieties often feature both “+” and “-” in their grade,
meaning the variety has adapted to thrive
both in slightly hotter and slightly cooler than normal conditions,
typical for open savannah patches, farther approaches to semi-deserts and lower altitude mountain habitats
which are often their native ranges.

Simply put, these are
well worth for Australians if they possess some valuable and/or unusual quality
AND we advise not to have them as THE ONLY tomato you grow that season.
A good Heirloom example is
“Midnight Sky” variety – extremely rare and healthy tomato, spectacular with it's dark blue fruits sprinkled with golden speckles.

"Multi Million" Cherry variety – World's Best Tasting tomato variety Finally in strain Hardy enough for Australian Climate.
Extreme grade “+1/-1 ”,
Midnight Sky and "Multi Million" Cherry will do very well
in Temperate summers and year-round in (sub) tropics
outside of the toughest months.
If you have an “Insurance” with a higher grade specialist for your typical climate challenge,
you can happily enjoy these rarities by strategic time choice of planting
ensuring that it completes a life cycle
(from seed to fruit, can well go onto a second fruiting cycle after that)
without ever hitting extreme weather conditions.
( In Brisbane, we propagate grade 1 in August, transplant early September, first Fruiting in October – November – Early December, then rest under Shelter Cloth until late March, and new fruiting cycle until late May )


EXTREME GRADE “ 2 ”
SPECIALIST Varieties.
( if exact Numeric grade is not given, these varieties are usually referred to as
“Heat/Cold Resistant”, “Very Hot/Cold Weather” , “Heat/Cold-set” variety )

Comprises 10% of all tomato varieties and
Hybrid and GMO varieties already outnumber Heirlooms in this group.
Which makes the NATURALLY ADAPTED Heirloom Specialist varieties
very VALUABLE and RARE .
“+” (HEAT specialists) will take it up from where Grade 1 leaves it:
fruits beautifully in temperatures between +32ºC to +35ºC
(Yes, I know, the difference with Grade1 seems to only be a few grad,
but in Tomato world, every extreme grad is a HUGE step and
a few grad make a whole difference between dropping the flowers or keeping the crop !)
“-” (COLD specialists)
 Extra cold tolerant,
These tomato only needs Night temperatures consistently equal or above +7ºC .
Will treat you to fresh tomatoes
well into Tasmanian Autumn and through beginning of Winter in Melbourne.

At Extreme Grade levels of 2 and 3, especially for Heat ratings,
Extremities of Humidity on both sides ( too humid or too dry )
add a whole new dimension to the challenge.
Therefore, starting from Grade 2,
Humidity rating (“Humid” or “Dry”)
is usually added to the Extreme rating of those Heat Specialist varieties
which exhibit additional Humidity or Drought endurance.

Examples:
An Excellent Example of an Extreme Grade “ +2 Dry “ Heirloom Tomato is “Golden Peach Sultan ”, “Global Thriver”.
Extreme Grade “ +2 Humid “ Heirloom: “Global Thriver”
Extreme Grade “ -2 “ Heirloom Tomato : “Global Thriver”(yes, that's right, it is both + and – 2. This is a Super Adaptable Variety, more about it below)

A correctly chosen (in relation to Temperature and Humidity) Grade 2 variety
will probably be reliable enough for over 90 % of Australian gardens.


EXTREME GRADE “ 3 ”
EXTREMOPHILE Varieties.
( if exact Numeric grade is not given, these varieties are usually referred to as
“Extreme Heat/Cold Set”, “Extreme Hot /Cold Weather” variety )

Literally LESS THAN A DOZEN HEIRLOOM (NON-GMO, NON - Hybrid )  varieties on the WHOLE PLANET
were capable of Natural Super-Adaptation sufficient to be in the Extreme group 3.
All these Extremophile Heirlooms put together
total to Maximum of only 0,2 % of all World's tomato varieties.
They are SUPER rare, PRECIOUS, and are all included into
Survival Seed Banks dotted over the world,
their unique – and NATURAL - evolutionary genetic achievements preserved for our future generations and for scientific research.
“ +” ( HEAT EXTREMOPHILES) - produce consistently in EXTREME HEAT, up to 36- 38ºC.
“ - ” (COLD EXTREMOPHILES) - produce consistently in EXTREME COLD (by tomato standards:) - down to +3ºC.
Examples:
Grade “ +3 Humid “ Heirloom: Rain Jungle Queen.
Grade “ +3 Dry “ Heirloom: Rose Mirage (pink large grape tomato); Melted Desert (medium red)
Grade” -3 “ Heirloom: Arctic Proven (as it is common for a “-” varieties of this grade, also combines super quick harvest of only 6 weeks from 1st leaf)


Some tomato varieties are
SUPER SURVIVORS

They feature extremely broad range of adaptation
comprising “ + “ and “ - ” Extreme 2 ratings and/or Humid/Dry sub-ratings.

(Rarely, 3/1 Ratings in any combination of + and - )
An example of such variety is “Global Thriver”:
check it out: Extreme Grade “+2/-2 Humid/Dry” Specialist !
AND with all this it is STILL a Heirloom !
The reason for such broad adaptation is it's native range
of Andean Highland Meadows,
which can experience Scorching Summer Heat, Snow Storms, Dense Humid Clouds passing -
all within a few hours! The torrential rains are often followed by droughts...
Such examples are very rare.
Please mind that Extreme Grade +2/-2 is the ceiling for Heirloom Super Survivors.
NONE of Heirloom Tomato varieties on Earth (known as of yet) is a
+3/-3 SUPER SURVIVOR EXTREMOPHILE.
(Very rarely, we can encounter a +3/-1 Heirloom Extremophile Super-Survivor,
example: Rose Mirage )
And this is about as wide of a Heirloom adaptaiton as it gets.
There is no natural habitat which could
challenge a plant with +3CºC and +38ºC growing conditions
while offering no reasonable season in between.
Therefore the ONLY Grade “ +3/- 3 ” or 3/2varieties (in any combination of + and -) available are GMO.
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IMPORTANT THINGS WE NEED TO KNOW

  • When scientists developed borderline temperature ratings for Extreme Scale Grades –
    they really meant it :)
    Having an “Arctic Proven” variety “-3” Grade Cold Extremophile tomato
    does NOT mean it will flourish in the middle of Antarctic -70ºC winter!;)
    But it actually WILL thrive there in it's +6ºC summer...

  • The temperature borderlines are recorded for MATURE plants, at the stage of fruiting. All seedlings need care and protection from extreme conditions,
    just like babies who later become strong men!
    “Melted Desert” variety “+3 Dry” Grade Heat Extremophile tomato
    is a perfect summer choice for a garden patch in Alice Springs!
    But a wise gardener will start propagating seed in early spring,
    so that by the time Extreme Heat strikes,
    your tender seedling becomes a mature mighty plant ready to fight and fruit!
    Same on the other side of the scale.
    Living in Tasmania or South Australia, you want to be
    the first and the last of the neighbourhood to enjoy your own tomato sandwich?
    No problem with Arctic Proven -3 Grade Cold Extremophile tomato, but mind that
    it does NOT like high heat and it DOES need some
    warmth and daylight length to fully mature, so,
    knowing that the variety only takes 6 weeks  from 1st leaf to fruit,
    do start the seeds 2,5 -2 months before your typical nighttime temperatures
    become less than +3 for the last autumn crop and
    2 month before average daytime will reach +29ºC for the first spring crop!
    DO NOT put young seedlings of cold extremophiles/specialists outside too early –
    it will not give you any advantage and will only weaken the seedling.
    remember, +3C / +7C is OK for an ADULT FRUITING plant.
    Wait till the nights are reliably over +13C for spring crops,
    or make sure you propagate and plant outside
    before nights drop under +13C for winter crops.
  • A Wisely chosen variety “customized” for your climate is more than 40% of success!
    But do not forget that there are other factors to meet:
    soil (loamy, deep, rich in organic matter such as (mushroom) compost); regular and sufficient watering, feeding, timely control of pests and diseases, if any.
  • All tomatoes ARE under considerable stress in extreme conditions,
    it's just that specialized ones can handle them a lot more easily.
    Plus, Plants need time to pack their fruit with nutrients and flavour.
    Therefore:
  • to obtain best-tasting crop, try not to push your plant to the very limits, if you have a choice.
    Yes, -3 Grader, Arctic Proven WILL crop in +3C, but if you plant it in autumn just a bit earlier,
    so that it crops at +5C, you will be pleased with the taste and nutritious content difference!
  • Varieties of High Extreme Grades ensure you have a crop when everyone else does not. The fruit, no mater how bad the weather was,
    will be indefinitely better than supermarket GMO tomatoes picked at green stage.
    But the best-tasting tomatoes on the planet probably belong to the Drama Queen category Grade 0, and the VERY BEST-tasting are usually Extra-late season 0 Grade tomatoes taking more than 90 days to mature.
    (the plant takes it's time to pack it with nutrients and flavour during balmy, no-stress whatsoever mild British summers)
    The question is, how many of these tomatoes will end up on your plate in Australian often extreme climate?
    Apart from climate, there are birds, possums, fruit flies, fungus etc etc -so much can happen during these 90 days that they take to ripen...
    Arctic Proven, on the other hand, may not be huge, or extra-rich in nutrients, it has very good taste but may not be a gold medalist for a gourmet...
    But – it's fruits will be ready in only 6 weeks from 1st leaf -and you will eat all of them – late autumn in Tasmania!
  • A plant in high stress conditions REALLY appreciates a bit of loving care! Water-mist your “Melted Desert's” leaves at the end of scorching sun and drought day , and spread a simple fabric shelter over it to protect from the worst midday “baking oven” .
    Or cover your Arctic Proven if a sudden hail blizzard strikes...
    Treat them from time to time by watering with anti-stress organic tonic solutions (Harvest, Seasol).
    They will gratefully reward you with even larger and yummier crops!

  • Any Super Extremophile Grade 3 HEIRLOOM tomato CAN be surpassed a DASH in endurance by a Grade 3 GMO. However the loss in TASTE and NUTRITIONAL density will be incomparably greater. The seeds of GMO tomatoes do NOT come true to type, so the offspring may loose much of the parent's stamina.
    But, MOST IMPORTANT of all, effects of GMO food on human health have not been fully understood yet, to say the least. There has recently been an alarming string of studies suggesting that GMO may NOT be completely safe for consumption.
    We like our veggies super-safe and natural – and do NOT offer – or advise for - GMO varieties. But we do wish to mention, that if your Grade 3 Extremophile Heirloom tomato does not crop, and that is DEFINITELY BECAUSE of CLIMATE CHALLENGES (and not because it is growing in unprepared solid clay with untreated fungus and bugs) – then your next step would be purchasing a GMO (F1) CUTTING or SEEDLING and NOT SEED, because, again, GMO seed is unable to sprout true to type from seed. Your crop will still be a lot better than shop GMO.
    Another option is to simply wait for a milder season:)
  • Heirloom varieties, even Super Extremophiles, are constantly in the process of self-adaptation and natural evolution. Therefore it is a VERY GOOD idea to collect seed from your BEST tomato fruits (usually middle of the cropping time) of the BEST bushes of the season and use these seeds for the next season propagation. Yes, even if you still have plenty leftover that you purchased from a seller.
    This way you will breed your own, unique micro-variety, which will be PERFECTLY adapted to YOUR GARDEN conditions. The difference is greater than you might think. And it is EXTREMELY important to collect and use seed of SUPER ADAPTABLE varieties such as GLOBAL THRIVER, because with their super-fast adaptation rates, evolution runs for them 10 to 15 times faster than average, so EVERY new generation is precious as a SUPER step in genetic adaptation and creation of your very own sub-variety, super-specialized for your garden!
  • Last, but not least, do not forget that your plant, super-enduring, premium rare variety as it is, is still a TOMATO, not a cactus, polar lichen or seaweed.
    Do appreciate these little wonders of nature from TOMATO scale.
    Do realize they are doing a GREAT job surviving – AND! - giving you fruit! –
    in places where they initially were never meant to exist...
    Our Ebay shops 

    offer   RARE ORGANIC  HEIRLOOM seeds

    HAND – extracted, 
    VERY FRESH (often even from ongoing harvest), HOMEGROWN,
    some WILD-SOURCED 
    in PRISTINE NATURAL habitats

    ( click here for details : Seed Specifications )

    Links to all our

    E-Bay Seed shops and Items for sale are here :


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