Farming Supplies
Mortgage Lifter Heirloom Tomato
Heirloom. Mortgage Lifter is a classic heirloom tomato with a terrific tale. In 1940s Logan, West Virginia, a radiator repairman crossed four of the biggest tomatoes he could find to produce this beauty. He sold seedlings of it, using the proceeds to pay off his $6,000 mortgage in six years. All these years later, it’s still a popular tomato among West Virginia gardeners—and does very well in other parts of the country, too. Plants bear extra-large beefsteak tomatoes with few seeds and mild flavor. Fruits are pink when mature and perfect for slicing onto sandwiches. Mortgage Lifter bears fruit all summer long. Plants definitely need staking or tall caging; gardeners report this tomato to grow as tall as 10 feet. The indeterminate vines are resistant to many diseases: verticillium wilt (V), fusarium (F), and nematodes (N).
- Light: Full sun
- Fruit size: 1 to 3 pounds
- Matures: 85 to 90 days
- Plant spacing: 36 inches apart
- Plant size: 6 to 10 feet tall
- Plant type: Indeterminate