The Togo Trifle
a tomato story
It was never a part of the Schoolhouse Farmers plan to become custodians and as it appears pretty much the sole source for the Togo Trifle tomato seed. The seeds for these cute little red ribbed tomatoes were initially ordered 15 years ago from a small seed company (Shepherd Seeds or Cook’s Garden, we can’t really pin it down with so many catalogs and so many seeds) The farm at that point wasn’t saving seeds as it was in it’s infancy and was pretty much just caught up in sourcing unique heirlooms tomatoes and doggedly focused on attempting to grow a crop in a region far to challenging to make a harvest an even bet.
The Togo Trifle was the darling of Schoolhouse Farms early tomato trials. It was so darn cute with great flavor a beautifully stylish and photogenic little tomato.
Winter is when the planning begins and orders for the spring season are started. After scouring piles of seed catalogs the Farmers were unable to find a single source for the Togo Trifle tomato, apparently it was no longer offered for sale by a seed company.
Undeterred and buried under a blanket of snow the Farmers continued the search for a source and after considerable effort found a package of 20 seeds for sale by a seed saver for what was considered an absurd amount. Several more weeks past before the frugal farm opted to make the investment.
Fast-forward to the following spring. The Farm’s seeds have been started and germination is solid overall for the 100’s of starts fighting for attention. The Togo’s suffered a little neglect and sunburn during hardening off and as a result the 20 seeds became two seedlings. These plants were babied and protected until they produced in an effort to protect the frivolous seed expenditure. The time had arrived to learn how to save seeds.
The years of farming have continued and with each season Schoolhouse farms transplants hundreds of Togo Trifle starts to the field from the very seeds the farm has grown and saved. In fact we have actually sent seeds back Africa, the very source of these wondrous tomatoes, as they too no longer had a reliable seed stock from which to continue the harvest. For the first time we are offering these coveted seeds for sale to the public.
The SHF Farmers
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