Scientific Name: Solanum lycopersicum

Common Name: Heirloom Tomato 'Jubilee'

Family: SOLANACEAE (Tomato & Potato)

Etymology:

Solanum: Solace
lycopersicum: Wolf Peach

Origin

Tomatoes originate from South America.  The Jubilee cultivar has some confusion regarding its heritage, the first possibility is that it could have been bred around 1943 by the famous Burpee Seed Company of Philadelphia, USA.  However there is a listing of a yellow variety also called Jubilee that pre-dates this from the 1891 seed catalogue of John Childs Seed Co. which mentions that the seeds of this Jubilee variety were actually sent to them by an Australian in 1889.  It goes on to say that this variety was the result of a chance mutation from seeds planted from a red variety.  The accuracy of either claim is uncertain.

Description

Tomato 'Jubilee' is prolific indeterminate tomato with large, golden-yellow, globular fruit up to 10cm in diameter.  The flesh is solid with a mild, delicious flavour, low acidity and few seeds.  Bushes can grow quite tall, up to 1.5m in height.

Uses

A versatile yellow tomato, the Jubilee is excellent when eaten raw in salads, juiced or canned and is said to also make an excellent salsa.  The skins of this variety peels away easily, even prior to cooking. 

Germination

In the tropics sow from late Autumn to mid Winter to avoid fruit forming during the hottest Summer months when they'll be susceptible to becoming mushy from overheating and fruit fly.  In the sub-tropics sow from early Autumn to early Spring, avoid sowing during any periods of frost  In temperate regions sow during Spring as long as the last chance of frost has past.  Can be started early indoors in cold regions to get a head-start on the growing season while avoiding frosts.  Sow tomato seeds 5mm deep and space plants about 60cm apart

Cultivation

This variety can grow large and requires trellising to keep it in check.  Takes 10-12 weeks from sowing the seed until harvest.

Sliced Jubilee Tomato showing internal structure.