(Lycopersicon esculentum) Kurtovo Konare is a village in the south of Bulgaria with a rich agricultural history. Set in the fertile area between the Vacha and Maritsa rivers, it is one of just a handful of Slow Food Presidia in the country and has listed several threatened regional specialties in Slow Foods "Ark of Taste," this delicious and prized pink tomato being one. We were sent seed by Emily Ritchie of Portland several years ago (having brought them back from Slow Food's "Salone Del Gusto" event several years prior), who thought these should be better known as a variety in our region. We couldn't agree more.
Kurtovo Konare is a very beautiful and quite hefty pink "beefsteak"-type slicer. There is an apparent durability to the fruit that suggested to us it would be on the firm, high dry material end of the spectrum, so we were surprised to find it quite juicy with only a thin-medium thickness skin. We grow nearly all our tomatoes at Uprising's home farm outdoors, and 2024 was a challenging one with an unusual amount of rain in the prime tomato ripening season. While many of our large slicer tomatoes suffered from shoulder cracking, Kurtovo Konare put out truss after truss of gloriously perfect 1-2lb fruits. The flavor is so sweet and full. 85 days. UO
Transplant out after danger offrost (45+F nighttime temps).
Note: Don't start too early or plants will be leggy and root-bound! Tomatoes do well in clay to loam soils.
PLANTING DEPTH:
1/8-1/4"
SPACING:
18-30" spacing in rows 5' apart.
EMERGENCE:
5-10 days @ soil temp 70-85F
LIGHT:
Full sun
FERTILITY:
Medium-Heavy. Prefers well-drained, well-balanced fertile soil with a pH between 6.0-7.0. Note that excess Nitrogen will encourage foliage, not fruit! Low calcium and irregular watering will result in blossom end rot.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Row cover may be used for extra warmth and possible earlier fruit set.
Irregular watering can result in blossom end rot. Even watering and supplemental calcium can help prevent this.
Plant deeply to encourage healthy root structure.
Indeterminate varieties may benefit from pruning suckers to encourage air flow, plant health, and energy towards plant top and fruit.
Determinate varieties do not need pruning.
Trellis Indeterminate varieties! We really like the Florida weave.
