If you don’t have a green thumb and are looking for a hard-to-kill tomato plant that produces bountiful fruit throughout the season, the Valencia tomato might be the one for you!
This unique sunset orange tomato originated in València, Spain, and is a favorite for its sweet but tangy flavor profile and versatility. Keep reading to learn all you need to know about this tomato, including how to grow it in your home garden and many ways to enjoy it!
Looking for Valencia Tomato seeds? Check availability here.
Characteristics
Appearance
Valencia tomatoes are a large heirloom variety that has a unique appearance. Sunset orange inside and out when ripened, these round and smooth fruits resemble a valencia orange, where their name originated. They have a juicy, meaty interior with few seeds.
The skin on these tomatoes is firm and smooth, making them excellent slicer tomatoes.
Taste
These fruits have a sweet but tangy full-bodied tomato flavor. They are one of the sweeter varieties, with the classic tomato flavor that everyone loves!
Valencia tomatoes’ low seed content means they make perfect tomato sauces.
Ways to Enjoy Valencia Tomatoes
Tomatoes are one of the most versatile fruits in the world! Whether you eat them fresh off the vine (always wash them first) or enjoy them as an ingredient, tomatoes are scrumptious as the base ingredient in many pasta sauces, condiments, soups, and so much more.
Fresh
Fresh tomatoes can be enjoyed in several ways. Include fresh tomatoes in a salad, or slice the fruit for a delicious tomato sandwich or BLT sandwich.
As always, homegrown produce tastes much fresher, with a stronger flavor, than storebought. Use freshly picked valencia tomatoes as an ingredient in various dishes, such as vegetable soups, or make the best spaghetti sauce you’ve ever had!
Frozen
Freezing tomatoes is a fantastic way to extend their use. Frozen tomatoes retain their flavor for up to a year, so you get much more time to enjoy them!
Since freezing tomatoes will change the texture, you probably won’t want to use them in salads, but they are perfect for soups, stews, and sauces!
Canned
Since this variety produces such high yields, you probably need to store some for later consumption when you harvest the ripened fruits.
Canning fresh valencia tomatoes is the best way to preserve them at their peak ripeness and lock in their flavor. When properly canned, these babies can last up to two years!
Use canned tomatoes in soups, chili, stew, marinara sauce, casseroles, and pasta dishes.
Health Benefits
Tomatoes contain vitamins and minerals that promote overall body health.
Orange tomatoes like this variety contain more beta carotene, which our bodies convert to vitamin A, than any other color tomato variety. Vitamin A is a vital nutrient that helps regulate cell division, immunity, and reproduction. It also promotes healthy vision.
Tomatoes get their color from Lycopene, a carotenoid that helps prevent prostate cancer and early aging and protects the eye from light damage.
Vitamin C, which these fruits contain in high levels, is an antioxidant that helps fight free radicals in the body. It also promotes faster healing and lowers your chances of infection.
This tomato variety is rich in potassium, lowering blood pressure and reducing cardiovascular disease risk.
Other vital nutrients in tomatoes include fiber, folate, magnesium, and iron.
Growing Your Own
Growing tomatoes in your home garden is a breeze! The valencia tomato is an indeterminate variety, meaning the plants with vines that continue to grow throughout the season need support as they mature.
Growing Conditions
Tomato plants thrive in warm climates with full sun for at least six hours daily. The ideal temperature for growing tomato plants is 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
Starting Seeds
Start your Valencia tomato seeds indoors six weeks before the last frost of the winter.
The temperature for germinating tomato seeds is around 85 degrees Fahrenheit, so a little warmer than the seedlings usually require. They usually germinate in 5-14 days.
Add plenty of organic compost to the site and transplant the seedlings into fertile soil rich in organic matter. Water the plants when the top inch of the soil feels dry.
Once the seeds have germinated and sprouted two leaves, fertilize regularly with an organic fertilizer.
Transplanting
Seedlings are ready to be transplanted once they have reached 5″ to 6″ tall, around seven weeks after germination.
Before transplanting, place the pots outside for a few hours each day, increasing the time each time. This hardens the plant and helps it prepare for transplantation outside.
Remember that they love organic, well-drained soil when transplanting Valencia tomatoes into the ground.
Since these plants produce large fruits, they need to be spaced around 24″ to 36″ apart. When watering, usually once or twice a week, check the top 2″ to 3″ of the soil to be sure it is necessary. If the soil is dry, they need to be watered.
Support
This tomato variety grows long and wild, so staking the plants for security once they start producing fruit is very important. Otherwise, the plant won’t be able to support the heavy fruit.
Pests/Disease
Aphids, whiteflies, hornworms, and spider mites are pests that are attracted to tomato plants. They can be sprayed off or use insecticidal soap to repel these pests.
Diseases that affect tomato plants include early and late blight, verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, and mosaic virus. To protect your plants from these diseases, avoid overhead watering and try to keep the foliage dry.
Where To Buy Seeds
For best results, always make sure to purchase seeds from a reputable source. We recommend purchasing Valencia tomato seeds from one of our favorite retailers, True Leaf Market.
Try out the Valencia Tomato!
If you are looking for a deliciously sweet and tangy tomato, try the Valencia tomato! It is very easy to grow, producing high yields of sunset orange fruit all season long.
For more information on the wide different tomato varieties, including how to grow them in your backyard garden, check out the tomato plants section of our website!
- About the Author
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Brittany Tedford is a fiction author who has been writing for over fifteen years, an aspiring English teacher, and a writer for Minneopa Orchards.
She lives in a small town in Mississippi, known for its southern hospitality and success in the agricultural industry.
With a bachelor’s and a master’s in Creative Writing and English, Brittany loves researching and writing about nearly any topic. She hoards random tips and bits of information to share with others!
Brittany can be reached at writerbeefreelancecontent@gmail.com