If you’ve been interested in growing blue or green tomatoes in your garden, you’re going to be delighted with the Wagner Blue Green Tomato. This incredible blue tomato is a masterpiece in the world of tomato varieties.
Although it’s a small tomato, it’s a sliceable wonder that develops into a deep purple-blue color where the sun hits it. The rest of the fruit develops into a gold-greenish color.
For a green-flesh tomato, this one can’t be beaten for how rich the flavor is.
History of the Wagner Blue Green Tomato
The Wagner Blue Green Tomato was developed by a renowned heirloom tomato breeder named Tom Wagner, the owner of Tater Mater Seeds. Wagner bred the Green Zebra tomato, which he crossed with the Indigo Apple tomato to create the Wagner Blue Green.
Tom Wagner is the mastermind behind such tomato cultivars as Schimmeig Stoo and Green Zebra tomatoes. Essentially, Wagner has built a reputation around crossing heirloom tomatoes to create new cultivars. The offspring of these tomatoes are recognized as heirloom tomatoes by experts in the field.
Wagner’s tomatoes are bred using the old-fashioned method that makes use of multiple controlled crosses. The result is a clean seed that produces open-pollinated tomatoes and reproduces true to type.
Characteristics of the Wagner Blue Green Tomato
These blue tomatoes are heirloom tomatoes that produce small standard-shaped fruit. The Wagner Blue Green Tomato is indeterminate, which means that it will produce fruit throughout the growing season.
Wagner Blue Green Tomatoes are purple (or deep blue) and green in color. The flesh of this tomato is green.
Ripening Season
The Wagner Blue Green Tomato ripens about 95 days after planting. Some sources say that this tomato ripens about 70-80 days.
Tomato Qualities
Wagner Blue Green tomatoes are nice and juicy, with just the right amount of tartness. These tomatoes are perfect for dishes that call for green tomatoes.
Tomato Size
Wagner Blue Green Tomatoes are small in size, weighing about 3.5 ounces.
Planting Zones
These blue tomatoes are susceptible to cold and frost, so they’re better planted in areas that are warm in the summer.
Size and Spacing
Sow Wagner Blue Green Tomato seeds to a depth of about 1/4 inches.
Wagner Blue Green Tomato plants will grow to be between 4 and 6 feet tall, so you need to place these plants 24-36 inches apart.
Pollination
Wagner Blue Green Tomatoes are open-pollinated (OP).
Plant Care
To plant most tomato varieties, you should sow the seeds in trays or pots indoors between 6 and 8 weeks before the last frost in the spring. Tomato seedlings should be kept in as much full sun as possible and soil should remain moist.
To increase root development, plant the seedlings with the soil covering the entire stem of the tomato seedlings up to the plant’s first leaves. Doing this will ensure that you have solid root development and a healthy strong plant.
For full instructions on how to grow tomatoes, check out our guide: How To Grow Tomatoes: The Complete Guide For the Best Tomatoes.
Sunlight
Like most tomatoes, the Wagner Blue Green tomato plants do best in full sun. For best results, make sure your Wagner Blue Green Tomato plants get 6-8 hours of full sunlight every day.
Soil
For best results, plant Wagner Blue Green Tomato plants and seeds in soil that has one of the following characteristics:
- Mildly acidic: 6.1 to 6.5
- Neutral: 6.6 to 7.5
- Mildly alkaline: 7.6 to 7.8
Water
Tomato plants thrive when the soil is kept moist but never fully saturated. After you plant your tomato plants, water them every day for five days. Then, switch your watering to once every 2-3 days, depending on how dry your climate is.
Fertilizer
To learn more about fertilizer for tomatoes, see our guide: The 6 Best Tomato Plant Foods, Plus Advice From Real Gardeners and Farmers.
Pruning/Pinching
Because most heirloom tomato plants tend to be indeterminate, they keep growing throughout the entire season. Trellised plants become very tall, and if you prune them, you’ll get more fruit.
For full details on how to prune tomato plants, check out our guide: How To Prune Tomato Plants For the Best Tomatoes.
Diseases
For information on diseases that affect tomato plants, refer to our guide: How To Identify and Treat the 7 Most Common Tomato Plant Diseases.
Pests
Here are some of the pests that sometimes affect tomatoes.
- Tomato fruit worm
- Potato aphid
- Leaf-footed bugs
- Stink bugs
- Hornworms
- Silverleaf whitefly
- Spicer mites
You can have some control over how easily pests access your tomato plants. One thing you can do is poke tomato cages into the soil surrounding your plants to prevent infected leaves. Tomato cages lift the branches and leaves of the tomato plants off the ground, making them a bit less susceptible to some pests.
To learn more about pests that plague tomatoes, see our guide on this topic: The 15 Most Common Tomato Pests: How to Identify, Get Rid Of, and Prevent Them.
When to Harvest Wagner Blue Green Tomatoes
Wagner Blue Green Tomatoes are vine-ripe when they show their full color. Fully ripe fruit will yield slightly when it’s squeezed.
If you’re expecting frost, you can pick the tomatoes and allow them to ripen indoors under a newspaper. Another option is to refrigerate unripened fruit and use them to make fried green tomatoes and green tomato relish.
Common Uses for Wagner Blue Green Tomatoes
Wagner Blue Green tomatoes are excellent slicing tomatoes and they can provide a nice contrast with other vegetables in salads and veggie dishes. This is also a classic breakfast tomato.
In some cases, you may want to peel your tomatoes. Check out our extensive how-to for peeling tomatoes: 3 Simple Methods For How To Peel A Tomato.
What Does This Tomato Taste Like?
Wagner Blue Green tomatoes have an acidic-sweet flavor.
Cooking with the Wagner Blue Green Tomato
You can use delicious heirloom tomatoes in any recipe that calls for green tomatoes or heirloom tomatoes.
This type of tomato is delicious when breaded and fried. You can also slow-roast green tomatoes or saute them.
Eating Raw
Green or blue tomatoes are particularly suited for eating raw. These ripe tomato slices have a tangy and sweet flavor that really stands out when you coat them lightly with olive oil and sea salt.
Diced, this fruit is delicious in salad, salsa, Caprese recipes, or covered in cheese and herbs as an excellent side dish.
Canning / Freezing / Drying
To preserve Wagner Blue Green tomatoes, follow the guidelines that you would use for any tomatoes.
Recipe Ideas for the Wagner Blue Green Tomato
Try some of these delicious tomato recipes.
Health Benefits of Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin A and vitamin C, powerful antioxidants that help to strengthen your immune system. Tomatoes also provide iron, magnesium, and fiber, which aids in digestion.
Blue and green tomatoes in particular are an excellent source of nutrients such as potassium, which helps to regulate the body’s fluid levels.
Where to Buy Wagner Blue Green Tomato Plants or Seeds
You can buy dry seeds and heirloom seeds at specialty online outlets such as Garden Hoard or Etsy. It’s also lots of fun to try seed saving and seed collecting to produce your own plants from seed stock.]
Where to Buy Wagner Blue Green Tomatoes
To enjoy Wagner Blue Green tomatoes, you will have to grow them yourself or find them at specialty markets or farmer’s markets. One thing you can do is use the interactive map at specialtyproduce.com to find places where you can buy heirloom tomatoes.
Wrapping up the Wagner Blue Green Tomato
Are you excited about branching out into blue tomatoes? Let us know your thoughts (or experience) in the comments or on our social media pages. Happy growing!
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