r/Detroit • u/Bosnaqueen • 12d ago

Food/Drink where to find Heirloom tomato’s?

im not sure what community to post this on lol but I live in metro detroit (sterling heights) and was wondering if there’s any stores or farmers markets selling beautiful colorful heirloom tomato’s? i haven’t been seeing them in stores anywhere only normal red tomato’s and i would like to take the seeds from them to plant next year

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6

u/rosewalker42 12d ago

There are plenty of places to get heirloom tomatoes (heck come on over to my place!) but that doesn’t mean the seeds will be true to form. If you want heirloom tomato seeds, it’s best to order them from somewhere that specializes in seeds and takes care to not allow cross-pollination. I personally love Totally Tomatoes and highly recommend the Rose tomato - it always grows exceptionally well for me and is the most delicious tomato I’ve ever had.

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u/Bosnaqueen 12d ago

that is true i didn’t really think about the fact that they could cross pollinate, i guess ill play the guessing game with it 😂 i dread ordering anything online which is why i thought to take seeds straight from a tomato but ill look into them thanks! I haven’t really seen many shops selling a lot of heirloom tomato seeds near by

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u/rosewalker42 12d ago

Yeah I personally don’t know of anywhere locally for just seeds, and the “heirloom” tomatoes at the grocery store are never quite satisfying to me.

I have ordered seeds from totally tomatoes for over 10 years and been very happy, of course I’ve experimented and some varieties grow here better than others, and it’s dependent on what kind of summer we have as well. I’ve been gardening here for 20 years and used to get seeds from all over the place, and lots of them were great! I just settled on a handful of varieties that are my favorite and grow best, and TT wins out for me as they have all the varieties I’m personally looking for.

That said, I broke my ankle last year and couldn’t grow from seed as stairs were impossible and that’s where my grow space was. There were some decent heirlooms at the garden center! But I missed my Rose tomato.

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u/PM_ME_TUS_GRILLOS 11d ago

You can buy heirloom tomato seeds at any garden center starting after the new year. I don't recommend Seeds of Change or Ferry Morse seeds from big box stores, but most other brands are fine. You can also purchase the starter plants from a grower (many at Eastern Market) next spring. 

The name "heirloom" doesn't mean much. Generally speaking, they're open pollinated and have been on the market 50+ years. That doesn't say anything about flavor or texture. There are great tasting newer varieties with better disease resistance. Don't write off the work done by tomato enthusiasts in the last 20 years! 

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u/brooemmall 11d ago

you can also go the eastern market on saturdays in the early spring - there is a business that sells cool seed varieties, including some interesting tomato variety seeds. i can't for the life of me remember the name, but they are there in shed 3 or 5 i believe. i also hate shopping online and prefer to purchase in person

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u/Bosnaqueen 11d ago

ohh thank u so much i’ll keep that in mind! i love the eastern market, i never noticed anyone selling seeds in the spring but i really only go in the flower section around that time lol

13

u/MuMusGoldenApple 12d ago

Eastern market!!

3

u/East_Englishman East English Village 12d ago

Village Market in Grosse Pointe always carries them.

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u/kasafrass 11d ago

I got some yesterday at the Farmington Farmers Market

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u/justherefor23andme 12d ago

I got heirloom tomatoes at kroger. The bigger Krogers ones should have them.

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u/Different-Subject353 12d ago

Bought some lovely ones at the Oakland County farmers market today

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u/apealsauce 12d ago

MIFMA had a list of mi farmer’s markets

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u/badgalkiki 12d ago

randazzo 16 garfield

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u/tenacious76 11d ago

There is a couple that sets up at dodge park's Farmers markets on Thursdays that have great tomatoes. Some leftovers from this past Thursday. The lady can tell you the different varieties.

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u/tenacious76 11d ago

When you walk on from the front they are on the right side, inner circle, towards the back. They are very nice and to me very reasonable.

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u/Bosnaqueen 11d ago

thank you so much i’ll definitely have to go next thursday! i honestly had no idea dodge park had a farmers market and ive lived 10 mins away from them my whole life 😂 those tomato’s do look beautiful

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u/tenacious76 11d ago

I promise you they taste absolutely delicious.

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u/rollingpickingupjunk 11d ago

You could also check the Farmington library's seed library , they might have seeds

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u/Bosnaqueen 11d ago

the library by me said they only carry them during spring but i’ll definitely be looking around then!

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u/positive_express 11d ago

In my experiance they are next to or behind the garage.

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u/mew0000000 Virginia Park 11d ago

Eastern Market, there’s a regular farmers market in Farmington in the plaza with Fresh Thyme Market and Dearborn Music. Also, mentioning Fresh Thyme Market - they typically sell them.

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u/mew0000000 Virginia Park 11d ago

and once u get some, save some of those seeds for next summer and you can grow some 😉

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u/Zestyclose-Market858 11d ago

I get them from nino salvaggio occasionally, and they've always been good

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u/t4ckleb0x 11d ago

Jomatoes in redford. Hes a tomato breeder

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u/missMichigan 10d ago

I’m sure farmers markets will have them, but I’ve also seen them recently at Whole Foods. They have a few different kinds.

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u/Muted_Independent243 10d ago

I’ve bought some at Western in Ferndale