One Seed One Community

Grow, Share, Connect and save a rare tomato

Join in a community wide project to grow the Pink Bumblebee Tomato. The Pink Bumblebee Tomato won the community tomato tasting contest last summer at the Bega Produce Markets and we want your help to increase seed stock to share with other seed saving groups around the country.

How it works

Collect your free seedlings and grow guide at any Bega Valley Shire Library branch between Monday 27 October to Saturday 1 November. Or until they are all gone.
Plant your tomato seedlings. Grow and harvest your tomatoes. Eat some and save some.
Come along to one of the optional free workshops in February to learn how to process, dry and save your own tomato seeds.
Drop your saved seeds back at the library.

About the Pink Bumblebee Tomatoes

Pink Bumblebee tomatoes are an open-pollinated variety with pretty stripes and a great taste. They won the Tomato Taste competition in Bega this year. They are small, about 2 to 4 cm, oblong tomatoes. Their flavour is sweet and fruity. Pink Bumblebee are excellent for slicing into salads if they make it into the kitchen! They are also great as a garden snack.

The Pink Bumblebee tomatoes will fruit prolifically. They are best with some kind of support, such as being tied up to a stake. They will grow about 1.5m tall and need a space about 60cm wide. Tomatoes need a sunny spot and plenty of air movement to do their best. Build up the soil before planting tomatoes. But don't overfeed tomatoes as they'll grow lots of sappy stems and leaves rather than producing fruit. Soft sappy growth is also more prone to disease. Compost or fertiliser at planting time and lots of mulch are all they need to perform well for you. Keep them well watered particularly over the heat of summer.

We expect the plants given out late October to have ripe fruit by the second half of January or early Feb at the latest. They'll be coming on as people's early tomatoes are starting to slow down. This variety copes with cooler night temperature so will keep going quite late in the season.

Growing Guide

Pink Bumblebee tomatoes are an open-pollinated variety with pretty stripes and a great taste. They are excellent for slicing into salads if they make it into the kitchen! They are also great as a garden snack.

Planting

When : Plant your seedlings as soon as you can. Generally, tomatoes can be planted when there is no risk of frost and the soil has warmed up. Avoid planting in the heat of the day.

Where: You can plant in the ground or in pots. They are best with some kind of support, such as being tied up to a stake. Tomatoes need a sunny spot and plenty of air movement to do their best. Build up the soil with compost before planting tomatoes.

Spacing: They will grow about 1.5m tall and need a space about 60cm wide.

Caring for your Tomatoes

Water: Keep them well watered particularly over the heat of summer.

Fertiliser: Don’t overfeed tomatoes as they'll grow lots of sappy stems and leaves rather than producing fruit. Compost or fertiliser at planting time and lots of mulch are all they need to perform well for you.

Harvest: Tomatoes planted in late October should have ripe fruit by the second half of January or early Feb. This variety copes with cooler night temperature so will keep going quite late in the season.

Seed Saving

Aim to save the seed from a hand full of tomatoes for returning to the One Seed One Community program. Follow these easy steps:

Wait for fruit to be really ripe, but not rotting.
Scrape the seeds and pulp into a jar.
Leave for a few days until the seeds separate from their gel coating.
Fill the jar with water, let the seeds sink and pour off the watery pulp.
Repeat this step as often as needed to get clean seed.
Tip the seed into a sieve to rinse off any remaining pulp.
Spread the seed out to dry on a tea towel or baking paper.
Move the drying seed around occasionally so they don’t stick together.
Store dried seed in a paper bag or envelope.

For the best chance of success attend one of our free workshops in February.

Drop your saved seeds off at the library to be packed and shared with seed savers around the country.

Hurray, You did it!

Thank you for helping to grow the Pink Bumble Bee Tomato.