Description

A California Classic, Bred for Abundance and Perfection

Valley Girl is a classic globe tomato bred in California’s Central Valley, representing the best of American agricultural excellence. This is the full-sized slicing tomato that appears in sandwiches, on salads, and in the imagination of what a perfect tomato should be.

Large, perfectly round fruits (3-4 inches across) are bright red, smooth-skinned, and beautiful. The flavour is balanced and genuine: sweet with good acidity, complex and authentic, the kind of taste that comes from careful breeding for flavour as well as appearance and productivity. The flesh is firm but juicy, with well-defined seed cavities perfect for slicing.

Indeterminate plants grow tall and sprawling (5-6+ feet), producing fruit continuously from mid-summer until frost. A single plant produces 15-20+ large fruits, sometimes more.

Why Grow Valley Girl Tomatoes?

• Large, perfect slicing tomatoes: 3-4 inches across, bright red, smooth-skinned, beautiful
• Balanced, genuine flavour: Sweet with good acidity, complex taste from careful breeding
• Firm, juicy flesh: Perfect for slicing, sandwiches, salads, and cooking
• Continuous production: Indeterminate plants produce from mid-summer until frost
• Abundant harvest: 15-20+ large fruits per plant over the season
• California breeding excellence: Developed for flavour, productivity, and reliability
• Versatile use: Perfect fresh, cooked, preserved, or shared
• Vigorous growth: Tall, sprawling plants (5-6+ feet) with generous production
• American heritage: Classic variety with proven performance

Growing Instructions

Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last expected frost. Valley Girl seeds germinate reliably and grow into sturdy seedlings. Transplant into larger pots as they develop their first true leaves.

Harden off seedlings gradually, exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7-10 days before transplanting into the garden. Wait until soil has warmed to at least 15.5°C and all danger of frost has passed, typically late May to early June in most Canadian regions.

Transplant seedlings 24-36 inches apart. Valley Girl’s indeterminate, sprawling habit means plants need space. They’ll grow tall and wide, and they need room to do so without crowding neighbours.

Full sun, 8+ hours of direct sunlight daily. Valley Girl needs sunlight to produce abundantly and to develop the sweet flavour it’s known for. Choose the sunniest location available.

Rich, well-drained soil amended with compost. Maintain consistent moisture: water deeply and regularly, especially during fruit development. Mulch around plants to retain moisture and regulate soil temperature.

Provide sturdy support, such as stakes, cages, or trellising. Valley Girl will grow tall and heavy with fruit, and it needs support to keep the fruit off the ground and improve air circulation. As plants grow, tie them loosely to supports, allowing room for expansion.

Prune suckers (shoots that grow between the main stem and branches) if you want to encourage larger fruits and better air circulation. Pruning also helps improve air flow, which reduces disease pressure. However, Valley Girl produces so abundantly that you can leave plants unpruned and still have excellent production.

Fertilize every 2-3 weeks with a balanced fertilizer, or use a slow-release fertilizer at planting time. Once flowering begins, switch to a lower-nitrogen fertilizer to encourage fruit production rather than excessive foliage.

Harvest fruits when they’re entirely red and slightly soft to gentle pressure. Large tomatoes take longer to ripen than cherry tomatoes, so be patient. The flavour improves as the fruit ripens fully. Harvest regularly to encourage continued production.

Days to Maturity: 70-80 days from transplant to first ripe fruit (add 6-8 weeks for seed starting)

Culinary Notes: The Classic American Tomato

Valley Girl tomatoes are perfect for everything a globe tomato should be used for. The large size, the balanced flavour, the firm flesh. They’re ideal for slicing, for cooking, for preserving.

Fresh, sliced: This is the classic use for Valley Girl. Slice thick tomato slices, arrange on a plate, drizzle with good olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh basil. This is simplicity and perfection.

In sandwiches: Large, thick slices of Valley Girl tomato are perfect for sandwiches. The firm flesh holds up well, the flavour is balanced and genuine, and the size is ideal for a proper tomato sandwich.

In salads: Slice or dice Valley Girl tomatoes. The large size means fewer tomatoes needed, the balanced flavour works with any dressing, and the firm flesh holds up well during preparation and serving.

Cooked: Valley Girl tomatoes are excellent for cooking. Make tomato sauce, tomato soup, and tomato paste. The balanced flavour and good acidity make them ideal for any cooked tomato dish.

Stuffed: The large size and firm flesh make Valley Girl perfect for stuffing. Cut the top off, scoop out the interior, stuff with rice, herbs, and other ingredients, and bake. This is classic summer cooking.

Preserved: Make salsa, make sauce, make paste. Valley Girl’s productivity means you’ll have plenty of tomatoes for preserving. A single plant can provide enough tomatoes for multiple jars of sauce or salsa.

Canning: Valley Girl tomatoes are excellent for canning. The balanced flavour and good acidity make them safe for water-bath canning. You can make whole tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, sauce, or juice.

Canadian Climate Notes

Valley Girl is indeterminate, which means it produces continuously rather than all at once. This is a gift in Canadian gardens. While determinate varieties ripen all their fruit in a concentrated burst, Valley Girl keeps producing, keeps flowering, keeps setting fruit through summer and into fall.

Start seeds early, 8-10 weeks before transplant, if possible, to give plants time to grow tall and establish themselves before mid-summer. The longer the growing season, the more fruit you’ll harvest.

In warmer regions of Canada (southern Ontario, southern British Columbia), Valley Girl will produce abundantly from mid-July through October, sometimes even into November if frost holds off.

In cooler regions (Atlantic Canada, the Prairies, northern areas), Valley Girl will still produce, but the harvest window may be shorter. Start seeds extra early, use black plastic mulch to warm the soil, and consider using row covers to protect young plants and extend the season.

Valley Girl tolerates cool weather reasonably well for an indeterminate variety. It will slow production when temperatures drop, but it will keep producing. It will continue to flower and set fruit even as autumn approaches and frost threatens.

Hardiness Zones: 3-11 (as warm-season annual; frost-sensitive but productive even in short seasons)

Seed Saving

Tomatoes are largely self-pollinating with minimal cross-pollination (typically less than 5%), making them excellent for seed saving. To save seed from Valley Girl:

Select the best fruits from the healthiest, most productive plants that are perfectly ripe, with excellent flavour and form. Choose fruits from plants that have produced abundantly, that have shown vigour and disease resistance, and that represent the best of what Valley Girl can be.

Cut fruits in half, squeeze seeds and gel into a jar or bowl, add a little water, and let ferment for 2-4 days at room temperature. This fermentation process removes the gel coating that inhibits germination and kills some seed-borne diseases.

When fermentation is complete (bubbles form on the surface and the mixture smells unpleasant), add water, stir, and let it settle. Viable seeds sink; dead seeds and pulp float. Pour off the floating material, rinse seeds thoroughly, and spread on screens or plates to dry completely (1-2 weeks).

Store dried seeds in a cool, dry place. Tomato seeds remain viable for 4-6 years.