West Virginia Pepper tomato was first shared with us in 2018 by a then 84-year old seed saver, Joy Williams, from Morgantown, WV. Williams had been stewarding the “Pepper” tomato for decades. She praised the tomato as she took two layers of paper towels with dried seeds on them out of a clear plastic container.
Since then, we heard about various paste tomato varieties grown in different parts of West Virginia, some with smaller fruits. While West Virginia Pepper is very similar to commonly known Federle, in our field evaluation it produced higher yields. We also came across another “Pepper” with very similar traits, grown in Summer County.
West Virginia Pepper is a prolific paste/sauce tomato with 6-7″ long fruits. Flavorful variety, very few seeds. Excellent choice for making sauces, paste and canning. Long vines need trellising.
Packet has min. 20 seeds
- Solanum lycopersicum
- Full sun
- Planting depth: 1/8″
- Sprouts in 7-10 days
- Ideal growing temperature: 75-95F
- Plant spacing: 24″
- Frost hardy: No
- Growth habit: Indeterminate
- Growing tips: Start indoors in seedling trays or small seedling pots in seed starting soil that has essential nutrients in it 6-8 weeks prior to last frost. Barely cover the seeds with soil and keep the soil moist for quick germination. Make sure to keep the young seedlings under good light to have strong plants with sturdy, healthy stems and leaves. Transplant to garden or a pot with ample space for roots to spread after last frost in well-drained, fertile soil. Feed with liquid fertilizer once every two weeks. Water regularly especially in flower stage. Mulch and always water at plant base to minimize disease. Trellis indeterminate varieties with long vines and prune leaves if the plant canopy becomes too thick for improved air circulation.
Deborah Reichman (verified owner) –
This tomato produced late, but abundantly, with large, meaty, tasty paste tomatoes. I’ll definitely grow these again.
Joseph H. (verified owner) –
Great paste tomatoes. We had a good yield with these.
Katherine M. (verified owner) –
Emily Hart (verified owner) –
Big and Meaty, this tomato was delicious!
Anonymous (verified owner) –
Dancey Howes (verified owner) –
Kerime Saglam (verified owner) –
Michael Robinson (verified owner) –
I had one seedling survive. I froze most of its fruit. But I plan to make marinara sauce with them.
Anonymous (verified owner) –