📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Homer Fike’s Yellow Oxheart
- 🌍 Origin: A cherished American heirloom from West Virginia. It was stewarded by Mr. Homer Fike and his family for decades before being introduced to the commercial seed trade by Gary Ibsen (TomatoFest) in 2006.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An incredibly vigorous and disease-resistant plant. Like many oxhearts, it features signature “wispy” or drooping foliage.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Massive, bright yellow-gold heart-shaped tomatoes. While average fruits weigh around 7-17 oz (200-500 g), they are well-known to reach giant proportions of 28 oz (800 g) up to a staggering 3 lbs (1.3 kg)!
- 👅 Flavor: The flesh is dense, extremely meaty, and contains very few seeds. The flavor profile is outstandingly sweet with distinct fruity notes.
A huge, vigorous bush, highly resistant to diseases. Large heart-shaped fruits of a bright yellow color, meaty, tasty, containing few seeds, sweet, weighing up to 28 oz (800 g) and more.
According to the history documented by Gary Ibsen (TomatoFest), this variety was stewarded for decades by Mr. Homer Fike. The seeds were first introduced to the seed trade in 2006 by Karen Teets from West Virginia to ensure the heirloom wouldn’t be lost. Years later, Homer’s grandson, Connie Fint of Aurora, WV, reached out to confirm that his 88-year-old mother still grows her father’s favorite tomato, proudly lining up the massive harvest on her porch. These giant, yellow-gold oxhearts can easily reach up to 3 lbs (1.3 kg) and are highly prized for their dense, seedless meat and exceptionally sweet, fruity flavor.
Homer Fike’s Yellow Oxheart
An heirloom variety, grown and developed by Homer Fike, introduced to the seed trade by TomatoFest. Large heart-shaped fruits, 7-17 oz (200-500 g), yellow gold. Very meaty flesh containing few seeds with a sweet and fruity flavor. It has wispy, drooping foliage*, just like almost all oxheart varieties.
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👨🌾 Editor’s Notes:
- *Wispy Foliage (The “Wilted” Look): CUCSA correctly points out that this variety has the classic foliage of an oxheart. New growers often panic when growing oxhearts because the leaves look permanently droopy, thin, and wilted (often called wispy foliage), making the plant look like it’s dying of thirst. Don’t worry, you aren’t under-watering it! This is just a genetic trait of the oxheart family.
