Manitoba

Described as a rich, old-fashioned tomato flavor with a balanced sweet-acid taste that holds up in sauces and preserves. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.

A determinate open-pollinated heirloom bred in the 1950s at the Morden Research Station in Manitoba, Canada, for cold, short-season prairie gardens.

• Determinate bush. It sets most of its crop in one concentrated flush, which suits batch cooking and canning, and needs only light support.
• Ripens early, under about 70 days, one of the safer picks where the summer is short.
• Generally forgiving and beginner-friendly to grow.
• Reliably sets and ripens in cool, short seasons.
• One of our picks for the cold, short-season gardens of New England.

Sold out, or after a change? The closest alternatives, and how they differ.

New Yorkerbut a Canadian prairie variety rather than a New York oneEarly Girlbut a determinate open-pollinated heirloom

• West Coast Seeds
• Totally Tomatoes

• Heirloom vs Hybrid Tomatoes
• Slicer vs Beefsteak Tomatoes
• Best Early Tomatoes for Short Seasons

Is Manitoba determinate or indeterminate?

Manitoba is a determinate variety. Determinate bush. It sets most of its crop in one concentrated flush, which suits batch cooking and canning, and needs only light support.

How long does Manitoba take to ripen?

Manitoba ripens in about 60 days from transplant. Ripens early, under about 70 days, one of the safer picks where the summer is short.

Is Manitoba an heirloom or a hybrid?

Manitoba is an heirloom, an open-pollinated variety with a documented history, so seed saved from it comes back true to type.

What can I grow instead of Manitoba?

A close swap is New Yorker, but a Canadian prairie variety rather than a New York one.