Tomato 'Sandia Gem'

Try to plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to water moderately. Keep in mind when planting that Sandia Gem is thought of as tender, so remember to wait until your soil is warm and the night time temperature is well above freezing before moving outside. Planting Sandia Gem in loamy soil with a ph of between 5.5 and 7.5 is ideal for as it does best in weakly acidic soil to weakly alkaline soil.

Start seeds indoors six weeks before last frost date.

Try to aim for a seed spacing of at least 0.78 inches (2.0 cm) and sow at a depth of around 0.78 inches (2.0 cm). Soil temperature should be kept higher than 12°C / 54°F to ensure good germination.

By our calculations, you should look at sowing Sandia Gem about 42 days before your last frost date.

Plant to the first set of true leaves to promote strong root growth.

As Sandia Gem is tender, ensure temperatures are mild enough to plant out - wait until after your last frost date to be on the safe side.

According to the site www.seeds.ca (Which is Seeds of Diversity’s on-line Heritage Plants Database), Sandia Gem original seeds were found in a pouch on a New Mexico mountain and carbon dated to the 1800s. In actuality, this variety is from the USA, and probably a Native American heirloom.
See:
http://www.seeds.ca/hpd/cvdetail.php?species=Tomato&cultivar=Sandia+gem

Original Seeds were found in leather pouch on the Sandia Mountain in 1985. The pouch carbon dated from around early 1800s. 3 seeds out of 150 germinated. Due to how and where it was found, this is very probably a Native American heritage plant (Native American heirloom).
Named after the Sandia Mountains, E of Albuquerque NM, which is where the seed pouch was discovered…The mountains are named “Watermelon” in Spanish, due to their color at sunset. This variety is not from Peru as some folks mistakenly claim.

http://www.seeds.ca/hpd/cvdetail.php?species=Tomato&cultivar=Sandia+gem