Tomato 'Aunt Lou's Underground Railroad'

Try to plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to water moderately. Keep in mind when planting that Aunt Lou's Underground Railroad 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. Ideally plant in loamy soil and try to keep the ph of your soil between the range of 5.5 and 7.5 as Aunt Lou's Underground Railroad likes to be 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 0.39 inches (1.0 cm). Soil temperature should be kept higher than 12°C / 54°F to ensure good germination.

Transplant at 6-inches tall, bury up to first leaves to increase roots.

Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Aunt Lou's Underground Railroad is a tender plant.

A historical heirloom carried through the Underground Railroad to Ripley, Ohio, from Kentucky.

Tomato seeds of this variety, which later came to be called Aunt Lou’s Underground Railroad, were carried by a black man as he traveled on the Underground Railroad from Kentucky. The black man – unfortunately we don’t know his name – came from Kentucky and arrived in Ripley, Ohio, where many slaves crossed the river to freedom. Ripley is home to Rankin House, a well-known stop on the Underground Railroad and now a museum . He grew these tomatoes there, and later shared seeds with a woman named Lou, who later shared seeds with her great nephew Francis Parker. Sixty years later Francis, who lives in Sardinia, Ohio, shared seeds with Wilfred Ellis, owner of Ellis’ Feed Mill. Francis died in 2010 but approved the addition of Underground Railroad to the name. Wilfred shared them with Susan Barber, who posts at Tomatoville and gave them to Gary Millwood.¹

Underground RR, Aunt Lou’s Underground, Aunt Lou’s, Aunt Lou’s Underground RR Tomato

¹ Tatiana’s TOMATOBase – Aunt Lou’s Underground Railroad