Tomato 'Big Ben'

Try to plant in a location that enjoys full sun and remember to water moderately. Big Ben is generally regarded as a tender plant, so remember to wait until your soil is warm and the night time temperature is well above freezing before moving outside. Big Ben needs a loamy soil with a ph of 5.5 to 7.5 (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). For optimal germination, soil temperature should be a minimum of 12°C / 54°F.

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

Big Ben is tender, so ensure you wait until all danger of frost has passed in your area before considering planting outside.

First offered commercially in 1976 by Big Tomato Gardens, Syracuse, Ohio, owned by Benjamin Franklin Quisenberry (1887-1986).

An original version of this tomato might be ‘Stump Of The World’ – it is said that Quisenberry received this tomato under that name, but ended up renaming it. However, ‘Stump Of The World’ is a potato leaf variety.