Growing The Ace 55 Tomato (Determinate) From Seed To Harvest

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Imagine a gardenful of sweet, juicy bright red, thick-walled tomatoes ripe and ready to be picked. With just a few tomato seeds this can be your garden! The Heirloom Ace 55 VF tomato is an American classic that produces from seed abundant harvests of beautiful, low acidity fruit perfect for eating raw. Growing tomatoes, in general, is easy since they willing sprout almost wherever they land. However, growing the plant and producing nice-looking, bountiful fruits are two separate endeavors.

What Is The Ace 55 Tomato?

What Makes it Special?

An heirloom from the 1950s, this quintessential red tomato is a favorite with vegetable gardeners around the country. In looks and taste, it is the fruit everyone recalls when they think about tomatoes. This variety averages 10-ounce thick walled fruits with a 5-6″ diameter. The perfect size for fresh eating!

Also, did you know that tomatoes aren’t vegetables, but actually fruits? That’s right, one of our favorite garden vegetables is really a fruit, and a highly nutritious one, too.

What Is An Ace Tomato ?

tomato seed variety packWhen shopping for open sourced Non-GMO heirloom tomato seeds look for growing information on the seed packet. Some of the information included is whether they are determinate or indeterminate, their acid content, and which diseases and pests they are resistant to. All this data is essential to growing a successful harvest. And, for choosing a variety that will be the taste profile you want. 

The Ace 55 boasts many desirable qualities for a tomato plant:

  • Determinate
  • Low-Acid
  • Crack-resistant
  • Verticillium wilt resistant
  • Fusarium wilt resistant
  • Alternaria stem canker resistant

Because of the low-acid content, this heirloom variety is not ideal for water-bath canning. They must be pressure canned. The Ace variety is best eaten fresh.

What Makes The Ace 55 determinate or indeterminate?

This classification refers to how the plant grows. Determinate tomato plants grow to a specific height and then produce fruit when they are done maturing.

Indeterminate varieties do not have a predetermined size and will often go wild, reaching up to 8-feet tall, with long, winding branches. Indeterminate varieties must be pruned, while determinate types should never be pruned. 

Most heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate, but the Ace 55 is not. There is no difference in quality or production between the types, but this information is vital to understand the best way to tend the plant. 

Indeterminate plants cannot be grown in containers.

Disease Resistance

Tomato plants are susceptible to many diseases and pests, which is unfortunate. Anyone who has grown them in the past knows how tricky it is to produce round, untarnished, beautiful fruits. The fruits often grow abundantly but have blemishes, markings, or cracks. The Ace 55, however, is resistant to the three most common issues tomato vegetable gardeners face.

This 1950 heirloom variety is sweet, juicy, and yummy. It is perfect for canning, fresh salads, and sandwiches, and it is well ahead of other varieties in terms of success.

The Process Of Growing The Ace 55 Tomato

How To Grow Ace 55 Tomatoes

Since the Ace 55 is determinate, it can be planted in the garden or in containers or pots or easily grown on decks, balconies, and along fences.

This flexibility opens up huge possibilities for growing heirloom Ace 55 seeds. These tomato seeds average 80 days to maturity, which means they grow well in most climates. Early-season tomato seeds require 50 to 60 days to maturity and can be grown as a fall or winter crop depending on the zone or if growing indoors.

Ace 55 Gardening Tips

Growing The Ace 55 Tomato (Determinate) From Seed To Harvest
  • You don’t have to worry about verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, or Alternaria stem canker disease since Ace 55 seeds are resistant to these. All tomato varieties are prone to specific pests, and this variety is no different. Be on the lookout for tomato hornworms, slugs, and rodents. If the weather is especially humid, plants may suffer from early or late blight fungal diseases.
  • Frost kills these plants quickly. If there is any chance of frost, harvest all the tomatoes, even if they’re not fully ripe. Tomatoes do continue to ripen off the stem. Also, fried green tomatoes are delicious!
  • These heirloom seeds benefit from nutrient-rich soil, as do all tomatoes. Don’t add fertilizer, as this can negatively affect the growth. Fertilizer often causes the foliage to produce exponentially but doesn’t help the fruits to set or grow. Instead, amend the soil with compost before planting to ensure it will have all the nutrients the plants need.
  • The best time to buy vegetable seeds of any kind is in January or February when they first become available. After that, their availability may be scarce, especially for highly sought after seeds like the Ace 55. Many seed companies are experiencing shortages recently due to high demands.

If you’ve been wanting a reliable and abundant tomato harvest, these heirloom seeds are an excellent place to start. There’s a reason gardeners have been growing them for years — they always produce well and the fruits are delicious. For new gardeners, the Ace 55 is the perfect starter seed.

*Keep in mind to give you the most all-inclusive content possible and how-to guides that we may occasionally use affiliate links in which we receive commissions when you click the links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our content or establish bias. We try our best to keep things as informational as possible in order to help you grown the plants, flowers, herbs and vegetables of your dreams.

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