Costoluto Fiorentino Tomato

Why I grow it

I grow this one partly because I love tomatoes that refuse to look remotely supermarket-perfect. Costoluto Fiorentino produces wonderful deeply ribbed, irregular fruit that look beautiful developing on the plant and even better sliced open. It's an Italian tomato with real character — and one I've grown before and happily made room for again.

At a glance

Type: Ribbed slicer / cooking tomato
Heritage: Yes
Growth: Indeterminate
Fruit: Red, flattened and deeply ribbed
Position: Full sun
Support: Sturdy support required

In the kitchen

A wonderfully useful tomato to have around. The fleshy fruit can be sliced fresh for salads, sandwiches and platters, but it's equally at home in the kitchen for roasting, sauces and passata. And those deep ribs make slices look rather spectacular without you having to do anything clever.

In the garden

Costoluto tomatoes are vigorous indeterminate plants, continuing to grow and set fruit through the season. Give them decent support from the beginning rather than attempting emergency structural engineering once they're covered in heavy ribbed fruit.

Care

Grow in full sun in fertile, well-drained soil. Water consistently as the fruit develops and feed during flowering and fruiting. Tie new growth to sturdy support as it grows and protect from frost.

What you'll receive
One healthy, established  tomato seedling grown here at A Garden Between. Plants naturally vary in size and shape and may be supplied in reused nursery pots or growing bags — perfectly useful plastic doesn't need replacing simply because it doesn't match.