Siling Labuyo

    This is Siling Labuyo, or Filipino bird's eye pepper. It is one of the world's hotter peppers, slightly milder than a habañero.  Apparently it is becoming less common even in its native land, giving way to the larger and milder Thai peppers at markets across the Philippines, but dont take my word for it: http://www.marketmanila.com/archives/the-disappearing-siling-labuyo
    Seeds were found at a farmer's market in Tacloban in the province of Leyte. They are devilishly hot but the perfect addition to a plate of sisig. Masarap, diba? The leaves themselves are used in tinola, a Filipino soup dish. The fruits are fairly late to mature but I had several hundred on my one large plant which was far more than most people will be able to find use for. They can be used when green or after they fully ripen to a bright red; both are little packets of fire. I used them in stir fries and in salsa in place of jalapeños. I also ate more than a few fresh which is strangely addicting. The burn is intense but short lived and fortunately does not seem to survive my digestive process. Your results may vary. 
   As far as I can tell, this is the only commercial source of true siling labuyo. There are a lot of similar peppers but it seems that the actual Filipino variety is rather hard to come by. 

   My siling labuyo plant as of July 6th. Lucy seems very pleased with it as well. 

   The mature plant in late September. I brought her indoors so the fruit would have time to fully ripen for seeds. 

   And a few fruit on the plant. 

Kabobi

From Iran. Small plants with a moderate fruitset of small to medium sized fruit. Very similar in taste to Round Lemon, also from Iran. It is interesting to note regional differences. While Filipino varieties have a tendency towards high acidity, all four of the Southwest Asian varieties I have grown have been decidedly sweet.  Kabobi is no exception and fans of sweet tomatoes will enjoy this variety.

Round Lemon

From Iran. Medium sized, moderately productive plants. Definitely on the sweet side of balanced but a hint of acid keeps it from being a one dimensional flavor. Medium sized, thick walled fruits resist cracking and are well suited for a variety of purposes.

Black From Tula

     What can I say? The queen of all tomatoes in my book. Gorgeous to look at and full of smokey, rich tomato flavor that is perfectly balanced. This variety is a moderately sized, indeterminate, regular-leafed plant that bears modest numbers of large beefsteaks. Nice balanced ratio of gel to flesh makes them great for a variety of uses. I put them in sandwiches, on bagels with cream cheese or simply enjoy them with salt and pepper. Black From Tula is a must. The only drawback of this variety is that they do not produce more fruit. From Russia.

Demimonde

   This is the F1 cross of Speckled Roman and Angeles City Native. In most ways, this variety splits the difference between its parents. Foliage is wispy like Speckled Roman but stiff instead of droopy. Blossom end is indented like Angeles City Native instead of nippled. It is a firm, very dry tomato with muted acidity and slightly streaked skin. Fresh taste is fair but this variety is primarily suited for sauces. Bred in the United States.

Angeles City Native

   This variety is generally indistinguishable from the common commercial variety you would find at almost any Filipino grocery store. On more than one occasion, I was told that this tomato was called "Native". Rather than describing any cognizable variety, I think the term is meant to denote that it is a variety of tomato that is endemic to the Philippines. The local variety of pigs is also commonly identified as "native." Indeed, as can be seen elsewhere on this blog, several varieties of Filipino tomatoes have "native" somewhere in their name, usually with a geographic location attached. Although I doubt that much commercial agriculture takes place within city limits, seeds for this variety were obtained in an Angeles City market following a hiking trip to the summit of nearby Mount Pinatubo; hence the name.
   When I grew this variety in 2011, the fruit were excessively acidic and very prone to blossom end rot. This year, only the first two fruit showed blossom end rot and the fruit were much more balanced. It is essentially a grocery store tomato, although unlike American commercial varieties which tend to be hybrids, this one appears to be open pollenated and stable. Flavor is similar to a generic roma but with more of an acid bite. Fruit are very firm and meaty with relatively little gel and few seeds. Admittedly, not the most delicious tomato you will ever taste but it is a strong,  productive and unique plant.

Mexico Midget

   From Mexico. Possibly solanum pimpinellifolium, or a currant tomato, a separate species of solanum that readily crossbreeds with other tomatoes. Foliage is wispy and vines are long. This variety is slow to germinate. For the last two years I had all but given up when the seedlings finally emerged. Once the plant matures, it puts out a profusion of small fruit with a full "big tomato" taste. This variety also readily reseeds itself, dropping its small fruit to provide a small army of volunteers the next year.