Cantini Tomatoes

So, an American goes over to Italy to fight during WWII. While he's there, he falls in love with the country and the people. He moves there after the war. While he lived there, he found these tomatoes he really, really loved. He saved the seeds every fall and faithfully replanted them every spring. He eventually moved back to the States, bringing his cherished seeds with him.

He continued the same cycle here. Taking care to save the seeds from his tomato crop and replant the following year.

Eventually the man, in his late 80's now, was unable to keep up his garden. However, he was able to pass his beloved tomato seeds on to a friend who owns a greenhouse. That friend has continued to ensure that this man's tomatoes are propagated every year.

Our friends told the old man about our garden and how they thought we would love a chance to grow the tomatoes he loves so much. He was so excited by the chance to share his tomatoes that he contacted his greenhouse friend and secured 18 seedlings for us.

His only request is that we continue the line and save the seeds and replant them every year. Frankly, I'm touched, impressed, humbled, and scared out of my mind.

Here's the tag that the old man's greenhouse friend made up for these tomatoes.

We isolated these tomatoes in their own bed. They're about 300' from the other tomatoes and separated by a house. But, I'm still going to hand pollinate some of the blossoms and isolate them to ensure we can save the seeds.