Galina Siberian Tomato
These seeds defied USSR government control to travel to the United States in the late 1980’s! One of our seed steward mentors, Bill McDorman, was visiting an agricultural research station in Siberia on a trip to find seeds that might grow well in the harsh conditions mountain west. He asked whether he could take samples of the seeds back to the US to grow and distribute, but the research director told him he would need permission from the Kremlin.
As he was leaving, one of the seed breeders named Galina came to his bus window. As he opened the window, she passed him a package full of different seed varieties, and then silently slipped away. Bill named this wonderful cherry tomato after Galina, a hero of the seeds for helping them to keep moving to where people need them.
Galina is a delicious and productive cherry tomato that keeps a long time off the vine. The tomatoes are super flavorful—a favorite at our farmers’ market! They’re known for keeping a long time after picking.