Rio Grande Tomato Seeds

Buy Rio Grande tomato seeds in Pakistan and grow the tomato that was bred for the pot rather than the salad bowl (Solanum lycopersicum). Blocky plum fruits with thick walls, dense flesh and very little seed or juice — they cook down into sauce in half the time a salad tomato takes, and they hold their shape when roasted whole.

A bush tomato, not a vine

Rio Grande is determinate. It makes a compact, self-stopping bush of 60–90 cm rather than a climbing vine, and it ripens most of its crop in a concentrated two to three week flush. That is exactly what you want if you are making a batch of sauce or drying tomatoes, and it is the easiest tomato in our range for anyone short of space or unwilling to build a trellis.

Growing Guide for Pakistan

• Sowing time: Punjab plains (Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan) mid-September to late October in nursery trays for the main winter crop, and again late January to February under cover for a spring crop. Karachi and coastal Sindh September to November. Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar February to March. Murree, Swat and Quetta March to April. Frost-tender.
• Method: Nursery trays in a light mix; cover seed 5 mm and keep warm. Do not direct-sow — tomatoes transplant better than almost anything else.
• Germination: 6–10 days at 22–26°C. Keep the tray warm, not wet.
• Transplanting: At 4–6 leaves, 45–60 cm apart. Plant deep, burying part of the stem — tomatoes root along the buried section and stand up far sturdier for it. A short cage or a single light stake is enough; this one does not need a tall trellis.
• Harvest: About 75–85 days from transplanting, with most of the crop arriving together. Pick when the fruit is fully red and still firm.
• Sun and water: Full sun and rich, well-drained ground. Water evenly at the base and keep it off the leaves — irregular watering is what splits tomatoes and causes blossom-end rot.

New to raising tomatoes from seed? Start with why seeds fail to germinate in Pakistan, and northern growers should read the Islamabad frost guide before committing a tray.

Germination-tested in Lahore before shipping, since 1932. Browse the full winter vegetable seeds collection.