Roma VF Tomato

Roma VF tomato seeds grow into determinate plants reaching 37–48 in, bearing red fruit about 3 oz. This paste tomato is especially suited to sauce, roasting, drying, fresh cooking, and small-batch preservation. Maturity is 70-79 Days from transplanting.

Minimum seeds per packet: 25 seeds.

About Roma VF

Roma VF is a paste tomato grown as Solanum lycopersicum L. Plants have a determinate habit and reach 37–48 in; support is listed as cage. The principal mature or market color is Red, with fruit described as about 3 oz. Reproductive classification: Open-Pollinated (OP). Maturity: 70-79 Days. Names associated with this variety include Tomato, Tomato Seeds - Determinate - Roma VF.

• Scientific name:Solanum lycopersicum L.
• Life cycle:Annual
• Planting season:Spring
• Growth habit:Determinate
• Plant height:37–48 in
• Sunlight:Full sun
• Seed depth:1/8 in
• Germination:6–12 Days at 75–90 °F
• Spacing:24 in between plants; 36 in between rows
• Soil:Loamy; pH 6.0–6.5
• Water:Moderate
• Support:Cage
• Reproductive type:Open-Pollinated (OP)
• Fruit:Red; About 3 oz

History and seedkeeping context

Roma VF is an open-pollinated determinate paste tomato. Roma VF belongs to the modern tradition of compact, productive paste tomatoes selected for processing usefulness and a defined resistance package. The letters VF refer to resistance claims for Verticillium and Fusarium wilts; resistance reduces risk but does not replace rotation, sanitation, and accurate diagnosis.

Roma VF is maintained in this catalog as an open-pollinated (op) paste tomato. Published records support the cultivar name and the observable fruit and plant traits used on this page. Where the available documentation does not preserve a complete breeder, family, or community chain, Species-level tomato domestication in Andean South America is kept separate from the later history of this named cultivar, which may involve farmers, public breeders, gardeners, market growers, and seedkeepers in other regions.

The listed heritage classification is Heirloom; it describes the catalog classification and does not prove an undocumented origin story.

Fruit, flavor, and kitchen use

Roma VF is best for sauce, roasting, drying, fresh cooking, and small-batch preservation. The expected flavor is dense, savory tomato flavor with meaty flesh and restrained juice. Fruit is described as red and about 3 oz. Use a tested current recipe for home canning; cultivar name alone does not establish safe acidity. Roma VF is especially useful for sauce, roasting, drying, fresh cooking, and small-batch preservation. Flavor and eating quality are described as dense, savory tomato flavor with meaty flesh and restrained juice. For home canning, use a tested current recipe; cultivar name, color, or perceived sweetness does not establish safe acidity.

How to grow Roma VF

Start Roma VF indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before the last expected frost. Sow 1/8 in deep in a warm, evenly moist seed-starting mix; expect 6–12 Days near 75–90 °F. Give seedlings strong light, move them into larger cells before they become root-bound, and harden them gradually before planting outside after frost danger.

Plant in full sun with loamy soil near pH 6.0–6.5. Space plants 24 in apart and rows 36 in apart. Maintain moderate moisture, mulch after the soil warms, and keep foliage off wet soil where possible. Set up cage at transplanting. The determinate plant reaches 37–48 in.

Season care

• Give Roma VF strong light from emergence so seedlings remain stocky rather than stretched. • Install cage when transplanting; adding support after vines are large can damage roots and stems. • Water at the soil line and maintain even moisture to reduce cracking, blossom-end rot risk, and stress-related fruit problems. • Harvest when the fruit has reached its cultivar-specific color and gives slightly to gentle pressure; color alone can be misleading on green, purple, or striped varieties. • Use 70-79 Days as a planning range rather than a guaranteed calendar date; weather and transplant stress can shift first harvest.

Harvest and maturity

70-79 Days from transplanting under suitable conditions. Harvest when the cultivar-specific color has developed and the fruit gives slightly to gentle pressure; green-ripe, striped, purple, and dark cultivars require more than a simple red-color test.

Saving seed

Tomatoes are primarily self-pollinating, but occasional crossing can occur. To maintain Roma VF, save seed from several healthy true-to-type plants and bag unopened flower clusters when extra isolation is needed. Allow labeled fruit to ripen fully, squeeze the seed and gel into a container, ferment briefly until the gel releases, rinse clean, and dry the seed in a thin labeled layer. Store the finished lot cool and dry with the year, source, plant count, and isolation notes.

Common questions