Bradley Heirloom Tomato Seeds

Bring a Southern garden classic to your summer table with Bradley. Released in 1961 by Dr. Joe McFerran of the University of Arkansas, this open-pollinated heirloom produces smooth pink tomatoes with juicy flesh and balanced sweet-tart flavor. Slice a ripe fruit for a sandwich or gather a basket for sauces and freezing.

Why Grow Bradley?

• Pink slicing tomatoes: Fruits commonly weigh about 7–10 oz, with natural variation and some larger fruit reported.
• Classic flavor: Sweetness balanced by a pleasant tang suits fresh slices, salads, and cooked dishes.
• Concentrated harvest: Much of the crop tends to ripen within a relatively concentrated period, helpful for kitchen projects. Not every fruit ripens on the same day.
• Bushy, semi-determinate growth: Regular-leaf plants have substantial foliage and benefit from cages or stakes.
• Two packet choices: Select approximately 25 or 50 seeds.

Planting and Growing

Start seeds indoors 6–8 weeks before your intended transplant date. Sow approximately ¼ inch deep in seed-starting mix, provide warmth for germination, and give seedlings strong light. Harden off gradually before planting outdoors after frost danger has passed and soil has warmed.

Choose full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. Install a sturdy cage or stake at planting time to support fruiting branches. Avoid treating this bushy semi-determinate variety like a single-stem indeterminate vine; retain productive side branches and healthy foliage. Water consistently at soil level and mulch to conserve moisture.

For square foot gardening, use 1 plant per sq ft (cage and extra canopy room required). Its branching canopy needs room beyond the planting square; allow more space for an unpruned bush.

Harvest Details

Maturity: Approximately 75–80 days from transplant; conditions affect timing.
Fruit: Smooth pink to dark-pink slicers, commonly about 7–10 oz; some may retain greenish shoulders.
Growth habit: Semi-determinate, bushy, regular leaf; support recommended.
Botanical name: Solanum lycopersicum.
Life cycle: Frost-tender warm-season annual.
Packet options: Approximately 25 or 50 seeds.

Harvest when fruits develop mature pink color and yield slightly to gentle pressure. Check texture as well as color, and pick progressively as individual tomatoes ripen.

Seed suppliers report Fusarium wilt resistance for Bradley, but resistance is not immunity or protection from every strain or disease. No race-specific resistance is claimed here. Cracking can still occur, especially with uneven moisture.

Packed and shipped by Box Garden Seeds LLC — heirloom seeds grown without GMOs, selected for flavor and your garden's success.