Cesare's Canestrino di Lucca Tomato
Solanum lycopersicum
Certified Organic
Grown on Our Farm
Cesare’s Canestrino di Lucca is a rare heirloom tomato especially suited to sauce, with notably dry flesh, deep red color, and a flavor that brings together sweetness and umami. Brought to the United States by Chef Cesare Casella from his hometown of Lucca, Italy, this indeterminate variety produces generously lobed, pleated fruits with puckered tops. Its Italian name means “little basket,” a fitting reference to fruits that can stand upright on their ends. Though particularly valuable for cooking down into a richly flavored sauce, Canestrino di Lucca also earns a place in salads and other fresh preparations where a drier tomato is welcome.
10% of Cesare's Canestrino di Lucca Tomato Art Pack sales are donated to The Center for Discovery, where Cesare Casella is the Chief of the Department of Nourishment Arts.
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Growing instructions
ample light (supplemental light is usually necessary).
Transplant after frost into medium-fertility garden beds in
full sun. Trellising is required; pruning is recommended.
Product Details
| Days to Maturity | 90 days from transplant |
|---|---|
| Days to Germination | 5 to 10 days |
| Width at Maturity | 24 inches |
| Height at Maturity | 72 inches |
| Sun Conditions | Full Sun (8+ Hours Sun) |
| Planting Depth | 1/2 inch |
| Row Spacing | 36 inches |
| Plant Spacing | 24 inches |
About the artist
Incredibly productive and amazing germination rate!!!
I am little late in writing the review. Last year was the first year growing this variety and I do have to say, it won't be the last. Highly productive and what a beautiful tomato.
Winter sowed and every seed germinated! Besides being incredibly tasty and my new favorite sauce tomato- every plant is producing like mad!! Saving these seeds for sure.
This is my first year growing this variety and I’ve yet to taste it, but already I’m impressed! The germination rate was great, the plants are very healthy and they’re producing quite a bit of fruit already. Out of the 11 varieties of tomatoes planted, this is the first tomato to blush on the vine - even before the cherry tomatoes which is pretty impressive. Looking forward to the first taste soon!
First time growing these! One of my strongest plants. So excited!
I enjoyed these tomatoes for fresh eating because they tasted so good! When they fully ripen on the vine the taste is so sweet with a lot of good tomato flavor. These would also make a good sauce or paste since they are meaty but have quite a few seeds. They have a beautiful fluted shape and a deep red color when ripe.
Seeds arrived in a timely manner.
I had a tomato is the grocery store and it was my favorite tomato. I don't like them juicy but I want a flavorful tomato. It looked like a pear and was more pink than red. Tried to save the seeds. no luck. Spent 13 years trying every tomato seed that picture looked like this. Well I found it! It is now in my garden and I swear it got to 8 feet tall this year and loaded with late season tomato's that the squirrels keep stealing so I have been picking them green and letting them ripen on the counter. The squirells don't steal my other tomatoes so it's their favorite too.
Thank you!
Love the packages! Fast shipper!
Thank you for this item
2nd year growing and wow. These are quite the producers! Great yield, flavor, gorgeous to look at. We had too much rain, the norm in New England lately and so we had some cracking but overall. these are exceptional.
So glad to find these! They are wonderful tomatoes for making sauce with a pleasant, mild flavor. I used to get plants of this variety from my neighbors who were both born in Lucca. He was a wonderful gardener and used to get seedlings from his good friend, also from Lucca, and passed on the extras to me. Both gentlemen have passed away now and I didn’t know what these were called until I saw them on your site. I miss my wonderful neighbor and will always think of him when I see these delicious tomatoes. I highly recommend them!
2nd year growing these. Great for sauce and eating too. Nice texture and lovely taste. No need to blanch to peel. Score the skin and the thin skin peels right off. They take a while to ripen, but they are worth the wait.
This is my first year growing Canestrino tomatoes. My seedlings are about 3 weeks along and so far are out growing the other varieties I've started this year. My germination rate for them has been nearly 100%. Im really looking forward to seeing how the vines perform and the tomatoes taste.
Good germination rate under my lights and in seed starting medium.
Never knew their name!
Almost 20 years ago I took a composting course in NYC ( collaboration with dept of sanitation and museum of natural history). Met a guy who managed a community garden in the Bronx and invited him to pick up veg scraps at my restaurant ( Bright Food Shop), which he did for many months. He once brought me a basket of tomatoes that he grew from seeds a family member had given him on a visit to Italy. Look just like these. Never knew their name .
Been growing them ever since - in Warwick for 16 years and now Saugerties. Still have some ‘no blight’ 2013 seeds I keep growing out mixed w other years.
Buy these folks! You won’t regret it!
High Yields, Great for Canning
I bought these because they reminded me of the Bull's Heart tomato that my neighbors would grow (and also brought from Italy!)
Germination rates were nearly 100% and the plants have a high yield. Thick walls and low water make it great for sauce.