🌱 Origin & Story
The story of Stupice begins in 1943 in Czechoslovakia, when breeder Jaroslav Homola made an ambitious cross: (Mikado x Rheinlands Ruhm) x Solanum racemigerum. That last parent is a wild tomato species — and it's the key to everything that makes Stupice special.
Rheinlands Ruhm, known in Czech as "Sláva Porýní," was a respected European variety. Mikado brought the potato-leaf foliage. But it was the wild Solanum racemigerum genetics that contributed the cold tolerance, early maturity, and sheer determination that define this tomato.
Homola registered the variety in Prague on December 10, 1946. It was officially released in 1955 and became widely grown across Central Europe.
Then in 1976, Milan Sodomka sent seeds to Forest Shomer at the Abundant Life Seed Foundation in Washington state. By 1977, Stupice was available in the United States — and American gardeners in short-season climates immediately understood what they had.
Here was a tomato bred with wild species genetics that could set fruit in cool conditions that would stall other varieties. A tomato that didn't need long hot summers to perform. A Czech workhorse that started early and just kept going.
🍴 Flavor & Fruit
Small, 2–4 oz — bright red, round to slightly flattened, growing in clusters of 3–7. The potato-leaf foliage is distinctive and easy to identify in a mixed garden.
The flavor is excellent for an early tomato — which is an important qualifier, because most ultra-early varieties trade taste for speed. Stupice doesn't. It's sweet, tangy, well-balanced, with a rich tomato flavor that holds up against mid-season varieties twice its size.
The fruits are thin-skinned and juicy. Perfect popping size — eat them whole, right off the vine.
🌿 From Our Garden
We grow Stupice because waiting until August for ripe tomatoes when you planted in April is a special kind of torture. Stupice ends the wait. Our first ripe tomatoes every year come from these plants, and there's something deeply satisfying about eating a homegrown tomato while your beefsteaks are still just flowers.
📅 Your Oklahoma Season
Plant after mid-April, or May 1 for extra caution (last frost averages early April in Tulsa). Here's where Stupice gets interesting: its cold-hardy genetics mean it handles cool spring nights better than most tomatoes. You can push the planting window earlier with row cover or wall-of-water protection and this variety will reward the risk.
Expect first ripe fruit as early as late June — well ahead of most varieties. Production continues steadily through the entire season, right into fall. The season often extends into early November before first frost.
Flower drop begins when daytime temps push above 85-90°F and nights stay above 72°F. It gets severe above 100°F. Stupice slows during peak heat like everything else, but its indeterminate habit means it keeps setting new growth and flowers — when the heat breaks, it's already loaded with buds ready to go.
💧 Care for Optimal Health
Water deeply twice a week at the base, never overhead. Stupice is more forgiving than large-fruited varieties, but consistent moisture still means better flavor and less splitting on those thin skins. Mulch 2-3 inches to keep soil moisture stable.
Feed balanced through early growth, then shift to phosphorus/potassium-forward once flowering begins.
DIY mix: 2 tbsp fish emulsion + ½ tsp kelp per gallon, every two to three weeks.
These are compact, efficient plants — they don't need heavy feeding. Overfeeding pushes vegetative growth at the expense of fruit.
☀️ Oklahoma Heat
Stupice was bred for cool climates, so Oklahoma's July-August heat is its weakest season. It won't die — it just slows down. The small fruit size actually helps; smaller tomatoes are less susceptible to sunscald and heat-related problems than large beefsteaks.
During the worst heat weeks, 30-40% shade cloth can help maintain production where other plants stall. Deep morning watering before the heat builds is more effective than evening watering. The real payoff comes in fall, when Stupice ramps right back up.
🛡️ What to Watch For
No formal disease resistance ratings — it's an heirloom. The wild species genetics give it general vigor, but it's not immune to common issues.
Stay ahead of these:
• Early blight — lower leaves in late summer. Remove affected leaves at the stem, don't compost them. Copper fungicide applied preventively after wet stretches (follow your product label for exact rates).
• Cracking — thin-skinned fruits split easily with uneven watering or heavy rain after dry spells. Consistent moisture is your best prevention.
• Hornworms — check leaf undersides weekly. Hand-pick or apply Bt (1 tsp/gallon, evening spray).
• Aphids — 2 tbsp neem oil + 2 tsp dish soap per gallon.
🍽️ In the Kitchen
Fresh: Eat them whole, right off the vine. This is a snacking tomato. Keep a bowl on the counter and watch them disappear.
Salads: Halved or quartered into any salad — they're the right size to eat in one or two bites and they don't water down the bowl.
Roasted: Toss whole with olive oil, garlic, and herbs. Roast until they burst. Serve on toast or over pasta — fast, simple, and intensely flavorful.
Early Season: Stupice gives you homegrown tomatoes weeks before anything else is ripe. That first BLT of the season? It's a Stupice BLT.
🪴 Why Our Starts?
Six weeks of professional growing before they reach you — proper lighting, careful watering, the right timing, hardening off. With an early variety like Stupice, transplant quality directly determines how soon you're eating tomatoes. A strong start means an earlier harvest.
You plant when the ground is ready and you're eating ripe tomatoes before your neighbors' plants have set fruit.
