Solanum lycopersicum
Oxheart Tomato, Cœur de Bœuf, Cuor di Bue: the true Cœur de Bœuf has nothing to do with the large ribbed tomatoes sold under this name in supermarkets, which are modern hybrids. The original has a distinctive pointed heart shape, dense flesh with almost no seeds, and a flavor few varieties can match.
Characteristics:
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Heart-shaped: pointed at the bottom, it looks unlike any other tomato.
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Dense, meaty flesh: few seeds, little juice, lots of substance — ideal for slicing.
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Large size: commonly 500 to 600 g, sometimes more.
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Reproducible heirloom variety: you can sow your own seeds every year.
Sowing advice:
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Exposure: full sun and warmth are essential to bring fruits of this size to maturity.
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Soil: deep, rich, loose, and well-drained. This large-fruited variety is especially hungry: a generous addition of well-rotted compost is crucial.
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Method: sow from February to April under cover, at 20 °C minimum — below this temperature, the seeds will not germinate. Cover with 5 mm of soil and keep moist. Transplant into pots at the two true-leaf stage. See how to sow your seeds.
Planting advice:
- Transplant after the last frosts, spacing plants 80 cm apart: this vigorous variety needs room.
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The game-changing step: bury the stem up to the first leaves. Tomatoes produce roots along the entire buried section, resulting in a much more vigorous plant — particularly useful for supporting large fruits.
- Install a sturdy stake at planting time: the fruits are heavy and will break poorly supported stems.
Care advice:
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Always water at the base, never on the foliage, preferably in the morning: water on the leaves provides an entry point for blight. Apply a thick mulch.
- Water regularly and evenly. With large-fruited varieties, irregular watering causes fruit splitting and blossom-end rot — the black patch under the fruit.
- Remove suckers, and limit the plant to 4 or 5 trusses: a few large, fully ripe fruits are better than many that fail to develop.
- A three- to four-year crop rotation is essential.
Harvesting advice:
- Harvest when the fruit is well colored and yields slightly under your finger. Store at room temperature, never in the refrigerator.
Beneficial companion plants:
Benefits for biodiversity:
- Its flowers are pollinated by vibration: only bumblebees make full use of them. Welcoming bumblebees directly improves your harvest, especially with large-fruited varieties.
- Growing reproducible heirloom varieties helps preserve cultivated diversity. See our heirloom tomatoes to sow.
Uses:
- In thick slices with a drizzle of olive oil — its dense flesh is perfect for this —, stuffed, as juice, or in gazpacho. Its low water content also makes it an excellent cooking tomato.
Saving your own seeds:
Take the pulp from a beautiful, fully ripe fruit and leave it to ferment for two to three days in a little water — this step breaks down the gelatinous coating that inhibits germination — then rinse: the healthy seeds will sink to the bottom. Dry them flat. See how to store your seeds.
Our commitment to Quality: at SemiSauvage - Permaculture, we grow and select our seeds with respect for living things as our guiding principle. Based near the Volcanoes of Auvergne, we choose reproducible, non-hybrid varieties, test them for germination rates, and carefully sort and package them without any chemical treatment. Our belief is that gardeners should regain the ability to resow, year after year, seeds that truly belong to them.
The true Cœur de Bœuf, the one you can no longer find in stores.
