Tomato 'Gilbertie Paste'
Tomato 'Gilbertie Paste'
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Solanum lycopersicum
- Our favourite paste and canning tomato.
- Large 15cm, 250–350g meaty Roma fruit.
- Small seed cavity with rich, dense flesh.
- Outstanding for sauces, passata and roasting.
- Vigorous mid-late season indeterminate plants.
'Gilbertie Paste' is a classic Italian-style Roma producing impressive 15cm-long fruits weighing 250–350g. The large, elongated tomatoes are packed with dense, richly flavoured flesh and have a remarkably small seed cavity, making them exceptionally productive for cooking and preserving.
This is the tomato we reach for every season when making passata, tomato sauce and slow-roasted tomatoes. The rich flesh cooks down quickly into thick, intensely flavoured sauces with very little waste, while the fruits also roast beautifully, becoming sweet and deeply concentrated.
Mid-late season indeterminate plants are vigorous and productive, performing best during warm, settled summer weather.
Our stock seed originated with High Mowing Seeds. The variety was given to Tom Stearns by Mel Bristol of Sherman, Connecticut, and was one of the original tomatoes offered in High Mowing's first catalogue in 1996.
We have grown 'Gilbertie Paste' every season since 2005, and after two decades of trialling hundreds of tomatoes, it remains one of our favourite paste and canning variety.
Certified Demeter Biodynamic and Certified Organic Seed
SEED COUNT: 12 approx.
Germination: Lot#19781 99% Apr2026
Seed Raising, Growing and Harvest Information
| Plant Type | Site | Spacing | Height | Sowing Depth |
Days to Germination |
Days to Maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tender Annual |
Full Sun | 70cm apart in rows 80cm apart |
1.5-2m | 6mm | 5-10 days @ 21-27 degrees |
80-85 days |
TRANSPLANT (recommended) – Start transplants 5- 6 weeks before planting date. Sow seeds 6mm deep, 4 seeds/2.5cm. Lightly cover. Keep mix at 23-28°C. Pot up into 5cm or larger cells after first set of true leaves appear. For growing transplants, maintain temperature at around 22°C during the day and 18°C at night
Harden off plants by slightly reducing temperature to 15-18°C and reducing water for 2-3 days before transplanting.
NOTE - Don't start too early—leggy, root-bound, or flowering transplants can cause stunting and reduce early production. Avoid exposing unprotected plants to consecutive nightly temperatures below 7°C.
