Porter’s Pride (Improved Porter) Tomato

78 days, indeterminate — Also known as ‘Improved Porter’ or ‘Porter’s Improved’, ‘Porter’s Pride’ was developed in and for Texas weather to allow fruit to set even in dry, hot climates. The plants are large with good leaf coverage. Its fruit are small, globe-shaped, deep pink in color, and average two to four ounces in weight. Its good, complex taste makes it a favorite for eating fresh or canning and juicing. Sunburn and crack resistant.

The 1959 Porter & Son Seed Company catalog has the following description:

‘Porter’s Pride’ was released by the now long defunct Porter & Son Seed Company of Stephenville, Texas who was a regional seed provider from its founding in 1912 until is closing in 1994. ‘Porter’s Pride’ was developed when V. O. Porter crossed the original ‘Porter’ tomato with ‘Marglobe‘, which resulted in a larger fruited variety that he called, ‘Scarlet Globe’. He then later crossed ‘Scarlet Globe’ with ‘Stokesdale’ and called the new tomato ‘Porter’s Pride’, which customers commonly called ‘Improved Porter’.^[1]

We spent over a decade of growing seasons trialing every sample of seed being sold as ‘Porter’s Pride’. In every instance, they all turned out to be inaccurate and incorrect. Most of the seeds being sold as ‘Porter’s Pride’ turned out to be the small, plumb-shaped ‘Porter‘ variety. Finally, in 2021, we received a sample of seeds from Seed Saver Exchange member, Neil Gillard (ONT GI N) of Ontario, Canada. Neil received his seed in 1996 from fellow seed saver, Glenn Longino (TX LO G2) of Hico, Texas who had purchased the seed directly from Porter & Son Seed Company. Each packet contains at least 20 seeds.