Tomato ‘Santorini Italian Flat’, Solanum lycopersicum, is a wonderfully flavoursome heirloom-style tomato producing distinctive flattened, deeply ribbed fruit with a beautiful rich red colour when ripe. Its irregular, old-fashioned appearance is part of its charm, and when sliced across the middle the heavily lobed fruit creates beautiful shapes on the plate. With dense, juicy flesh and a rich tomato flavour, it is an excellent variety for both fresh eating and cooking.

Despite the name Santorini, this particular variety is generally described in the seed trade as an Italian-type flattened tomato. It should not be confused with the small traditional cherry tomatoes associated with the Greek island of Santorini. Flat, heavily ribbed tomatoes have a particularly long history in Italy and the Mediterranean, where generations of gardeners selected tomatoes for flavour, fleshy interiors and their usefulness in sauces and traditional cooking.

Tomatoes themselves originated in western South America. Their wild ancestors grew in the region encompassing parts of present-day Peru, Ecuador and neighbouring areas. Domestication occurred in the Americas, and tomatoes were being cultivated in Mexico before Europeans encountered them during the 16th century.

Tomatoes reached Europe following Spanish exploration of the Americas. Italians were among the Europeans who enthusiastically adopted them, eventually developing an extraordinary diversity of local varieties. By the 18th and 19th centuries, tomatoes had become increasingly important in Italian cooking and were on their way to becoming inseparable from the cuisine we associate with Italy today.

Santorini Italian Flat produces medium to large tomatoes with a noticeably flattened shape and prominent ribbing around the fruit. Individual tomatoes can vary somewhat in shape, which gives them that wonderful traditional home-grown appearance rather than the perfectly uniform look of many supermarket tomatoes.

The flesh is meaty and substantial while still containing plenty of juice. Its rich tomato flavour makes it particularly good sliced fresh into salads and sandwiches or simply served with a little salt, olive oil and fresh basil.

It is equally valuable as a cooking tomato. The fleshy fruit can be used for pasta sauces, pizza, soups, casseroles, relishes and chutneys or slowly roasted to concentrate its natural sweetness.

Tomatoes are highly nutritious. They provide vitamin C, potassium, folate and vitamin K, together with dietary fibre and several naturally occurring antioxidant compounds.

Red tomatoes are particularly well known for containing lycopene, the carotenoid pigment responsible for much of their beautiful red colour. They also contain beta-carotene and other carotenoids. Interestingly, cooking tomatoes with a little oil can make some of their lycopene more readily available for the body to absorb.

Santorini Italian Flat grows as a vigorous tomato plant and will benefit from a sturdy stake, cage or trellis to support the stems as the crop develops. Plants can reach approximately 1.5–2 metres or more under favourable conditions.

Small yellow flowers develop in clusters and are followed by green fruit that gradually swell, flatten and develop their characteristic ribbing before ripening to red.

Tomatoes are self-fertile, meaning an individual flower contains both male and female reproductive parts. Bees and other insects can still be extremely useful because the vibration caused by their visits helps release pollen within the flower and can improve fruit set.

Plants prefer full sun, warm conditions and fertile, well-drained soil. Adding compost or well-rotted organic matter before planting will help support their long growing and fruiting period.

Consistent watering is particularly important once fruit begins developing. Large fluctuations between very dry and very wet soil can contribute to problems such as fruit splitting and blossom-end rot.

Mulching around the plants helps maintain more even soil moisture and keeps the root zone cooler during hot Australian summers.

When watering tomatoes, concentrate the water around the soil rather than repeatedly wetting the foliage. Good airflow and relatively dry leaves can help reduce the likelihood of fungal diseases.

Fruit is ready to harvest once it has developed its full mature colour and feels slightly softer when gently held. Tomatoes allowed to ripen on the plant can develop particularly wonderful flavour.

How to Grow From Seed:

Sow Tomato Santorini Italian Flat seeds from late winter through spring under protection, or directly during spring and early summer once conditions are reliably warm.

Sow seeds approximately 5 mm deep into good-quality seed-raising mix. Cover lightly and keep the mix consistently moist but not waterlogged.

Tomato seeds germinate best with warmth. Temperatures of approximately 20–25°C are ideal, with seedlings generally appearing within around 5–14 days.

Once seedlings have developed their first true leaves and are large enough to handle, transplant them into individual pots and continue growing them somewhere warm and bright.

Plant seedlings into the garden once the danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed. Space plants approximately 50–70 cm apart and provide a sturdy stake, cage or trellis at planting time.

Tomatoes can be planted somewhat deeper than they were growing in their pots. The buried portion of the stem can develop additional roots, helping produce a strong and well-established plant.

Choose a position receiving at least six hours of direct sunlight each day, preferably more. Enrich the soil with compost or well-rotted organic matter and water the young plants regularly while they establish.

Once flowering and fruiting begin, maintain consistent moisture and feed periodically with a fertiliser suitable for tomatoes and fruiting vegetables. Avoid excessive nitrogen, which can produce enormous leafy plants at the expense of fruit.

As the vines grow, gently secure them to their support where necessary. Harvest the tomatoes as they develop their rich red colour and become fully ripe.

With its beautifully flattened, deeply ribbed fruit and rich old-fashioned flavour, Santorini Italian Flat is a lovely tomato for gardeners who prefer their home-grown tomatoes to have plenty of character rather than looking as though they have just rolled off a supermarket production line.