Oregon Spring Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum


An American open-pollinated tomato bred specifically for cool short-season gardens — a compact bush carrying medium round red fruit around 120–180g each, with a well-balanced mild flavour and few seeds. Fruit sets reliably in cool weather when most tomatoes stall, which is what makes this variety the pick for gardens where summer arrives late or leaves early. Nearly seedless flesh (a genuine trait of the cultivar) makes it a clean slicer for sandwiches and salads. Determinate habit keeps the plant compact and self-supporting with modest staking. Determinate / bush habit — a short stake or small cage is all it needs.

Days to harvest 60–75 days from transplant
Fruit size Medium round fruit, 120–180g
Sowing depth 5mm
Germination 5–14 days at soil temperature 16–35°C; best around 21–24°C
Spacing 50–60cm apart
Aspect Open, sunny position; light to heavy soil with good drainage
Frost tolerance Sensitive to frost; plant out only once frosts have finished

Growing notes

A warm, sheltered position suits it best, though this variety handles cool starts and short seasons better than nearly any other tomato — it was bred for exactly those conditions.

Soil preparation: Well-rotted compost worked in before planting, with a balanced feed high in phosphorus.

Support: A single sturdy stake or a small cage is enough — the determinate habit means the plant carries most of its own weight.

Containers: Suits a large pot of 40L or more with a stake or short cage; keep water and feed consistent, as pots dry out faster than beds. The compact habit makes this a genuine container tomato rather than a barely-tolerated one.

Watering & feeding: Deep, consistent watering at the base. Overhead watering invites disease. Side-dress with a potassium-rich feed once flowering starts.

Harvest: Pick when fully coloured and slightly yielding to gentle pressure. The determinate habit tends to concentrate fruit set into a shorter window than an indeterminate — plan for a heavier peak with regular checking rather than a long trickle.

Timing: First ripe fruit around 60–75 days from transplant.

Key features

  • Bred for cool-summer gardens — sets fruit in cool weather
  • Medium red slicing fruit, 120–180g
  • Nearly seedless flesh
  • Early cropping — first ripe fruit ahead of most
  • Compact determinate plant — well suited to small gardens
  • Meaty texture with balanced mild flavour

Short season tips


Sow 6–8 weeks before your last frost. Grow on under cover until night temperatures sit reliably above 12–14°C. In Coonabarabran and similar inland zones, plant out from mid-October. A hoop tunnel or cloche buys earlier plantings. Oregon Spring is one of the most reliable short-season tomatoes going — a strong choice for the earliest planting or as insurance against a cool spring stalling other varieties.

  • Spring
  • Summer

Tender perennial — almost always grown as an annual in Australia

  • Basil, chives, parsley, marigold, carrots
  • Other nightshades (potatoes, eggplant, capsicum), brassicas, fennel, corn


Bred by Dr James Baggett at Oregon State University and released in 1984, specifically to solve the problem of tomato production in the cool short summers of the American Pacific Northwest — where most classic heirlooms failed to set fruit reliably. Baggett's release combined early cropping, cool-set flowering, and the compact bush habit that made it easy to grow in home-garden footprints. Now well past the 40-year mark and treated as a modern heirloom by most seed keepers, it has become a standard reference for anyone gardening in a marginal-summer climate.