VegetableTomato
St. Pierre Tomato
St. Pierre is a French heirloom tomato that brings old-world charm and reliability to any garden. This open-pollinated, indeterminate variety produces small, round 2-inch red fruits with distinctive green shoulders, maturing in 70-79 days from transplant. It thrives in hardiness zones 2-11 and grows as a tall, tender vine that needs support, reaching 4-6 feet. What sets St. Pierre apart is its proven ability to produce sweet, rich fruit even under challenging weather, making it a dependable choice for unpredictable growing seasons.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
2-11
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained, Fertile Loam With Organic Matter
Growth Stats
72 in
Height
TypeIndeterminate
Spacing
24
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
2-11
Size
72in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
High
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Highlights
St. Pierre earned its reputation as a dependable producer because it actually delivers when conditions turn difficult. The thin-skinned, 2-inch red fruits with green shoulders pack a sweet, rich flavor that makes them worth seeking out. Its open-pollinated heritage means you can save seed year after year, and its indeterminate growth habit keeps it producing until frost. Growing from transplant to harvest in just 70-79 days, this variety rewards patient gardeners with consistent yields on vigorous, tender vines.
Common Uses
St. Pierre excels as a fresh eating tomato, where its sweet, rich flavor and thin skin shine in salads and simple preparations that let the fruit's character speak for itself. The modest 2-inch size makes individual fruits manageable for fresh slicing and plating, and the prolific yields typical of indeterminate varieties ensure you'll have plenty for both table and preservation if you choose to can or freeze excess harvest.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Start Indoors
Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before your last expected frost date. Sow seeds 1/4 inch deep in moist seed-starting mix kept at 70-75°F. Seedlings emerge in 5-10 days and need bright light immediately to prevent legginess.
Transplant Outdoors
Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7-10 days. Transplant outdoors after all danger of frost has passed and soil has warmed to at least 60°F, ideally 65-70°F. Space plants 24 inches apart with 36 inches between rows. Bury the stem deeper than it grew indoors to encourage a stronger root system.
Harvesting
Pick fruits when they reach full red color, as St. Pierre develops its best flavor when tree-ripened. The small 2-inch size makes individual fruits easy to spot and harvest. Handle with care given the thin skin, which bruises easily. Harvest every 2-3 days during peak production to encourage continued flowering. In late season as temperatures cool, you can harvest fruits at the breaker stage (when color just begins to show) and ripen them indoors; they'll develop good flavor but won't match tree-ripened fruit.
Pruning
As an indeterminate variety, St. Pierre benefits from pruning to manage vine growth and improve air circulation. Remove lower leaves once the plant reaches 12-18 inches tall, eliminating foliage below the first fruit cluster to reduce disease pressure. Prune suckers (shoots that form between the main stem and branches) on indeterminate plants to direct energy toward fruit production rather than excessive leafy growth. Continue light pruning throughout the season, always removing only dead or diseased material and maintaining an open canopy structure.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Pests & Diseases
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Solanum lycopersicum
Family
Solanaceae
Genus
Solanum
Growth Habit
Indeterminate
Native Status
L48 (I)AK (I)HI (I)PR (I)VI (I)CAN (W)
History & Origin
“St. Pierre carries the heritage of French market gardening, where it was valued for reliable production and exceptional flavor. As an open-pollinated heirloom, it has been preserved and passed down through seed-saving gardeners across generations, maintaining its distinctive characteristics without the interventions of modern hybridization. Its survival as a cultivar speaks to the gardeners who chose to keep it alive, recognizing its value not just as food but as a living connection to culinary tradition.”