Where to buy seeds
Some links are affiliate links — Verdantly may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more.
Gold Medal is an heirloom tomato that delivers one of summer's greatest pleasures: ripe, juicy fruit that tastes as beautiful as it looks. This indeterminate variety produces large bicolored fruits weighing 1 to 3 pounds, their golden-yellow skin blushed with rosy red that radiates from the blossom end. From the late legendary seed collector Ben Quisenberry, Gold Medal reaches maturity in 75 to 90 days and thrives in full sun, rewarding patient gardeners with smooth, firm tomatoes ideal for fresh eating straight off the vine.
Full Sun
Moderate
2-11
84in H x ?in W
—
High
Hover over chart points for details
The true hallmark of Gold Medal is its striking appearance and exceptional flavor balance. The fruits are among the smoothest bicolored tomatoes available, with a gentle gradient of golden yellow deepening to crimson that makes each tomato a garden jewel. Sweet, mild flesh with very little acid sets it apart from many slicing tomatoes, and the firm texture holds up beautifully in salads and on sandwiches. Grown from seed collected by one of horticulture's most respected curators, this variety carries a lineage of careful selection and preservation.
Gold Medal excels as a fresh eating tomato, equally at home sliced for salads, layered into sandwiches, or eaten warm from the garden. Its low acid content and sweet, mild flavor make it especially appealing to those who find conventional tomatoes too sharp or acidic. The firm flesh and beautiful appearance also make it suitable for presentation on a platter, where its golden-red coloring becomes part of the dish itself.
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Sow seeds 1/8 inch deep in moist seed-starting mix and maintain soil temperature between 70 and 90°F for germination. Seeds typically sprout within 7 to 14 days. Provide bright light once seedlings emerge, and keep soil consistently moist but not waterlogged.
Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days before transplanting. Move them to the garden after all danger of frost has passed and soil temperature has reached at least 55°F, though 75°F or warmer is ideal for vigorous growth. Space plants 18 inches apart to allow room for their indeterminate growth habit.
Harvest Gold Medal tomatoes when they are fully ripe, when the golden skin deepens to its full rosy-red blush and the fruit yields slightly to gentle pressure. Pick fruit regularly once it reaches mature size (typically 1 to 3 pounds) to encourage continued production. For best flavor, harvest when fully ripe on the vine rather than picking early and ripening indoors. If you do need to harvest green fruit, allow them to ripen in a cool, dark area away from direct sunlight, ensuring fruits do not touch one another during ripening.
As an indeterminate variety, Gold Medal produces new flowers and fruit throughout the growing season and will benefit from selective pruning. Remove suckers (shoots that develop between the main stem and branches) to direct energy toward fruit production and improve air circulation. Some gardeners prune lower leaves once fruit is well-established to reduce disease pressure from soil splash and improve ripening on upper fruits. Pruning is optional but can improve overall plant health in humid climates.
Enter your ZIP code to see a personalized growing calendar for this plant.
“Gold Medal traces its lineage to Ben Quisenberry, a legendary late seed collector whose life's work centered on preserving heirloom tomato varieties. The variety emerged from his careful observations and selections, representing decades of horticultural wisdom about what makes a tomato worth growing. Through Quisenberry's dedication and the stewardship of seed companies like Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Gold Medal has been preserved and passed to contemporary gardeners, ensuring this cultivar remains available to those who value both flavor and visual beauty in their harvest.”