Everything about this little Nature's Wonder makes it
stand out of the plethora of tomato varieties:
- Inca Youth Cherry tomato is a native Andean variety ,
the Heirloom roots of which are traced back to at least Pre-Columbian Americas, to the Early Incan Empire times.
Already at that time Incas realized that its fruits offered
especially significant health benefits, particularly when it came to
prolonging body's functional youth and maintaining high energy levels .
This unique positive effects on human body,
plus the variety's EXTRAORDINARY ablility to sprout RED or YELLOW from the same seed
gave rise to INCA'S BELIEF that this plant was a gift of Gods to People.
Red-fruiting varieties were considered particularly health-fortifying and energy-enhancing, whereas
the rarer yellow-fruiting ones were praized as youth-prolonging ones.
Concequently, fruits of Inca Youth Cherry were not realeased for mass consumption cultivation and were only available to
PRIVILIGED levels of society, in limited quantities – as remedy and youth food.
Modern science CONFIRMED and EXPLAINED ANSCIENT beliefs in Inca Youth Cherry's "Mysterious" unique health aiding and body rejuventaing abilities :
- First and foremost, the highest level of Lycopene among all cherry tomatoes !
Since the middle of last century, there has been ongoing research in medical and biochemical fields - looking to find the best tomato varieties in the world for human health,
particularly those highest in lycopene for cancer prevention.
Inca Youth Cherry ( Peacevine Cherry) tomato is the point where opinions of most scientists meet:
it is World's healthiest cherry tomato.
Not only is it the highest on the key element of Lycopene,
but also scores among the top 3 highest in total crotenoids and polyphenolic compounds – elements extremely important for
prolonging youth, supporting brain functions and strengthening general immune system, among multiple other health benefits.
An example of recent and very comprehensive for a non-specialist study is here:http://treecropsresearch.org/heirloom-tomatoes/
- Not only does Inca Youth Cherry contain highest levels of health compounds that tomatoes are famous for. This variety also
boasts UNIQUE amino-acids, not found in common tomatoes,
that are very EFFECTIVE ANTI-STRESS agents!
Need i say more in our busy days?...- Doctors warn that the root of all diseases is in stress...
- Unusually high for tomatoes concentrations of Vitamin C in Inca Youth Cherry give you an additional immunity boost and free radical protection!
- Detailed info on Health Benefits that Inca Youth Cherry shares with other tomatoes, but in much higher concentrations, is in ebay listing, "HEALTH BENEFITS of Tomatoes " section.
- Inca Youth Cherry tomato is a WILD grade variety.
It means that it can be found growing in the wild as well as in the gardens.
AND! - that despite being a long-term favorite,
it has never been modified by any human selection, let alone genetic modifications!
For it has been proven that tomato varieties (and vegetables in general)
that have undergone deliberate breeding manipulation are
nutritionally deficient in comparison with original, wild or semi-wild varieties,
which exhibit much greater levels of compounds vital for human health.
- Inca Youth Cherry tomato is one of the wonders that occur in Nature,
although very rarely.
Seeds from exactly the same bush give rise to
97% of red-fruiting tomatoes, which is great as they are the highest in Lycopene.
But if you are extremely lucky,
you just might hit the remaining 3% and
become the proud owner of the VERY RARE YELLOW Inca Youth Cherry! -
which will still be one of the highest on all healthy components,
plus in slightly more bio-available form!
The seeds from your possible yellow baby, however, are subject to the same 97/3 ratio:
most of them will sprout red – which means
the value of getting a yellow is ever lasting!:)
- An additional BONUS going for Inca Youth Cherry is that GERMINATION rate
is unusually HIGH for (semi)wild varieties –
fresh seeds which are propagated correctly can sprout up to 90% or more!
- Last, but not least, Inca Youth Cherry is unusually easy to cultivate,especially for semi-wild varieties.Fruit Fly, Blossom End Rot and Tomato Ear Worm –problems so common for tomatoes and that can trash your whole harvest! -I have never seen them occur with Inca Youth Cherry!In fact, this is one of the three "Problem-free" tomato varieties that we have,and we are gradually giving up on other ones.Detailed cultivation advise is in the CULTIVATION section below.
Scientific studies have shown that
baby vegetables tend to contain higher level of nutrients (hence health benefits)
than the regular-sized ones.
But in the grocery stores even COMMON cherry tomatoes
are considerably more expensive...
Let alone SUPERIOR varieties like this one...
Inca Youth Cherry is truly a
great value:
Densely covered with clusters of
8-12 DELICIOUS bite-sized,
scarlet-red or golden-yellow tomatoes
1.5- 2.5 cm diameter,
the plant reaches maturity much quicker
and then it just never stops fruiting.
It produces literally thousands of fruits!
1 bush per 2 family members
is more than enough.
Start fruiting in about 1 month in good weather.