How The Iconic 'Mortgage Lifter' Tomato Got Its Name, And How To Grow It Yourself

We love the lore behind food in general, but it seems that the world of tomatoes is especially bursting with colorful backstories. The rare Dixie Gold Giant tomato was once a secret closely guarded by Amish families, and the heirloom Noire de Cosebœuf tomato was first propagated in France with controversy swirling around its origin! Perhaps our favorite tomato origin story is that of a West Virginia farmer (M.C. Byles) nicknamed "Radiator Charlie" who paid off his mortgage during the Great Depression by cultivating enormous tomatoes derived from crossing the three biggest varieties he could find. The resulting beefsteak tomatoes were sold for a dollar apiece, a rich price that helped him wipe out his $6,000 mortgage in just six years!

Mortgage Lifter tomatoes command a ton of attention not just because the fruits are absolutely enormous — they average 2.5 pounds apiece — but also because they are downright delicious. If you can manage the weight and long, trailing vines of the Mortgage Lifter tomato plant, you can grow it at home in your own garden. All you need are strong supports that hold up the tremendous weight of the plant's yield, and a hefty dose of both water and fertilizer ... Mortgage Lifters are known as "heavy feeders" and have high needs in the area of both hydration and nutrients. Luckily, these plants are known to be fairly beginner-friendly and won't give you too much trouble — just a bumper crop of huge, juicy fruits.

"Grew them last year and found them to be one of the best tasting varieties I've ever grown," enthused a Redditor on the subject of Mortgage Lifter tomatoes. "Quite possibly one of the best slicers out there," claimed a commenter on another thread. Social media users love Mortgage Lifter tomatoes for their fleshiness, tremendous yield, and picturesque beauty. In fact, some home gardeners have reported their plants being so happy and thriving that, by August, they were almost buried in gigantic tomatoes!

These tomatoes do best when seedlings are planted in your garden during warm weather — it should be at least 65 degrees consistently at that point. You'll want to plant your seedlings in a garden plot that hasn't grown any other tomatoes in the past year, and which gets about six to eight hours of full sunshine every day. Mortgage Lifters are an indeterminate tomato type and take around 80 days to fully mature. Because of their sprawling size, they aren't best suited for containers, but you can try it out if you have at least 10 gallons and don't mind a diminished yield. 

When it comes to the Mortgage Lifters' extensive watering needs, the maxim holds true that the best way to water tomatoes is with a soaker hose. In terms of supporting the plants, thick wooden stakes are preferred — this isn't the moment for wimpy wire trellises. Mortgage Lifters are big, heavy tomatoes and they need reinforcements. Luckily, none of the plants' needs are expensive or overly burdensome, meaning that Mortgage Lifters can be a worthy, delicious addition to your summer garden.