Seed Stories: The Peg O’ My Heart Tomato
I believe in that tomato; it’s truly special.”
For Peg Davis, having her ‘Peg O’ My Heart’ tomato accepted into the Seed Savers Exchange collection was a dream come true.
It all started nearly 50 years ago when Peg was given a packet of just four seeds by a ninth-grade agriculture student she was teaching. The student explained that the seeds belonged to her family’s tomato, which her deceased grandparents had grown all their lives in Pennsylvania. However, since her parents were not interested in gardening, she didn’t want the variety to disappear.
Peg got all four seeds in the packet to sprout, and since that time, she has saved and selected seeds from the best fruit to cultivate the strongest specimens of the tomato year after year. Her efforts have perfected its balanced flavor and texture, along with other desirable traits that distinguish it from other tomato varieties. Peg sells ‘Peg O’ My Heart’ tomatoes alongside other varieties at the Staunton (Virginia) Farmers’ Market, where she is known as the “Tomato Lady.” Customers come from miles to purchase the hearty beefsteak variety.
Sharing ‘Peg O’ My Heart’ seeds with gardeners across the country, though, is on another level for Peg. In Fall 2025, Seed Savers Exchange introduced the tomato as a new “From the Collection” offering in its latest catalog. “I receive numerous seed catalogs every year, but Seed Savers Exchange has always been my favorite. I love the organization’s mission; its work is amazing and so necessary. But the stories—oh, the stories! For many years, I entertained the idea that perhaps ‘Peg O’ My Heart’ could one day be featured in the Seed Savers Exchange catalog because I believe in that tomato; it’s truly special,” Peg said.
In 2025, Seed Savers Exchange grew 88 ‘Peg O’ My Heart’ plants in high tunnels at Heritage Farm for seed production, evaluation, and the tomato-tasting event held in September. And Peg, a workshop presenter at the 50th-anniversary event, was delighted to “inspect” them firsthand.
“It was an honor to see Peg walk through the rows of all the ‘Peg O’ My Heart’ tomatoes growing at the farm,” said Corbin Scholz, farm director. “She said they tasted just as good in Iowa as they do in Virginia!”
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Learn more about the story behind the ‘Peg O’ My Heart’ tomato.