1 / 4open-pollinated
Mortgage Lifter
Also sold as: Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter
Famous West Virginia pink heirloom beefsteak associated with Radiator Charlie Byles, producing very large, meaty, mild-sweet fruit on vigorous indeterminate vines with good yield for its size.
- Shape
- Oblate / flattened
- Fruit type
- Beefsteak
- Growth habit
- Indeterminate / cordon
- Where it grows
- Both
- Typical fruit weight
- 567 g (340–907 g)
- Days to maturity
- 83 days (80–85) from transplant
- Sweetness
- High
- Flavour intensity
- High
- Productivity
- High
- Cracking resistance
- Medium
Researched variety data
Variety research
Audited facts from the variety record. Only recorded values are shown.
Researched variety data
Growing advice
- Containers
- Not for containers
- Support needed
- Substantial
- Growing notes
- Very large fruit requires exceptionally strong support. Because many historically distinct tomatoes have circulated under the Mortgage Lifter name, future source-level records should retain strain names rather than merging all Mortgage Lifter accessions.
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Community evidence
Grower reviews
What members reported after growing this variety, kept separate from researched information.
Published reviews are community content — see our Terms of Use.
8.0/10
Grower rating
1 review
10.0 / 10
Flavour · 1 review
100%
Would grow again · 1 of 1 answered
Sweetness
Medium
1 grower observation
Acidity
Medium
1 grower observation
Flavour intensity
Very strong
1 grower observation
Productivity
Medium
1 grower observation
Generally low cracking reported by growers— observed by growers, not a breeder resistance rating (1 report)
- Slight100% (1)
Growers describe the flavour as
- Classic tomato
- Savoury/umami
MMegan
8/10 overall · 10/10 flavour
Michigan · USDA Zone 6a · Outdoors · Raised bed · Part sun · 2026
- Sweetness: Medium
- Acidity: Medium
- Flavour intensity: Very strong
- Productivity: Medium
- Cracking: Slight
- Would grow again: Definitely
Classic tomato · Savoury/umami
My absolute favorite for flavor and size. Kind of a bitch to grow, about 1 in every 5 flowers become fruit. Not the worst as far as disease resistance goes, but not the best either. They’re still my favorite and I have yet to find one that compares
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Problems this grower observed
- Grower observation: Septoria leaf spot — mild
- Grower observation: Catfacing or deformed fruit — mild
- Grower observation: Poor fruit set — severe
- Grower observation: Uneven ripening — mild
Showing 1 of 1 review, 10 at a time.
Similar varieties
Photographs
Photo: Megan
Photo: Megan
Photo: Megan
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