Green Zebra Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum 'Green Zebra'

vegetable

Green Zebra is an eye-catching 1983 introduction by breeder Tom Wagner, with lime-green skin striped in yellow that ripens to a golden-green rather than red. The 2 to 4 ounce fruits have a bright, tangy-sweet, almost citrusy flavor that makes them a standout sliced onto a plate or mixed into a colorful salad. The indeterminate vines are productive and reliable, and the firm flesh holds together well in the kitchen. Its main quirk is teaching the gardener to judge ripeness on a tomato that never turns red.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Basil — Deters whiteflies
• French Marigold — Suppresses nematodes
• Nasturtium — Trap crop for aphids
• Borage — Attracts pollinators and hornworm predators

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Tomato hornworm →

  Interplant dill and borage; inspect weekly; parasitic wasps keep populations in check

• Aphids →

  Attract lacewings with flowering herbs; hose off small colonies early

• Blossom-end rot →

  Maintain consistent soil moisture and mulch

🌾 Harvest & storage

Ripe fruit is ready about 75 to 80 days from transplant. It is ripe when the background green warms slightly and the yellow stripes brighten, and most tellingly when the blossom end yields to gentle pressure; the persistent green color fools beginners into picking too late. When in doubt, taste-test a fruit and let that calibrate your eye for the rest. Harvest every few days, store at room temperature, and do not refrigerate. The firm flesh keeps a little longer than most heirlooms once picked.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Green Zebra provides vitamin C, potassium, and vitamin K and stays very low in calories. Its lycopene is lower than a red tomato since the fruit never develops full red pigment, but that is partly offset by chlorophyll and other green-fruit compounds, and the bright acidity makes it refreshing eaten fresh in a salad or a plate of mixed-color tomatoes.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Eat the ripe fruit only. Tomato leaves and stems (and large amounts of very unripe green fruit) contain solanine-type compounds and are not for eating.