How to Choose Tomato Plant Varieties

As a founding employee of Gardener's Supply, I wore many different hats over the years. Currently, I have my own company called Johnnie Brook Creative. The gardens around my home in Richmond, VT, include a large vegetable garden, seasonal greenhouse, cutting garden, perennial gardens, rock garden, shade garden, berry plantings, lots of container plants and a meadow garden. There's no place I'd rather be than in the garden. If you'd like to learn more, check out this January video interview by Garden Gate magazine.

Lianshou are exported all over the world and different industries with quality first. Our belief is to provide our customers with more and better high value-added products. Let's create a better future together.

There's a great diversity of tomato varieties available to the home gardener

There's a great diversity of tomato varieties available to the home gardener

From North to South, and coast to coast, tomatoes are consistently the most popular vegetable in American gardens. But for most gardeners, just any old tomato won't do.

Some like them red, some like them yellow, orange, or even purple. Some prefer tomatoes as tiny as a dime and some want them as big as a melon. Some like them juicy, some like them dense and pulpy. Fortunately, there are more than 700 different tomato varieties in cultivation today, so there are plenty of choices for everyone.

Disease Resistance

Tomatoes are vulnerable to a number of diseases that can weaken the plant and reduce yields. Look at the seed packet or plant label to see if the variety has resistance to verticillium and fusarium wilt, two very common soil-borne diseases that affect tomatoes. Resistance to these diseases is designated by a V or F after the variety name. If tomatoes in your region suffer from root-knot nematode (N), Tobacco Mosaic virus (T) or Alternaria (A), look for resistance to these diseases as well. Late blight is a problem in many areas, so choose a variety that's resistant.

Growth Habit

To get a bumper tomato crop, you need to provide enough room for the plant and adequate support. To narrow down the choices, figure out where you are going to grow the plants. Tomato plants have one of two growth habits:

1. Determinate varieties grow to a certain height (usually 2 to 3 feet), set fruit, and then concentrate on ripening that fruit.
2. Indeterminate varieties keep growing taller and taller, setting and ripening fruit until they're killed by frost. These varieties require more support (from cages and stakes) and more a bit more attention from the gardener.

If you have a limited amount of growing space &#; or will be growing tomatoes in a pot or a planter &#; you should probably select a determinate variety. Determinate varieties are also good for cold-climate gardeners who need to harvest their whole crop within a couple weeks. If you have plenty of space, prefer to pick your tomatoes over several months, and are prepared to provide sturdy support with stakes, cages or ladders, select an indeterminate variety.

Heirloom, Open-Pollinated or Hybrid?

If you want to save your own seeds from one year to the next, you should plant heirloom or open-pollinated varieties. Seeds collected from these plants will "come true". This means they will grow into an identical plant the following year. Heirloom tomatoes, such as Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter and Arkansas Traveler, are open-pollinated varieties that have been passed on from one generation to the next.

Hybrids are a cross between two genetically different varieties that have been selected for certain traits. Hybrid varieties often offer better disease resistance or higher yields. If you save the seeds from hybrids you will not get the same traits in the new plants.

Most varieties of paste tomatoes are determinate. Because most of the fruit ripens within two or three weeks, I spend those couple weekends canning, making sauce for the freezer, and running the dehydrator. Then it's over! Because these determinate plants only get about 2 feet high, they do fine with little or no support. I just use plastic or straw mulch to keep the fruit off the ground.

Supplies for Growing Tomatoes

Most cherry and beefsteak tomatoes are indeterminate. This means the plants get huge, but it also means they produce fruit continuously from early July right to frost. Make sure you have a tomato support and some tomato ties if you pick an indeterminate variety.

Time to Maturity

Timing is important if you have a short growing season. Where I live, I need to harvest my tomatoes by early September, before the light fades and frost comes. So I look for varieties that will start ripening fruit in less than 75 days. Many of the really big beefsteak varieties require 90 days to mature. Check the seed packet or plant label for days-to-harvest. Not sure when you usually get frost in fall? Use a zip-code look-up for frost dates.

Tomato Variety Flavor and Texture

Fruit characteristics are what I care about most. I use tomatoes in salads, on sandwiches, and just to eat out of hand. I dry them, can them and also use them in fresh and frozen sauces. So I select tomato varieties based on how well they're suited to these uses.

Two tomato varieties with unusual striping.

Two tomato varieties with unusual striping.

Some of Our Favorite Varieties

Bush 506

This compact hybrid has thick, sturdy, upright stems that support a heavy yield of flavorful, medium- to large-sized tomatoes. A determinate variety, it grows 18" to 24" tall. This early-maturing variety begins producing in about eight weeks. Grow Bush 506 from seed or buy transplants in spring.

Bush 506 in one of our test gardens

Bush 506 in one of our test gardens

4th of July

Growing to 4' or taller and producing loads of fruit that begin ripening earlier than many other varieties, this hybrid has good flavor, especially for an early-maturing variety. Start your own from seed or buy transplants in spring.

4th of July Tomato seedling

4th of July Tomato seedling

Litt'l Bites

This is the most compact variety of tomato I've ever grown," says Deborah Miuccio, who runs our test gardens. "It doesn't get bigger than 2 feet tall. I harvested over 500 cherry tomatoes from a single plant." Look for seeds in your favorite catalog, or seedlings at your garden center.

Litt'l Bites, thriving in a

Litt'l Bites, thriving in a grow bag

Brandywine

This heirloom has the most delicious flavor and texture of any tomato I've grown," says Miuccio. "The plant is gorgeous, with beautiful, large leaves and fruit. Grow one of each color. Only gets about 3-4' tall." Look for seeds in your favorite catalog &#; or seedlings at your garden center.

Brandywine tomatoes in pink and yellow

Brandywine tomatoes in pink and yellow

Juliet

This indeterminate produces a huge crop. The fruit is oval and it's about 2" long. It's firm, glossy and quite dense, like a miniature paste tomato. Juliet ripens fast and furious, and I use it for soups, sauces, salsas and cold salads. They also get stewed whole for canning, and get halved for drying.

Best Tomatoes for Pots and Planters

Even if you don't have a lot of space, you can grow a crop of juicy tomatoes. The secret: choose a variety that matches the type of planter and support you'll be using. With more and more options available each year, here's our guide to selecting the perfect plant:

• In general, it's best to choose determinate (bush) varieties, which are more compact. Indeterminate types can get quite tall &#; up to 10' or more! However, there are also shorter indeterminate varieties so check plant tags for mature heights.
• Consider varieties that have "patio," "dwarf" or "mini" in the name, which means the plant is probably compact.
• Choose a variety with a mature height that is equal to or less than the height of the cage or other support you'll be using.
• Some of our tomato planters designed here in Vermont have built-in supports; a few even have extensions you can add to increase the height of the support so you can grow taller varieties.
• For the broadest range of choice, start from seed. The Dwarf Tomato Project offers dozens of options, identified by gardeners from around the globe.
• Small-fruited varieties don't always grow on compact plants. Some cherry tomato plants can become huge; others are smaller in stature. Check the plant tag first.
• Get garden-tested recommendations from local garden center experts, neighborhood gardeners and friends.
• Consider pruning the vines to boost productivity and reduce bulk.

Once you have the right plant, make sure you use potting soil that's made for pots and planters. Do not use ordinary garden soil, which does not drain well when used in containers. Choose a tomato support that will accommodate the growth of your plant. In high winds, a mature plant can act like a sail. Find a way to anchor the planter so it's secure.

 

Many people grow tomatoes from starts purchased at a hardware store or nursery, which is great for convenience, but gives you only a few varieties to pick from. One good reason to graduate to growing your tomatoes from seed is to have access to many more interesting varieties. In fact, opening up a seed catalog to choose tomato seeds can be almost overwhelming! Tomatoes are one of the most diverse vegetable crops out there. They come in seemingly endless shapes, sizes, and colors, and there are different varieties adapted to just about every climate and culinary use. Here&#;s a guide to the many kinds of tomatoes, and how to choose the best varieties for your garden.

 

Types of Tomatoes

The first thing to ask yourself when choosing what varieties of tomatoes to grow in your garden is, how do I want to eat them? Here are the three broad categories we use to describe the types of tomatoes, based on how they&#;re used.

 

Slicing Tomatoes

Slicing tomatoes are big and round or flattened-round (aka &#;oblate,&#; if you want to impress your gardener friends) and perfect for making thick slices for burgers or sandwiches. Some slicers are described as &#;beefsteak&#; type, meaning they are especially big and meaty.

 

 

 

Paste Tomatoes

Paste or sauce tomatoes are characterized by rich flavor, thick fruit walls, and very small seed cavities, which help them cook down into tomato paste or homemade sauce quicker than bigger, juicier varieties. They are also great for canning in general, whole or chopped, and their relatively low moisture content makes them ideal for dried tomatoes as well. Some paste tomatoes might also be pretty good for fresh eating, but their highest calling is as a cooking ingredient.

 

 

 

Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry tomato varieties produce small, juicy fruits that grow in clusters, and are perfect for snacking, salads, or to use in veggie kebabs on the grill. There&#;s a special little joy in popping a sun-warmed, perfectly ripe cherry tomato in your mouth while working in the garden on a summer day.

 

 

 

Determinate vs. Indeterminate

You&#;ll notice that all tomato variety descriptions will note that the variety is either determinate or indeterminate. &#;Determinate&#; means that the plants will grow to a certain size, set a lot of fruits at once, ripen them all at about the same time, then stop producing. &#;Indeterminate&#; means the plants will continually grow, flower, and set fruits a few at a time throughout the season, until frost or blight stops them. Most paste tomatoes are determinate, since you want a lot of ripe fruit at once to make it worth your trouble to can them or make sauce. Many dwarf tomatoes for container growing also behave more like determinate types. The majority of the slicing and cherry tomatoes that Sow True Seed carries are indeterminate. There are determinate slicers and cherry tomatoes out there, but they tend to be favored more by commercial producers than home gardeners, who mostly prefer a gradual harvest throughout the summer to a ton of tomatoes at once.

Popular Kinds of Tomatoes

Now you know a little more about how to choose the right tomatoes for your garden. &#;But there&#;s still so many to choose from, how do I pick!?&#; you say. Here&#;s a guide to some all-time favorite varieties of all different shapes, sizes, colors and types.

 

 

 

Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes are what many gardeners are after, because of their storied reputation for excellent flavor. An &#;heirloom&#; vegetable is any variety that has been passed down generation to generation. Most originated before the second World War, and many are much older than that. If a variety has been saved and passed down for that long, you know it tastes good, and many of these have great stories to go along with their culinary quality. Plus, many have quirky shapes and colors you&#;d never see at a grocery store. About half the tomatoes we offer at Sow True Seed are heirlooms! Browse all of our heirloom tomatoes, or check out these gems you might not have heard of:

Unusual Heirloom Tomato Varieties

• Oaxacan Pink

  - Medium-sized, ribbed fruits with a gorgeous pink hue.

• Chocolate Stripes

  - Dark green stripes on maroon, medium-sized fruit.

• Paul Robeson - Delicious round slicers with a purple blush on the shoulders.

 

 

 

Beefsteak Tomatoes

&#;Beefsteak tomato&#; is basically synonymous with &#;amazing sandwich.&#; These hefty slicing tomatoes are the biggest and meatiest around, so satisfying to pick and enjoy.

 

Varieties of Beefsteak Tomatoes

• Pink Brandywine

  - A legendary heirloom tomato!

• Cherokee Purple

  - Sow True&#;s all-time bestselling tomato variety.

  If you want to learn more, please visit our website wholesale tomato seeds.

• Mortgage Lifter - Incredible 1-2 lb fruits are common on this variety.

 

 

 

Green Tomatoes

Not unripe green tomatoes like you use for fried green tomatoes - tomatoes that stay green when they&#;re sweet and ripe! These unusual varieties are especially great to grow at home, because you usually won&#;t find them in the grocery store. (Not that you&#;re going back to grocery store tomatoes once you&#;ve seen the light of the home-grown kind anyway.)

 

Varieties of Green Tomatoes

• Aunt Ruby&#;s German Green

  - An heirloom large, green slicer.

• Green Doctors

  - A green cherry named for tomato experts Dr. Carolyn Male, and Dr. Amy Goldman.

• Green Zebra - Medium-sized round slicer with very flashy green and yellow striping.

 

 

 

Purple or &#;Black&#; Tomatoes

Some tomatoes have deep burgundy or purple coloration, which comes from high levels of anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant, in their skin. Beautiful, flavorful, and healthy!

 

Varieties of Purple Tomatoes

• Black Krim

  - A Ukrainian heirloom with a smoky, complex flavor.

• Black Cherry

  - Beautiful round fruits that are purple all the way through.

• Black from Tula - A dark purple shouldered tomato probably originally from Tula, Russia, good for slicing and canning.

 

 

 

Yellow, Bicolor, and White Tomatoes

Rounding out the rainbow of tomato colors are bright yellow, bicolor (ie red and yellow), and white tomatoes.

 

Varieties of Yellow, Bicolor and White Tomatoes

• Hillbilly

  - A large bicolor with yellow stripes.

• Garden Peach

  - Sweet fruits are yellow-orange when ripe, and oddly, slightly fuzzy like a peach!

• Snowball - Medium-large slicers are very pale, creamy yellow, almost truly white.

 

 

 

Dwarf Tomatoes for Container Growing

Do you have very little space to devote to your tomato plants, or just don&#;t want to mess with trellises or cages? A dwarf variety could be just the ticket! These tomatoes have been bred to grow very short, stout, bushy plants that do just fine in a container, and usually need little to no support. You&#;re not limited to just cherry tomatoes in this category - some dwarf varieties produce full-sized slicers despite their small stature.

 

Varieties of Dwarf Tomatoes

• New Big Dwarf

  - Big tomatoes on a little plant!

• Tiny Tim

  - Loads of super sweet, small cherry tomatoes on a container-friendly plant.

• Dwarf Golden Gypsy - Medium sized golden yellow slicers on compact plants.

 

 

 

Pear Tomatoes

Pear tomatoes grow beautiful pear or teardrop-shaped fruits, and make an eye-catching addition to a salad.

 

Varieties of Pear Tomatoes

• Yellow Pear

  - These little bright yellow drops are an iconic heirloom.

• Queen Aliquippa - A medium sized, pear-shaped, green-when-ripe tomato with a great name and tangy delicious flavor to match.

 

 

 

Paste Tomatoes

Excited to make your own canned tomatoes, sauce, or sun-dried tomatoes? These flavorful heirloom paste tomatoes will make it worth your while!

 

Varieties of Paste Tomatoes

• Amish Paste

  - Deep red, acorn-shaped fruits are an old-time favorite.

• San Marzano

  - An old Italian heirloom, fantastic for sauce and tomato paste.

• Principe Borghese

  - The classic favorite for sun-dried tomatoes.

• Speckled Roman - Tons of flavor and beautiful, yellow-striped fruits.

 

 

 

Cherry Tomatoes

These varieties will produce loads of fun little snacking tomatoes!

 

Varieties of Cherry Tomatoes

• Brown Berry

  - &#;Brown&#; doesn&#;t really do them justice - more like a bronze glow!

• Cherry Sweetie

  - The classic sweet, red cherry tomato.

• Matt&#;s Wild Cherry

  - Very prolific and disease resistant producer of tiny, sweet fruits. Often reseeds itself.

• Hartman&#;s Yellow Gooseberry

  - An almost century-old heirloom that produces tons of tiny, round, yellow fruits.

Now that you have lots of tomato inspiration for next summer&#;s garden, don&#;t forget to brush up on how to grow tomatoes.

 

Article Written by: Leah Smith

About the Author: Leah Smith is the Seed Product Manager at Sow True Seed, where she focuses on adding new varieties to the catalog and ensuring the seed stock is top-notch. Her firsthand experience in farming has given her a deep understanding of cultivating crops while caring for the environment. 

 

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit indeterminate round tomato seeds.