Choosing the best tomato varieties for your vegetable garden out of over 10,000 options can be challenging. Some are better for slicing, while others are ideal for saucing. Certain types can even balance sweet and tart with firm flesh and are best known for salad tomatoes.
Additionally, some tomatoes thrive in containers, while others need space to spread out. If you’re having trouble deciding, we can help you find the best tomato varieties to grow in your garden.
10Sungold Tomato
Sungold tomatoes are tangy-sweet and perfect for salads or eating fresh. They need full sun, nutrient-rich soil, and good drainage. They produce fruit twice a week and change from bright yellow to deep golden when ripe. Due to their long vines, a tomato cage is necessary to keep the fruit off the ground.
Sungold tomatoes thrive in containers placed in a sunny spot. Make sure to space them at least four feet apart in the garden for good air circulation and to make room for the support structure. Weekly watering is necessary, and ensure crop rotation in your garden to prevent soil nutrient depletion and disease spread.
9Black Cherry Tomato
Black Cherry tomatoes are a visually stunning choice for any vegetable garden. These tomatoes have a dark purple color and a unique, aromatic smell. They can be grown outdoors or in a greenhouse with proper care and attention. Black Cherry tomatoes are delicious fresh or in salads and great for making sauces and soups.
The plant can grow up to 250 cm tall and produce large clusters of juicy, soft tomatoes with a balanced sweet, fruity, and spicy flavor. These tomatoes need approximately six hours of full sunlight and moist soil for optimal growth. You can harvest them from the end of July until the first frost of winter.
10 Rarest Fruits You Probably Haven’t Even Heard Of
8Celebrity Tomato
Celebrity tomatoes are hybrid tomatoes resistant to pests and diseases and produce robust, meaty fruits with a globe-like smooth shape. They are perfect for sandwiches, salads, and sauces. The plants grow over 3-4 feet tall and continuously produce fruit until frost. Due to the abundant large fruits, tomato cages or stakes are necessary to keep the plant upright.
Even inexperienced gardeners will find this variety relatively easy to care for. If growing in containers, use large containers weighing at least five gallons to provide plenty of root space and good drainage. Celebrity tomato plants are hardy and can withstand temperature variations without much damage.
7Beefsteak Tomato
The beefsteak tomato is a large variety with pumpkin-like ribs and comes in pink, red, or orange. They are rich in vitamins A and C, have sweet or tangy flavors, and are a gardener’s favorite. Their large size makes them perfect for burgers or sandwiches.
The plant produces fewer fruits per season due to their heavy weight, and they require direct sunlight, well-draining soil with high organic matter, and plenty of water to grow. Staking or caging helps protect the plant’s roots from damage because of the giant fruits. Harvesting beefsteak tomatoes requires patience, which takes at least 75 to 85 days.
6Cherokee Purple Tomato
Cherokee Purple Tomato is a beefsteak variety with a dusky purple color and green shoulders. Its large round fruits have a sweet, slightly smoky flavor and are less acidic than many other varieties. Cherokee purple tomatoes can resist many diseases and require full sun, regular watering, and nutrient-rich soil for optimal growth.
Preparing the site with compost, worm castings, or well-rotted manure ensures a healthy nutrient supply. Covering the soil with mulch helps regulate soil temperature and maintain moisture. Planting them with herbs and legumes establishes nutrient balance and attracts beneficial insects. Fertilizing Cherokee Purple plants can be tricky, depending on soil fertility and following proper NPK ratio guidelines.
5Green Zebra Tomato
Green Zebra tomatoes have a unique appearance and flavor, making them a popular choice for gardens and cuisine. These tomatoes start green with dark stripes and mature into a green-yellow hue with mottled green and orange stripes, maintaining their stripes as they ripen. Being small and having a sweet and tart punch, they are perfect for salads and salsas.
Ensure planting them in spring to avoid diseases like fungal blight that can occur during rainy seasons. These plants are hardy and require very low maintenance. But well-drained soil and at least six hours of sunlight daily are essential to thrive. Additionally, organic fertilizer help keep the plants healthy and upright.
4San Marzano Tomato
San Marzano tomatoes are a unique variety native to Italy. They are oblong with pointed ends, fleshy, and have fewer seeds than other tomatoes, making them perfect for sauces. Many gardeners prefer these old-fashioned tomatoes due to their strong, sweet flavor and less acidic nature.
To grow them, dig a trench and bury the plant sideways with the tip above the soil surface. They grow in clusters of six to eight, so provide a stake or strong cage for added support. San Marzanos need full sunlight for at least 6 to 8 hours daily, and the soil should be consistently moist without drying out completely. Water the plants moderately with compost tea throughout the growing season.
3Early Girl Tomato
Early Girl varieties are versatile plants that yield red, deeply-flavored garden tomatoes. They are perfect for sauces and can fit well on sandwiches or bagels. Early Girl tomatoes are rich in vitamins A and C. They have a highly aromatic and meaty texture with concentrated flavor, maintaining a nice sweetness and acidity balance.
They can tolerate low temperatures and thrive in hot, dry climates. However, they require warm temperatures and plenty of sunshine for optimal growth. Researchers at the University of California have found that this tomato is especially suited for dryland farming, which uses less water after transplanting to encourage deeper rooting for producing a higher flavor concentration.
2Roma Tomato
Roma tomatoes are small, plum-shaped bright red fruits with few seeds, unlike most other tomato varieties, ideal for making sauces and ketchup. Due to its rich flavor, and dense flesh, Roma tomatoes are also suitable for eating fresh. You can grow the plants from seed sown in a heated propagator or buy young ready-grow plants.
Being frost-sensitive, planting them during cold weather spells can be risky. They require warm climates with plenty of direct light. Well-drained loamy soil mixed with organic matter such as compost help boost fertility. Proper drainage and installing tomato cages or stakes to prevent root disturbance are also essential for growing Roma tomato plants.
Related Articles
Top 10 lesser known vegetables in the world
Top 10 Vegetables with the Lowest Carb Counts
Top 10 Healthiest Vegetables for Weight Loss
1Brandywine Tomato
Brandywine Tomatoes are a popular, flavorful variety with large, ridged, asymmetrical fruits in red, pink, or yellow. They weigh up to two pounds and require a minimum of 80 to 100 days to mature. Their tall vines can reach up to nine feet, and their unique foliage is smooth and oval with pointed tips, resembling that of a potato plant.
These tomatoes require a site with at least eight hours of direct sunlight daily and well-drained, fertile soil with high organic matter. Being frost-sensitive, they require consistent air temperatures above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, providing organic fertilizers as a supplement when the plant begins to set fruit also helps the plant’s optimal growth.
