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By Bobbie Whitehead
When it comes to growing tomatoes, gardeners can find more varieties than imaginable. With this long list of varieties in mind, which ones should a grower choose?
Newcomers to growing tomatoes as well as seasoned veterans might want to contact their local agricultural extension offices to find out which varieties grow best in their area as well as what’s new for the upcoming season.
Growers can also check with seed companies, whose catalogs and web sites identify popular varieties.
When it comes to growing tomatoes, gardeners can find more varieties than imaginable. With this long list of varieties in mind, which ones should a grower choose?
Newcomers to growing tomatoes as well as seasoned veterans might want to contact their local agricultural extension offices to find out which varieties grow best in their area as well as what’s new for the upcoming season.
Growers can also check with seed companies, whose catalogs and web sites identify popular varieties.
Gardeners can choose large beefsteak tomatoes, left, and smaller salad tomatoes, right.
So many tomato varieties, which ones should you grow?
“Choosing a variety that has proven to be a true performer should be at the top of every gardener's list,” writes Larry Bass, North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service horticulture specialist in the article “Growing Tomatoes for Home Use.”
Tomato growing novices also may want to consider what tomato group to choose. Tomatoes, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrition Database shows serve as a source of Vitamins A and C as well as antioxidants, are classified in three groups – determinate, indeterminate and dwarf.
Dwarf tomatoes, small tomato plants, grow well in containers and produce tomatoes in a range of sizes. Many people think of dwarf tomatoes as the cherry tomatoes, but some dwarf tomatoes can grow larger, write Virginia Cooperative Extension horticulture specialists with Virginia Tech, Diane Relf, now retired, and Alan McDaniel as well as Ronald D. Morse, Virginia Tech associate professor, in their article “Tomatoes.”
Determinate tomatoes tend to mature early and stop growing once the plant has begun setting fruit, Relf, McDaniel and Morse write. Since the determinate plant’s tomatoes grow and ripen about the same time, this type of tomato might be a good choice for people wanting to preserve tomatoes since they’ll need more than a couple of tomatoes at one time.
The indeterminate, on the other hand, can grow tall – some reaching six feet in height – and continue producing tomatoes up until the fall frost.
Once the group type is determined, the gardener can select a variety that suits his or her needs or customers’ needs if selling at a farmers market. For example, growing small tomatoes might work well for people buying for salads or for restaurants serving salads. The dwarf tomatoes aren’t the only types that produce the perfect salad tomato. Some indeterminate tomato plants, such as Early Girl with its six-inch diameter or smaller fruit, produce sizes just right for salads.
For those who prefer large tomatoes, they can look for varieties labeled as beefsteak tomatoes, which can be large enough for one slice to cover a piece of bread. If the beefsteak is preferred, gardeners need to ask when purchasing seeds or plants at a garden center or retail shop about the sizes of the tomato varieties since not all large tomatoes have “beefsteak” in the name. Seed companies selling online or through catalogs typically identify the size of the tomatoes for each variety.
Another factor to consider is disease resistance. Common tomato diseases include verticillium wilt (V), fusarium wilt (F), tobacco mosaic virus (T) and nematodes (N). If a tomato variety is resistant to these diseases, it will have the abbreviation of the diseases on the package – VFT, VF or something similar, depending on the disease resistance of the variety. For example, the Early Girl Hybrid is listed as VFF, or resistant to verticillium wilt as well as the fusarium oxysporum fungi that cause fusarium wilt.
The ability to resist diseases is why some gardeners and why commercial growers raise hybrid tomato varieties. Other professional gardeners, though, prefer the “heirloom” tomatoes, varieties grown many years ago, because the heirlooms have better flavor, they say. Apparently, there’s some truth to this argument on better flavor.
“With the change in trends of food production after WWII, there came a need to develop tomatoes that could be harvested green, withstand shipping, etc., and maintain a good, uniform appearance,” write Relf, McDaniel and Morse. “These qualities were achieved through hybridizing. The sacrifice of this breeding was flavor - which, in recent years, scientists have been trying to re-introduce. Though hybridized tomatoes have their place, heirloom tomatoes definitely surpass them in one general characteristic - their taste.”
For better taste, gardeners can consider growing heirlooms. Some popular heirlooms include Brandywine, Sweet Baby Girl, Heirloom Rainbow, Cherokee Purple and Black Krim.
Once you’ve decided what you want, buy or order the seeds or transplants. Be sure not to wait too long on ordering the seeds. Some growers in warmer regions, like the Southeastern United States, begin planting their seeds in starter trays in their homes or greenhouses in February.
Tomato growing novices also may want to consider what tomato group to choose. Tomatoes, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nutrition Database shows serve as a source of Vitamins A and C as well as antioxidants, are classified in three groups – determinate, indeterminate and dwarf.
Dwarf tomatoes, small tomato plants, grow well in containers and produce tomatoes in a range of sizes. Many people think of dwarf tomatoes as the cherry tomatoes, but some dwarf tomatoes can grow larger, write Virginia Cooperative Extension horticulture specialists with Virginia Tech, Diane Relf, now retired, and Alan McDaniel as well as Ronald D. Morse, Virginia Tech associate professor, in their article “Tomatoes.”
Determinate tomatoes tend to mature early and stop growing once the plant has begun setting fruit, Relf, McDaniel and Morse write. Since the determinate plant’s tomatoes grow and ripen about the same time, this type of tomato might be a good choice for people wanting to preserve tomatoes since they’ll need more than a couple of tomatoes at one time.
The indeterminate, on the other hand, can grow tall – some reaching six feet in height – and continue producing tomatoes up until the fall frost.
Once the group type is determined, the gardener can select a variety that suits his or her needs or customers’ needs if selling at a farmers market. For example, growing small tomatoes might work well for people buying for salads or for restaurants serving salads. The dwarf tomatoes aren’t the only types that produce the perfect salad tomato. Some indeterminate tomato plants, such as Early Girl with its six-inch diameter or smaller fruit, produce sizes just right for salads.
For those who prefer large tomatoes, they can look for varieties labeled as beefsteak tomatoes, which can be large enough for one slice to cover a piece of bread. If the beefsteak is preferred, gardeners need to ask when purchasing seeds or plants at a garden center or retail shop about the sizes of the tomato varieties since not all large tomatoes have “beefsteak” in the name. Seed companies selling online or through catalogs typically identify the size of the tomatoes for each variety.
Another factor to consider is disease resistance. Common tomato diseases include verticillium wilt (V), fusarium wilt (F), tobacco mosaic virus (T) and nematodes (N). If a tomato variety is resistant to these diseases, it will have the abbreviation of the diseases on the package – VFT, VF or something similar, depending on the disease resistance of the variety. For example, the Early Girl Hybrid is listed as VFF, or resistant to verticillium wilt as well as the fusarium oxysporum fungi that cause fusarium wilt.
The ability to resist diseases is why some gardeners and why commercial growers raise hybrid tomato varieties. Other professional gardeners, though, prefer the “heirloom” tomatoes, varieties grown many years ago, because the heirlooms have better flavor, they say. Apparently, there’s some truth to this argument on better flavor.
“With the change in trends of food production after WWII, there came a need to develop tomatoes that could be harvested green, withstand shipping, etc., and maintain a good, uniform appearance,” write Relf, McDaniel and Morse. “These qualities were achieved through hybridizing. The sacrifice of this breeding was flavor - which, in recent years, scientists have been trying to re-introduce. Though hybridized tomatoes have their place, heirloom tomatoes definitely surpass them in one general characteristic - their taste.”
For better taste, gardeners can consider growing heirlooms. Some popular heirlooms include Brandywine, Sweet Baby Girl, Heirloom Rainbow, Cherokee Purple and Black Krim.
Once you’ve decided what you want, buy or order the seeds or transplants. Be sure not to wait too long on ordering the seeds. Some growers in warmer regions, like the Southeastern United States, begin planting their seeds in starter trays in their homes or greenhouses in February.
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