Before deciding which tomato variety to grow, you need to know the growth habits of the plants. They can grow into huge monsters or tiny pot plants. Whether a cherry tomato, paste tomato, or red slicing tomato variety, tomatoes all fall into one of these categories:
Indeterminate: These tomato plants just keep growing, stopped only by frost, insect, disease, or an ax. The side branches and shoots continue to grow even after fruit is set (after the flower has been pollinated and the young tomato fruits begin to grow). They produce a ton of fruit, but the tomatoes tend to mature later in the season than those borne by the shorter plant varieties.
Determinate: Determinate varieties tend to stop growing once the shoots set fruit. Varieties vary in the degree that they’re determinate, but these plants generally tend to be shorter and produce less fruit while maturing fruit earlier than indeterminates.
Dwarf: These stronger determinate plants tend to reach only a few feet tall, produce all of their fruit at once, and then stop producing for the season. These plants are excellent as patio or container plants, producing cherry tomato-sized fruits. (Click here for more information on container gardening)
Dwarf-indeterminate: The best of both worlds, these plants stay dwarf, only reaching about 3 to 4 feet (1 to 1.2 m) tall, but they continue to produce full-sized tomatoes all season long. They grow well when planted in containers or in the garden.
The following list breaks tomatoes down by color, size, shape, or use:
Red, round tomatoes: Red, round tomatoes are the classic, bright red, juicy, meaty tomatoes that everyone wants to grow. You can choose from hundreds of varieties, but here are a few we especially like:
‘Delicious’: Indeterminate heirloom with fruits weighing more than 2 pounds each 77 days after transplanting.
‘Heatwave II’: Determinate hybrid bred to grow and produce 7-ounce fruits in hot, humid conditions 68 days after transplanting.
‘Oregon Spring’: Determinate, open-pollinated variety produces 7- to 8-ounce fruits 58 days after transplanting.
‘Siberia’: Determinate variety that can set 2- to 3-ounce fruits 55 days after transplanting in temperatures as low as 38°F (3°C).
Other-than-red tomatoes: The flavor of many of these varieties is comparable to the red varieties, but the colors can be outstanding in salads and casseroles, or just by themselves:
‘Big Rainbow’: Indeterminate heirloom produces 2-pound tomatoes with yellow shoulders, orange centers, and red bottoms 95 days after transplanting.
‘Caro Rich’: Determinate, open-pollinated variety produces 5- to 6-ounce, bright orange-colored fruits that have 10 times the amount of vitamin A as other tomatoes 80 days after transplanting.
‘Cherokee Purple’: Indeterminate, bears 10-ounce dusky rose/purple fruits with thin skins about 80 days after transplanting.
‘White Beauty’: Open-pollinated indeterminate produces creamy white 8-ounce fruits 85 days after transplanting.
Saucy tomatoes: If you’re growing tomatoes to make tomato sauce, paste, salsa, and juice, these paste tomato varieties are bred to order. You can process any tomato variety, but these pear- or plum-shaped types are meatier and thicker-walled and usually have less juice. Prevent blossom-end rot in elongated tomatoes by keeping the plants well watered, and mulching with a 4- to 6-inch-deep (10- to 15-cm) layer of hay:
‘Italian Gold’: Determinate, golden-fruited, Roma-type, pear-shaped tomato matures 70 days after transplanting.
‘Roma’: Popular, open-pollinated determinate produces plum-shaped, 3-ounce fruits on compact vines 78 days after transplanting.
‘Super Marzano’: Indeterminate has 4- to 5-ounce pear-shaped fruits that mature 70 days after transplanting.
‘Viva Italia’: Determinate produces pear-shaped 3- to 4-ounce fruits with great disease resistance 80 days after transplanting.
Cherry tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes can be very productive, so only one or two plants are often enough to keep your family happy all season. The dwarf tomatoes do best in containers. ....read more
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