The best tomato varieties to grow

The tomato is a vegetable that comes in hundreds of different varieties, from tiny cherry tomatoes to huge beef-heart fruits, from the classic dark red tomato to yellow, green and even black tomatoes.

The choice of variety can be made according to taste and intended use: those who want to make the sauce should plant a suitable type of tomato, those who like cherries should plant them specially. However, disease resistance, an important factor from the perspective of organic farming, must also be considered, and for this reason, heirloom varieties are often preferred.

A few good tips on how to choose which tomatoes to plant can be helpful, especially for those new to the garden. I also try to tell you where to find organic non-hybrid tomato seeds.

Contents [Ocultar]

• Recommended varieties

• Two Seed Precautions

• Choose tomato seeds

• The main varieties of tomatoes

  • Table or salad tomatoes

  • Cherry tomatoes or dates

  • Tomato sauce

Recommended varieties

If you don’t want to read the complete list of varieties that I offer you my favorites, they are all non-hybrid seeds of Italian production. As a table tomato, surely the classic beefsteak (the seeds You can find them here ) or the excellent Rose de Berne. If you want to vary the green zebra, a resistant plant with a very particular flavor, a little sour.

If you have children or grow tomatoes on the balcony, plant cherries, the best of all are black cherries (seeds here ). For the sauce, you can be sure to go with San Marzano (seeds here ). If you are a beginner, plant the Rio Grande instead (seeds here ), which is one of the hardiest tomato cultivars.

Two seed sagacity

Choose local varieties and heirloom seeds. A first advice that I would like to give is to recover, if possible, the old varieties of your region: saving the seeds of the peasant tradition of our grandparents by continuing their reproduction is an important mission to maintain a fundamental part of our Culture. Storing tomato seeds is not difficult and great satisfaction is guaranteed. Also, if they are varieties of tomatoes grown in your region for a long time, they will certainly be among the most adapted to your climate and will therefore give excellent results. To find old tomato seeds, you should check with seed salvage associations, especially those operating in your area. There are often seed swapping events all over Italy and these are the best places to find interesting strains.

Avoid hybrids (F1). Hybrid seeds, marked F1, are the varieties selected in the laboratory for which it is expected to develop certain characteristics (such as resistance to certain pests or diseases), but they are tomatoes that are not able to reproduce their own seed, which requires buying the seeds every year.

Choose tomato seeds

taste edition . When choosing tomatoes to grow in the garden, you have to take into account your tastes and those of your family: there are those who eat cherry tomatoes or dates even as a snack, those who are looking for large and juicy tomatoes for salads, those who want tomatoes like San Marzano to make the sauce and those who like the tart flavor of green zebra.

Space stuff. If you need to grow tomatoes in tight spaces or if you are growing tomatoes on the balcony, you will need to look for varieties that do not develop huge plants. If you have a field, you won’t have to think about the size of the plant, but you will need to consider providing the proper supports to support it. There are also types of tomatoes with specific plant growth, which do not require support.

Climate problem. Some tomato varieties need lots of sun and heat to produce sweet fruit, others are better suited to harsher climates and can also be grown in mountain gardens. Choose the variety also considering where and when you are going to grow the tomato, each quality has its own growth cycle.

The main varieties of tomatoes

Here is a long list of tested and highly recommended tomato varieties. If you’re not sure which tomato to plant in your garden, take a look, you’ll need some suggestions.

Table or salad tomatoes

These varieties lend themselves to being eaten in salads, are also called “table tomatoes” and are often still picked green, waiting to ripen in crates to extend their shelf life. The fruit reaches a large size and can be smooth or ridged, normally the plants are demanding in terms of irrigation and fertilization, they have a medium-long cycle and always require support. They are not very suitable for growing in pots. Here are some of those tomatoes we recommend:

• Heart of beef. Very famous tomato, excellent as a table variety, particularly suitable for salads. Large fruit, born smooth but which then comes in different varieties, with very thin skin and fleshy pulp, few pips. late cycle. Beefsteak tomato seeds, certified organic You can find them here .
• Florentine or Genoese cost . The plant is hardy and easy to grow, the fruit is large and fleshy, good both for the table and for making sauce, a variety therefore with a double vocation.
• Marmande . Old variety with early cultivation, the fruit can be picked green, which makes it an excellent table tomato, fruit of good size, flattened in shape. The seeds of the plants have been determined. you can buy the seeds marmande tomatoes here.
• Romanesque or Roman marsh . The fruit of this variety is ribbed and very tasty, very suitable for home gardens due to the scalar harvest.
• Rio Grande tomato. Medium-sized, bright red, egg-shaped fruit. Hardy plant, determinate growth, resistant to fusarium and verticillium. Recommended for novice horticulturists, find here organic seeds.
• Crimean black tomato . A very trendy tomato with black to dark brown stripes due to the high lycopene content, making it a very healthy food. The fruit is of good size, very sweet. The seeds of this variety can be found here They are not hybrids and they are certified organic.
• green zebra tomato . Variety of green tomato with zebra stripes on a yellow background, round fruit of medium size, juicy and of excellent flavor, slightly acid. Recommended for those who want to surprise with a different tomato and for those who like the sour taste, almost like an unripe tomato.

• The Rose of Bern. Old variety of Swiss origin, medium to large fruit salad tomato, fleshy flesh with few seeds, delicate flavor and low acidity, pale pink color. Fairly early cycle plant.

Cherry tomatoes or cold dates

Small-fruited tomatoes, which grow in clusters, sweet and tasty, very popular with children. These cherry tomatoes add color to salads, pair well with mozzarella, and have an effect on pizzas or sauces. The plants are generally smaller in size, less demanding in terms of space and therefore more suitable for growing in containers. Here are some tips on this:

• Cherry tomato. A classic and widespread variety, the plant is indeterminate in growth and requires support, it produces many clusters of very sweet tomatoes. It adapts very well to different climatic conditions. The organic seeds of this tomato can be found here.
• Tomato Zuckertraube . Very productive cherry tomato with intense growth, long bunches, very tasty small fruits. A tip: for an even sweeter taste, protect them from the rain. If you want the organic and biodynamic seeds of this variety go here .
• black cherry . Here is a cherry tomato variety to save, involved in the ProSpecie Rara conservation project. Very good, very low acid flavor, and very particular, the black color is due to lycopene, which also makes it a good vegetable for health. We advise you to take here organic black cherry seeds.
• bourgeois prince . Indeterminate growth tomato plant (to be staked), produces clusters of small, oval-shaped fruits with excellent flavor. organic seeds can be found here.

Salsa Tomatoes

The tomato sauce should be slightly watery, with meaty meat that can be stored in jars. If you’re growing tomatoes for bottling, you’ll need to choose high-yielding plants with a non-staggered harvest, so you can make the sauce all at once.

• San Marzano Tomato . The cultivar best known as the tomato sauce, elongated and cluster-shaped fruits, not very watery and therefore suitable for storage in jars instead of being eaten fresh. This is where the seeds of San Marzano Nano .
• Roman tomato. Cultivation of tomatoes with fairly small fruits, with a good production for each plant. Low acid flavor and fleshy flesh, characteristics that make Roma an excellent variety for conservation. The seeds of this variety certified organic can be found here.