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Top Tomatoes for Gardening
I asked and gardeners answered. Here’s a list of their top tomato recommendations for planting this season.
Every year I plant a dozen or more new-to-me tomato varieties in my garden. But with hundreds of delicious tomato choices, I needed help narrowing my selections. So in November I asked gardeners on my VegetableGardener.com blog to help me decide by giving me a list of their favorite tomatoes to grow.
I asked for gardeners’ top tomato recommendations in three categories:
Best medium-to-large tomato
Best small or cherry tomato
Most flavorful tomato
Twenty-six gardeners answered the call and gave me plenty of tomatoes to think about. I thought you might like to see the list, in case you’re looking for some new tomato varieties to add to your gardening efforts this season.
Looking for Your Top Tomato Recommendations
I’m already thinking about which tomatoes to plant in my garden next year and I need some help.
What are your favorite varieties?
I’m collecting suggestions on my VegetableGardener.com blog in three categories:
Best medium-to-large tomato
Best small or cherry-size tomato
Best tomato for flavor
I’ve already received some great recommendations, but could use a few more. Please let me know your top tomatoes!
Big Tomato Gardening Roundup of 2011
For 2011, I grew six different varieties of large tomatoes and here are the results for four of them. The other two, Amana orange (an organic beefsteak) and Aunt Ruby’s German green (large green beefsteak) aren’t quite ready to pick yet.
But until they are, here’s the big tomato round-up for 2011. (I posted the small tomato results in August.)
The Better Bush tomato seeds were a free sample from Botanical Interests. This variety is a short season tomato (70 days) and I grew it in a large container on the patio. The nice-size slicing tomatoes grew on a very stout stem. The tomatoes were similar to a beefsteak in taste, only smaller. No plant disease problems. It’s still going strong.
Gardening is Just a Bowl of Cherry Tomatoes
The truth about tomatoes is evident when tastefully arranged in a 1930s vintage glass bowl. “Scientifically speaking, a tomato is definitely a fruit.”
It’s the first of September and now that tomatoes are being eaten at every meal, it’s easy to say gardening here is just a bowl of cherry tomatoes.
The frustrations of a cold spring are a distant memory with such a bountiful harvest of tomatoes.
I planted 13 different kinds of tomatoes–and this fruit bowl is filled with 12 of them. The Giant Belgiums won’t be ready for a while.
On display here are Sungold, Crimson Carmello, Tomaccio, Sweet Treats, Supersweet 100, and Early Girl mixed together with heirloom tomato varieties Black Prince, Black Krim, Yellow Pear, Great White, Yellow Taxi, and Stupice.
It would be hard for me to choose a favorite from this bowl because all are delicious in their own way.
Mini Tomato Gardening Yields Big Flavor
Good things do come in small packages, especially when talking about miniature tomatoes. These gems may be small in size, but they’re big on flavor.
When I planted my crop of mini tomatoes in May, I was looking forward to harvesting a big batch of small fruits in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes.
Now I’m enjoying the fruits of my spring-time efforts.
Every year I plant a number of small tomatoes in containers on my patio, mostly as insurance against elements that seem to conspire against abundant tomato gardening and harvests in my climate. Many summers it’s either too cool or too hot. There may be too little precipitation or there’s too much hail.
Planting a nice selection of tomatoes helps ensure I’ll have some kind of crop by the end of the season. While the rest of my heirloom and other larger tomatoes are still growing, I’m enjoying the superior flavor of these littler ones.
Sungold Tomatoes Brighten Gardening Day
These ripe sungold tomatoes signal the summer harvest is about to begin.
This year’s growing season is taking a lot longer than most–just ask the Hatch chile farmers in New Mexico or the peach producers on the Western Slope. Many crops are delayed because of the cool spring weather that seemed to last forever.
I experimented with planting two tomato plants in early April, thinking the wall of waters would protect them. I was dreaming of taking my first bite of home-grown tomato in June.
Ha!
Those poor plants had to suffer through freezing weather, several snowstorms, driving rain and then suddenly hot weather. The tomatoes on those plants are just now starting to ripen.
I planted 14 different tomato varieties, but some of the tomato plants have yet to set fruit. That means I won’t be growing any 2 pound Giant Belgiums like I did last season.
New Tomato Growing Guide Now Available
The Get Growing Guide to Tomatoes is a new, 23-page eBook loaded with tips for growing a garden filled with America’s favorite “vegetable.”
Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are the most popular vegetable grown in home gardens. That’s why some gardeners prefer to call them “love apples.”
Tomatoes aren’t that difficult to grow, but they can be a little tricky. That’s why I wrote this guide, to help other gardeners have tomato-growing success. The guide explains how to amend the soil, gives seed starting instructions and provides methods to keep plants insect and disease free.
One of the first gardening articles I wrote for The Denver Post was a “how to grow” tomatoes article for those interested in entering their tastiest tomatoes in the annual NatureSweet Homegrown Tomato Challenge.
I had my own methods for sowing and growing great tomatoes, but for that article I also interviewed gardeners from across the Metro area, including the Homegrown Tomato Challenge winner from the previous season. He won with his Goliath Hybrid and a special “tomato toddy” he mixed for each planting hole.
Tomato Growers Supply Gardening Review
Tomato Growers Supply Company sent the seeds for my Giant Belgium tomatoes as a free bonus offer for ordering last year. This nearly two-pound tomato lived up to its name.
If tomatoes are the most popular “vegetable” grown in home gardens, then the Tomato Growers Supply Company catalog must be one of the top catalogs in the country.
Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are grown as a vegetable and just about every gardener I know will go to great lengths to ensure a hearty tomato crop.
Tomato Growers Supply Company is based in Fort Myers, Fla., and carries about 400 varieties of tomatoes, including 10 new varieties for 2010. Despite its name, the Tomato Growers Supply catalog also carries many kinds of peppers, eggplants and tomatillos, too.
Last season I ordered 1 packet of Poblano peppers and 5 kinds of tomato seeds: Marianna’s Peace, Green Zebra, Sprite, Black Cherry and Paul Robeson.
I asked and gardeners answered. Here’s a list of their top tomato recommendations for planting this season.
Every year I plant a dozen or more new-to-me tomato varieties in my garden. But with hundreds of delicious tomato choices, I needed help narrowing my selections. So in November I asked gardeners on my VegetableGardener.com blog to help me decide by giving me a list of their favorite tomatoes to grow.Best small or cherry tomato
Most flavorful tomato
I’m already thinking about which tomatoes to plant in my garden next year and I need some help.
What are your favorite varieties?
I’m collecting suggestions on my VegetableGardener.com blog in three categories:
Best medium-to-large tomato
Best small or cherry-size tomato
Best tomato for flavor
I’ve already received some great recommendations, but could use a few more. Please let me know your top tomatoes!
Big Tomato Gardening Roundup of 2011
For 2011, I grew six different varieties of large tomatoes and here are the results for four of them. The other two, Amana orange (an organic beefsteak) and Aunt Ruby’s German green (large green beefsteak) aren’t quite ready to pick yet.
But until they are, here’s the big tomato round-up for 2011. (I posted the small tomato results in August.)
The Better Bush tomato seeds were a free sample from Botanical Interests. This variety is a short season tomato (70 days) and I grew it in a large container on the patio. The nice-size slicing tomatoes grew on a very stout stem. The tomatoes were similar to a beefsteak in taste, only smaller. No plant disease problems. It’s still going strong.
Gardening is Just a Bowl of Cherry Tomatoes
The truth about tomatoes is evident when tastefully arranged in a 1930s vintage glass bowl. “Scientifically speaking, a tomato is definitely a fruit.”
It’s the first of September and now that tomatoes are being eaten at every meal, it’s easy to say gardening here is just a bowl of cherry tomatoes.
The frustrations of a cold spring are a distant memory with such a bountiful harvest of tomatoes.
I planted 13 different kinds of tomatoes–and this fruit bowl is filled with 12 of them. The Giant Belgiums won’t be ready for a while.
On display here are Sungold, Crimson Carmello, Tomaccio, Sweet Treats, Supersweet 100, and Early Girl mixed together with heirloom tomato varieties Black Prince, Black Krim, Yellow Pear, Great White, Yellow Taxi, and Stupice.
It would be hard for me to choose a favorite from this bowl because all are delicious in their own way.
Mini Tomato Gardening Yields Big Flavor
Good things do come in small packages, especially when talking about miniature tomatoes. These gems may be small in size, but they’re big on flavor.
When I planted my crop of mini tomatoes in May, I was looking forward to harvesting a big batch of small fruits in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes.
Now I’m enjoying the fruits of my spring-time efforts.
Every year I plant a number of small tomatoes in containers on my patio, mostly as insurance against elements that seem to conspire against abundant tomato gardening and harvests in my climate. Many summers it’s either too cool or too hot. There may be too little precipitation or there’s too much hail.
Planting a nice selection of tomatoes helps ensure I’ll have some kind of crop by the end of the season. While the rest of my heirloom and other larger tomatoes are still growing, I’m enjoying the superior flavor of these littler ones.
Sungold Tomatoes Brighten Gardening Day
These ripe sungold tomatoes signal the summer harvest is about to begin.
This year’s growing season is taking a lot longer than most–just ask the Hatch chile farmers in New Mexico or the peach producers on the Western Slope. Many crops are delayed because of the cool spring weather that seemed to last forever.
I experimented with planting two tomato plants in early April, thinking the wall of waters would protect them. I was dreaming of taking my first bite of home-grown tomato in June.
Ha!
Those poor plants had to suffer through freezing weather, several snowstorms, driving rain and then suddenly hot weather. The tomatoes on those plants are just now starting to ripen.
I planted 14 different tomato varieties, but some of the tomato plants have yet to set fruit. That means I won’t be growing any 2 pound Giant Belgiums like I did last season.
New Tomato Growing Guide Now Available
The Get Growing Guide to Tomatoes is a new, 23-page eBook loaded with tips for growing a garden filled with America’s favorite “vegetable.”
Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are the most popular vegetable grown in home gardens. That’s why some gardeners prefer to call them “love apples.”
Tomatoes aren’t that difficult to grow, but they can be a little tricky. That’s why I wrote this guide, to help other gardeners have tomato-growing success. The guide explains how to amend the soil, gives seed starting instructions and provides methods to keep plants insect and disease free.
One of the first gardening articles I wrote for The Denver Post was a “how to grow” tomatoes article for those interested in entering their tastiest tomatoes in the annual NatureSweet Homegrown Tomato Challenge.
I had my own methods for sowing and growing great tomatoes, but for that article I also interviewed gardeners from across the Metro area, including the Homegrown Tomato Challenge winner from the previous season. He won with his Goliath Hybrid and a special “tomato toddy” he mixed for each planting hole.
Tomato Growers Supply Gardening Review
Tomato Growers Supply Company sent the seeds for my Giant Belgium tomatoes as a free bonus offer for ordering last year. This nearly two-pound tomato lived up to its name.
If tomatoes are the most popular “vegetable” grown in home gardens, then the Tomato Growers Supply Company catalog must be one of the top catalogs in the country.
Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are grown as a vegetable and just about every gardener I know will go to great lengths to ensure a hearty tomato crop.
Tomato Growers Supply Company is based in Fort Myers, Fla., and carries about 400 varieties of tomatoes, including 10 new varieties for 2010. Despite its name, the Tomato Growers Supply catalog also carries many kinds of peppers, eggplants and tomatillos, too.
Last season I ordered 1 packet of Poblano peppers and 5 kinds of tomato seeds: Marianna’s Peace, Green Zebra, Sprite, Black Cherry and Paul Robeson.
For 2011, I grew six different varieties of large tomatoes and here are the results for four of them. The other two, Amana orange (an organic beefsteak) and Aunt Ruby’s German green (large green beefsteak) aren’t quite ready to pick yet.
The truth about tomatoes is evident when tastefully arranged in a 1930s vintage glass bowl. “Scientifically speaking, a tomato is definitely a fruit.”
It’s the first of September and now that tomatoes are being eaten at every meal, it’s easy to say gardening here is just a bowl of cherry tomatoes.
The frustrations of a cold spring are a distant memory with such a bountiful harvest of tomatoes.
I planted 13 different kinds of tomatoes–and this fruit bowl is filled with 12 of them. The Giant Belgiums won’t be ready for a while.
On display here are Sungold, Crimson Carmello, Tomaccio, Sweet Treats, Supersweet 100, and Early Girl mixed together with heirloom tomato varieties Black Prince, Black Krim, Yellow Pear, Great White, Yellow Taxi, and Stupice.
It would be hard for me to choose a favorite from this bowl because all are delicious in their own way.
Mini Tomato Gardening Yields Big Flavor
Good things do come in small packages, especially when talking about miniature tomatoes. These gems may be small in size, but they’re big on flavor.
When I planted my crop of mini tomatoes in May, I was looking forward to harvesting a big batch of small fruits in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes.
Now I’m enjoying the fruits of my spring-time efforts.
Every year I plant a number of small tomatoes in containers on my patio, mostly as insurance against elements that seem to conspire against abundant tomato gardening and harvests in my climate. Many summers it’s either too cool or too hot. There may be too little precipitation or there’s too much hail.
Planting a nice selection of tomatoes helps ensure I’ll have some kind of crop by the end of the season. While the rest of my heirloom and other larger tomatoes are still growing, I’m enjoying the superior flavor of these littler ones.
Sungold Tomatoes Brighten Gardening Day
These ripe sungold tomatoes signal the summer harvest is about to begin.
This year’s growing season is taking a lot longer than most–just ask the Hatch chile farmers in New Mexico or the peach producers on the Western Slope. Many crops are delayed because of the cool spring weather that seemed to last forever.
I experimented with planting two tomato plants in early April, thinking the wall of waters would protect them. I was dreaming of taking my first bite of home-grown tomato in June.
Ha!
Those poor plants had to suffer through freezing weather, several snowstorms, driving rain and then suddenly hot weather. The tomatoes on those plants are just now starting to ripen.
I planted 14 different tomato varieties, but some of the tomato plants have yet to set fruit. That means I won’t be growing any 2 pound Giant Belgiums like I did last season.
New Tomato Growing Guide Now Available
The Get Growing Guide to Tomatoes is a new, 23-page eBook loaded with tips for growing a garden filled with America’s favorite “vegetable.”
Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are the most popular vegetable grown in home gardens. That’s why some gardeners prefer to call them “love apples.”
Tomatoes aren’t that difficult to grow, but they can be a little tricky. That’s why I wrote this guide, to help other gardeners have tomato-growing success. The guide explains how to amend the soil, gives seed starting instructions and provides methods to keep plants insect and disease free.
One of the first gardening articles I wrote for The Denver Post was a “how to grow” tomatoes article for those interested in entering their tastiest tomatoes in the annual NatureSweet Homegrown Tomato Challenge.
I had my own methods for sowing and growing great tomatoes, but for that article I also interviewed gardeners from across the Metro area, including the Homegrown Tomato Challenge winner from the previous season. He won with his Goliath Hybrid and a special “tomato toddy” he mixed for each planting hole.
Tomato Growers Supply Gardening Review
Tomato Growers Supply Company sent the seeds for my Giant Belgium tomatoes as a free bonus offer for ordering last year. This nearly two-pound tomato lived up to its name.
If tomatoes are the most popular “vegetable” grown in home gardens, then the Tomato Growers Supply Company catalog must be one of the top catalogs in the country.
Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are grown as a vegetable and just about every gardener I know will go to great lengths to ensure a hearty tomato crop.
Tomato Growers Supply Company is based in Fort Myers, Fla., and carries about 400 varieties of tomatoes, including 10 new varieties for 2010. Despite its name, the Tomato Growers Supply catalog also carries many kinds of peppers, eggplants and tomatillos, too.
Last season I ordered 1 packet of Poblano peppers and 5 kinds of tomato seeds: Marianna’s Peace, Green Zebra, Sprite, Black Cherry and Paul Robeson.
Good things do come in small packages, especially when talking about miniature tomatoes. These gems may be small in size, but they’re big on flavor.
These ripe sungold tomatoes signal the summer harvest is about to begin.
This year’s growing season is taking a lot longer than most–just ask the Hatch chile farmers in New Mexico or the peach producers on the Western Slope. Many crops are delayed because of the cool spring weather that seemed to last forever.
I experimented with planting two tomato plants in early April, thinking the wall of waters would protect them. I was dreaming of taking my first bite of home-grown tomato in June.
Ha!
Those poor plants had to suffer through freezing weather, several snowstorms, driving rain and then suddenly hot weather. The tomatoes on those plants are just now starting to ripen.
I planted 14 different tomato varieties, but some of the tomato plants have yet to set fruit. That means I won’t be growing any 2 pound Giant Belgiums like I did last season.
New Tomato Growing Guide Now Available
The Get Growing Guide to Tomatoes is a new, 23-page eBook loaded with tips for growing a garden filled with America’s favorite “vegetable.”
Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are the most popular vegetable grown in home gardens. That’s why some gardeners prefer to call them “love apples.”
Tomatoes aren’t that difficult to grow, but they can be a little tricky. That’s why I wrote this guide, to help other gardeners have tomato-growing success. The guide explains how to amend the soil, gives seed starting instructions and provides methods to keep plants insect and disease free.
One of the first gardening articles I wrote for The Denver Post was a “how to grow” tomatoes article for those interested in entering their tastiest tomatoes in the annual NatureSweet Homegrown Tomato Challenge.
I had my own methods for sowing and growing great tomatoes, but for that article I also interviewed gardeners from across the Metro area, including the Homegrown Tomato Challenge winner from the previous season. He won with his Goliath Hybrid and a special “tomato toddy” he mixed for each planting hole.
Tomato Growers Supply Gardening Review
Tomato Growers Supply Company sent the seeds for my Giant Belgium tomatoes as a free bonus offer for ordering last year. This nearly two-pound tomato lived up to its name.
If tomatoes are the most popular “vegetable” grown in home gardens, then the Tomato Growers Supply Company catalog must be one of the top catalogs in the country.
Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are grown as a vegetable and just about every gardener I know will go to great lengths to ensure a hearty tomato crop.
Tomato Growers Supply Company is based in Fort Myers, Fla., and carries about 400 varieties of tomatoes, including 10 new varieties for 2010. Despite its name, the Tomato Growers Supply catalog also carries many kinds of peppers, eggplants and tomatillos, too.
Last season I ordered 1 packet of Poblano peppers and 5 kinds of tomato seeds: Marianna’s Peace, Green Zebra, Sprite, Black Cherry and Paul Robeson.
The Get Growing Guide to Tomatoes is a new, 23-page eBook loaded with tips for growing a garden filled with America’s favorite “vegetable.”
Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are the most popular vegetable grown in home gardens. That’s why some gardeners prefer to call them “love apples.”
Tomato Growers Supply Company sent the seeds for my Giant Belgium tomatoes as a free bonus offer for ordering last year. This nearly two-pound tomato lived up to its name.
If tomatoes are the most popular “vegetable” grown in home gardens, then the Tomato Growers Supply Company catalog must be one of the top catalogs in the country.
Although technically a fruit, tomatoes are grown as a vegetable and just about every gardener I know will go to great lengths to ensure a hearty tomato crop.
Tomato Growers Supply Company is based in Fort Myers, Fla., and carries about 400 varieties of tomatoes, including 10 new varieties for 2010. Despite its name, the Tomato Growers Supply catalog also carries many kinds of peppers, eggplants and tomatillos, too.
Last season I ordered 1 packet of Poblano peppers and 5 kinds of tomato seeds: Marianna’s Peace, Green Zebra, Sprite, Black Cherry and Paul Robeson.
