Each Spring, we are proud to stock an enormous selection of locally grown tomato varieties at our garden centers, including heirloom and hybrid tomatoes with both organic and conventionally grown options. When it comes to choosing a tomato, the options are truly endless! Each cultivar offers a new variation and varieties range in fruit color, size, shape, flavor, mature plant size, ripening time, and disease resistance.
With so many varieties of tomatoes to choose from, we want to make it easier than ever to select the perfect tomato for you. From demystifying tomato types to showing off our staff’s favorite varieties, this blog is where you’ll find more about how to choose the best tomato for your garden and kitchen table!
To learn more about how to grow the best tomatoes possible, check out our Growing Tomatoes Care Sheet or our Tomato Care Blog for essential growing, care, and harvesting tips!
Tomatoes Demystified
Heirloom vs. Hybrid Tomatoes
The term Heirloom and Hybrid both refer to how the tomato plant was pollinated or bred, and whether the seeds will come back true to type.
Heirloom tomato varieties are those that have been traditionally saved as seed from year to year and passed from gardener to gardener over the generations. All heirlooms must be open-pollinated, meaning that their seeds can be harvested and grown again to produce the same results as the parent plant. Some say that to be considered an heirloom variety, the tomato must pre-date 1951, the year that major seed companies began producing and selling hybrids. While some tomato varieties are not old enough to be considered “true heirlooms”, over time they have become genetically stable enough to be open-pollinated, and these are sometimes still called heirlooms or signified with “OP” on the plant tag.
Our favorite heirloom tomatoes include ‘Brandywine’, ‘Ananas Noire, ‘Goliath, ‘Mortgage Lifter’, ‘Bloody Butcher’, ‘Cherokee Purple’, and so many more.
A hybrid tomato is the result of breeding or cross-pollinating two different varieties and then growing the seeds that the breeding cross produces. Compared to heirlooms, hybrids are often more disease-resistant and may be higher yielding. Tags may indicate disease resistance with abbreviations such as V (verticillium wilt), F (fusarium wilt), T (tobacco mosaic virus), and A (alternaria). Hybrids do not usually grow back from seed “true” to the parent, so they must be purchased as starts at the garden center rather than as seeds in the Spring.
Our favorite hybrid tomatoes include ‘Early Girl’, ‘Beefsteak’, ‘Juliet’ and ‘Sungold’.
Determinate vs. Indeterminate Tomato Plants
The terms determinate and indeterminate both refer to the growth habit of the plant and production or harvest window of the tomato fruit.
Determinate tomatoes are short and bushy and tend to produce their entire crop of tomatoes all at once over a short range of a few weeks. These plants only grow to about 2–3 feet tall and need minimal support, though caging can help. Determinate tomatoes are great for growing in containers or smaller spaces thanks to their small stature.
Popular determinate tomatoes include ‘Patio’, ‘Oregon Spring’, ‘Celebrity’, and ‘Roma’.
Indeterminate tomatoes grow tall and in a vining manner and will continue to grow and produce new fruit all Summer long. Indeterminate plants require a stake or cage for support. Most cherry-style tomatoes are indeterminate, and while this type can also be grown in large containers (15–20 gallon), they are not suited for small pots.
Popular indeterminate varieties are ‘Sungold’, ‘Early Girl’, ‘Brandywine’, and ‘Sweet 100’.
The Best Tomato Variety by Category
Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes are a delicious must-have for any tomato grower! Cherry and grape tomato fruits are small, usually less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter, and grow in large clusters that produce hundreds of fruits over the course of the season. They’re generally the best choices for cool-summer areas because they ripen quickly, and in some cases the small fruit size means they are more manageable if you’re growing tomatoes in containers. Most cherry tomatoes are indeterminate and are typically hybrids. These tomatoes also usually have the sweetest flavor!
Our Favorite Cherry Tomato Varieties:
- Chocolate Cherry: Mahogany fruits are fine-textured and flavorful on high-producing plants.
- Isis Candy: Colorful golden fruits are streaked with red and are extremely sweet.
- Sun Sugar: Brilliant orange fruits are sweet, flavorful, and crack-resistant.
- Sungold: Golden orange fruits perfectly balance sweetness and tartness on prolific plants.
Other Cherry Tomato Varieties: Golden Sweet, Green Grapes, Oregon Cherry, Snow White, Sugar Lump, Sweet Million, Sweet 100, Sweet Olive, Tumbling Tom, Yellow Pear
Salad & Slicing Tomatoes
Salad and slicing tomatoes are great for using daily in your kitchen in many different ways! These small tomatoes form large quantities of 2–3 inch (5–7.5 cm) diameter fruit, and their size makes them perfect for slicing on sandwiches or chopping into salads. They’re usually a little tarter and juicier than cherry tomatoes or beefsteak tomatoes, with some acid to balance their sweetness. Some even have flavor undertones of tropical fruits. Salad tomatoes have more cultivars than any other type of tomato, and can be both determinate or indeterminate and hybrid or heirloom.
Our Favorite Salad & Slicing Tomatoes:
- Bloody Butcher: Rich red fruits boast deep flavor on productive plants.
- Jaune Flamme: Warm orange fruits have a fruity flavor and are easy to harvest.
- Jet Star: Uniform clear red fruits are disease-resistant and flavorful.
- Juliet: Oblong perfectly red fruits are tasty, prolific, and extremely versatile.
- Lemon Boy: Bright yellow fruits are mild but sweet and very disease-resistant.
Saladette Tomato Varieties: Black Zebra, Glacier, Green Tiger, Pink Tiger, Green Zebra, Health Kick, Indigo Rose, Oregon Spring, Red Zebra, Tigerlike
Slicer Tomato Varieties: Anna Russian, Black Krim, Burpee Bigboy, Carmello, Celebrity, Chocolate Stripe, Early Girl, Costoluto Genovese, Blue Fruit, Orange Strawberry, Japanese Black Trifle, Momotaro, Moskovich, Mountain Princess, Patio, Siletz, Stupice, Taxi
Beefsteak Tomatoes
Beefsteak tomatoes produce big, beautiful, juicy fruits in a wide range of colors and shapes—real showstoppers on the dinner plate! Plants produce large, heavy fruit, that can weigh up to 1lb (0.45 kg) and some varieties can reach up to 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter. These are the big, thick, meaty tomatoes that are prized for sandwiches, which is one of the perfect ways to enjoy homegrown tomatoes. Beefsteak tomatoes need a longer season and more heat to produce fruit and ripen than smaller varieties, so prioritize your sunniest, hottest garden spots for these plants. Many beefsteak tomatoes are heirloom varieties and are typically indeterminate.
Our Favorite Beefsteak Tomatoes:
- Ananas Noire: Tie-dye coloration of green, yellow, orange and red fruits are as attractive as they are tasty when it comes to this juicy fruit.
- Brandywine: Lovely mauve-pink fruit is a frequent taste-test winner with an intense flavor that ticks all the boxes for sweetness, acidity, and classic tomato flavor.
- Cherokee Purple: Rich purple, pink and green-shouldered fruits have incredible sweet and complex flavor.
- Goliath: Deep pink-red fruits have very few seeds and a strong, sweet flavor on large plants.
- Hawaiian Pineapple: Dark orange fruits are large, beautiful, and reminiscent of pineapple in flavor.
- Mortgage Lifter: Meaty red fruits are flavorful, consistent and borne on productive plants!
Other Beefsteak Tomato Varieties: Abraham Lincoln, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Big Beef, Black From Tula, Big Rainbow, Dr. Wyche’s Yellow, Great White, Azorean Red, Old German, Striped German, Pruden’s Purple
Paste & Sauce Tomatoes
Paste tomatoes, or sauce tomatoes, are mostly seedless (or nearly so), meaty, and on the dry side—qualities that tailor them perfectly to sauces and sun-drying! Some have good enough flavor to be used (and sold at farmers markets) as slicing tomatoes while others are bland until cooked. Some paste tomatoes are determinate, with large yields that make them great for canning over a short window, while some are indeterminate and will produce all season long. You can find both heirloom and hybrid varieties of paste and sauce tomatoes.
Our Favorite Pasta and Sauce Tomatoes:
- Amish Paste: Large, deep red oblong fruits is considered by many to be the best tomato for preserving.
- Roma: Firm, dense, red elongated fruits are incredibly versatile and perfect for cooking or using for Pico de Gallo.
- San Marzano: Red elongated fruits have a pointed tip and are a must-have for classic Italian sauces.
Other Pasta Sauce Tomato Varieties: Giant Oxheart, Heinz 2653, Principe Borghese, Polish Linguisa, Rosso Sicilian
Each year, Dennis’ 7 Dees offers gardening classes on how to grow the best tomatoes at home, plus we host tomato festivals, tomato tastings, and other fun seasonal gardening events. Sign up for our newsletter to learn more about the events and plants that we are excited about each week, or visit us in store to check out our full selection of plants and talk tomatoes with one of our gardening experts!