Tomato varieties

By Bill Nelson
Meeker County, Master Gardener

Spring is almost here, I hope! However this year, I am not sure we will have spring. It is time to be thinking of those nice big red tomatoes we will have in late summer and early fall. There are virtually hundreds of varieties of tomatoes. Which tomato you plant depends on how you intend to use and when you want to harvest them.

Most tomatoes ripen anywhere from 50 to 90 days. We are in the northern area, zone 4, which means we should purchase a tomato from 50 to 80 days. Do you want slicers to eat or do you want to can tomatoes, make juice, tomato paste, ketchup or salsa? Cherry tomatoes, you can just pop them in your mouth and eat them! So do you want a hybrid, heirlooms which are usually open pollinated?

There is not enough room in this article. I will mention a few that I have had good results with, Big Boy and Big Girl are both large and excellent slicing tomatoes; also Delicious, Beef Steak and Celebrity. They all ripen in a 70-80 day time frame. If you want an early tomato, 50-65 days, Gold Set, Sub Artic Plenty, Early Ana and Early Girl (which is ready in 52 days) are good.

Paste-type tomatoes are Roma, an old standby, which is meaty and nearly seedless and is a determinate (ripens over 3-4 weeks and is a bush plant, but does not vine and does not continue to produce). Another paste type is Italia – great tasting and yields heavy and also is a determinate plant – 72 days.

If you like cherry tomatoes, there are many; my favorite is Sweetie. They have a high sugar content and are quick to mature and extremely prolific (high producers). These tomatoes are indeterminate and really vine, and must be staked or caged. The longest vine I have had was 17 feet. Hybrid Jolly is another 70-day indeterminate – great for snacking or salads. Hybrid Juliet is another. This is an elongated tomato approximately one ounce.

There are many, many more to choose from. I suggest getting catalogs from seed companies and try different kinds of tomatoes. It is a lot of fun!