Tomatoes are the glory plant of the gardening world. Everyone want to grow the best tasting tomatoes or the largest varieties. But open any seed catalogue, and you’ll quickly be overwhelmed. I’ve rounded up the best tomato varieties for your situation. From cherry tomatoes, to the best container varieties, to the best for sauces, there’s something you’re looking for.
P.S.–I’ve even rounded up the best varieties for those of us who don’t like raw tomatoes!!
P.P.S–No, we’re not crazy, there’s just something about the high acidity that weird raw-tomato-hating people like me don’t like.
Best Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes are wonderful for eating by the handful on a hot Summer’s day. Though they’re best use fresh, I’ve been known to throw a few in with my sauces for a little hit of sweet. You’ll love the Super Sweet 100, Sungold, Sweet Millions, Amethyst Cream, and Sunsugar varieties.
Sweetest Tomatoes
When it comes to taste, Brandywine, Mortgage Lifter, Ferris Wheel, and Sicilian Saucer are some of the best varieties around.
So many tomatoes, so little time? I'm sharing my top picks so that you can pick the perfect tomato variety to grow for your situation.Click To TweetLow Acid or Yellow Tomatoes
If you’re a person who doesn’t like raw tomatoes, you might like (or at least tolerate) yellow tomatoes. Try Lemon Boy, Oxheart Yellow, or Yellow Pear.
I have a had great success growing Lemon Boy tomatoes. They always grow quite large, are one of the earliest to ripen, and taste delicious in my tomato sauce.
Black (Purple) Tomatoes
The black (or purple) varieties of tomatoes are more complex tasting and are often compared to a fine wine. I personally like them for their looks and how they make the colour of my tomato sauce a little more vibrant. Try the Black Zebra, Black Krim, Black Russian, or Purple Cherokee varieties.
Easy to Grow for Beginners
While you can grow any tomato as a beginner, it’s nice to grow a variety that’s large, great tasting, and produces a large harvest. Beefsteak, Italian Heirloom, Celebrity, and Primo Red all make the cut.
Grow the Best Tomatoes
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Good for Tomato Sauce
Pasta lovers in your family? Save yourself a bit of money and make your own pasta sauce this year. Roma, Amish Paste, San Mariano, and Supremo are all good varieties for sauce. Make yours with just tomatoes, or try my roasted tomato sauce with lots of different vegetables snuck in.
Short Growing Season
The Canadian Prairies are blessed with a short growing season, so we need varieties that have a shorter maturity window. Thankfully, there are lots of quick growing tomato varieties to choose from. Try Sub Arctic Max, Prairie Pride, Centennial Rocket, Bison, Russian Saskatchewan, Early Girl, or Manitoba.
So You Want Fresh Tomatoes in Winter?
Think fresh tomatoes from your garden are an impossible dream? Grow Longkeeper tomatoes this year and you could be eating fresh tomatoes in February or even March. Harvest them when they are pink or green, store in a cool, dry, place, and eat them as they ripen.
Best in Containers
Growing a patio garden this year? You’ll want to choose bush (determinate) varieties such as Roma, Bush 506, 4th of July, Brandywine, Juliet, or any variety that has dwarf, mini, or tiny in it’s name. Any variety of cherry tomato will also do very well.
Need more help growing tomatoes?
I’ve compiled this handy 10 page guide to growing beautiful tomatoes. Just the basics in easy to understand language. To get yours, just click this link, enter your email address, and it’s yours!
If you want more help with all your gardening this year, you need to check out my online beginner gardening course. Everything you need to know all in one place that you can return to at any time. Because we’ve all lost our favourite book at some point, right?
I’ll also be adding video content and additional content to the course throughout the growing season. (Unfortunately, it’s pretty hard to make gardening videos with a foot of snow on the ground. . .)
What does that mean? If you grab the course now, you get it for half the eventual price! Don’t wait another year to learn the basics of gardening. Save yourself hours of searching and get everything you need all in one place. See what’s inside!
Any varieties you think belong on this list? Let me know in the comments!
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