Popular Tomato Guide Part 1

Tomatoes are a garden favourite and can often be seen lining greenhouse benches as the snow melts away, and the daylight hours begin to stretch. Choosing tomato plants for the garden can be a daunting task, especially when you're new to gardening. When you find yourself staring at thirty varieties, or more, overwhelming feelings can easily creep up on you.

To make this task just a little easier, we're going to highlight 31 popular tomato plants you'll often find at your local greenhouse. We'll let you know how long, how big, and what flavour. Let's begin!

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Beefmaster

Matures: 80 days
Fruit Size: 18 – 32 oz.
Plant Type: Indeterminate
Genetic Types: Hybrid

If you're looking for the perfect sandwich tomato the Beefmaster is an excellent choice. It's meaty flesh and large size will cover your entire slice of bread without creating a soggy mess. The flavor is mild and sweet which will compliment other ingredients instead of dominating.

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Better Boy

Matures: 70 – 80 days
Fruit Size: 16 oz.
Plant Type: Indeterminate
Genetic Type: Hybrid

The Better Boy is known for being adaptable, high yielding, and tasty. They are a great size to accompany a burger patty and have a balanced flavour profile; not too sweet, not too acidic. If you're just getting started in the garden, the better boy is a great tomato to try growing.

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Big Beef

Matures: 70 – 80 days
Fruit Size: 12 – 16 oz.
Plant Type: Indeterminate
Genetic Type: Hybrid

You won't have any beef growing this particular tomato! The Big Beef yields plenty show-stopping fruit and is known for having a high resistance to disease. But the good news doesn't stop there; this juicy tomato has an old-fashioned flavour and while it's a good sandwich and salad companion it's also great in slices.

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Black Krim

Matures: 80 days
Fruit Size: 8 oz.
Plant Type: Indeterminate
Genetic Type: Heirloom

If you want to have your taste buds tantalized then consider planting Black Krim. This beautiful fruit has an intense flavour with salty notes, suitable for salsas and soups. Plus, you'll always have plenty to experiment with as this is a well-producing tomato plant choice.

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Brandy Wine

Matures: 80 – 100 days
Fruit Size: 9 – 16 oz.
Plant Type: Indeterminate
Genetic Type: Heirloom

Are you limited on space and looking for a well-rounded tomato variety? Consider the Brandy Wine which is known for it's old fashioned and robust flavour. This plump tomato choice is versatile in the kitchen and can be found in salads, and sandwiches where fresh is best.

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Candyland

Matures: 55 – 60 days
Fruit Size: 0.5”
Plant Type: Indeterminate
Genetic Type: Hybrid

As the name suggests, this tomato is the candy of the garden and known for it's sweet taste. If you enjoy tomatoes for snacking and salads you can't go wrong with this pick. As an added bonus, they are one of the faster maturing tomatoes which means you'll be sampling sooner than later. Gardener beware, they're so good they might make it to your mouth before they see the kitchen.

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New to the lingo? Here are some helpful hints:

How Tall Will it Grow?

Determinate tomato plants, also called bush tomatoes, are varieties that are bred to grow to a compact height. This variety stops growing when fruit sets on the terminal or top bud; the crop typically ripens on or near the same time.

Indeterminate tomato plants are also called vining tomatoes. They will grow and produce fruit until killed by frost. This variety can reach heights of up to 10 feet although 6 feet is average. These tall growing tomatoes will benefit from staking.

Semi-determinate tomatoes are typical determinate types except in length of the branches. Since they have fewer branches than determinate and their branches are longer they require staking or tomato cages to prevent trailing on the ground. This variety ranges from 3 to 6.5 feet.

About Your Tomato

Open-pollination is when pollination occurs by insect, bird, wind, humans, or other natural mechanisms. Because there are no restrictions on the flow of pollen between individuals, open-pollinated plants are more genetically diverse. If you keep your open-pollinated plants from crossing with other tomatoes then the saved seed will be true to type.

An heirloom variety is a plant variety that has a history of being passed down within a family or community. An heirloom variety must be open-pollinated, but not all open-pollinated plants are heirlooms. Generally, heirloom varieties are significantly older than open-pollinated varieties.

Hybridization is a controlled method of pollination in which the pollen of two different species or varieties is crossed by human intervention. Hybridization can occur naturally through random crosses, however, commercial hybrid tomatoes are deliberately created to breed a desired trait.

All photos and illustrations in this post are original work by Mrs. Canadian Renegade.

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