Choosing Which Tomatoes To Grow

The varieties of tomatoes you can grow seems positively endless - so how do you narrow it down?? I’m sharing 3 tips for choosing which tomatoes to grow in your home garden!

As a young kid I was not a big fan of tomatoes. I remember going out to eat, getting a salad, and piling all the tomatoes up on the edge of the plate. I feel so guilty sharing that with you! But that disdain for tomatoes changed when I tasted my first homegrown tomato! And can we take a minute just to savor the magic of growing your own tomatoes?! 

If you’re excited about growing tomatoes and want to choose the best variety for you, then keep reading! I’m sharing 3 factors to think about: your goals for growing, space availability, and plans for seed saving.

If you’re looking for a guide to find the best time to get your seeds and transplants started then check out this FREE download I’ve created!

Goals for Growing

Tomatoes are among the most versatile garden plants in the home garden, amazing for fresh eating or preserving for the future in a myriad of ways. One of the first considerations when deciding which tomatoes to grow is to think about what your goal will be. Do you want fresh tomatoes for eating on salads and sandwiches? Or do you want to preserve your tomato bounty for the future?

If you’re looking for fresh eating throughout the season then consider growing either indeterminate or semi-determinate varieties. These will produce tomatoes a little bit at a time, all through the season, providing you plenty of fresh tomatoes to enjoy! Indeterminate and semi-determinate tomatoes come in all types and varieties for fresh eating, including slicing tomatoes for sandwiches, cherry and salad tomatoes, and paste tomatoes.

Planning instead to preserve that bright, summery flavor to enjoy in the cold days of winter? Determinate varieties will produce their bounty within a short window (usually 2-3 weeks), giving you a large amount of produce that you can put up (without risking the first harvested tomatoes to go bad while you wait to have a large enough amount to can). Like indeterminate tomatoes you can find all types and varieties of determinate tomatoes, but traditionally paste tomatoes are grown if you’re interested in preserving the bounty. These types are more ‘meaty’ and will give you more tomato goodness for your sauce, salsa, or whatever you desire!

Space Availability

Besides your goals for your harvest bounty, one of the biggest factors to consider when planning tomatoes is the size of the growing space and size you have available. 

There are two main growth habits for tomatoes: vining or bush type.

Indeterminate tomatoes grow as a vine (sometimes reaching over 10 feet tall!). Because of their extreme height, these are not well suited to grow in containers, and require a robust trellis/support for growing.

On the other hand, determinate varieties grow more similar to a bush, usually to around two to three feet tall. Certain varieties in this group may still benefit from a small cage or stake, but they do not require as robust (or tall!) of support as indeterminate/vining varieties. If you’re growing in pots or small containers these are a great option!

Semi-determinate tomatoes grow taller than determinate bush types, often around 4’, but then stop their growth, never reaching the extreme heights of indeterminate varieties. These also make a great option for growing in containers. Be sure to provide stakes or a cage to support these varieties as they grow.

Seed Saving

The last factor to consider when deciding which tomatoes you’ll grow is if you’ll want to save your seeds from the harvest for future plantings. If you do want to save seeds you’ll want to grow heirloom or open-pollinated varieties. The seeds from these can be saved year to year, and in fact over the years, with subsequent growing and seed saving seasons, will become better suited to your unique growing area. 

If you’re not concerned about saving seeds you have the option of also using hybrid seeds, sometimes designated as F1 seeds. These are selectively bred for certain features like size, taste, or disease resistance. Now don’t get me wrong, you can save the seeds from hybrids, but the seeds will not grow another tomato exactly like the one it came from - instead they’ll revert back to features from the parent stock. 

So there you have it! By thinking about your goals for growing, space availability, and plans for seed saving you’ll be sure to find the best variety for your garden.

Will you be growing tomatoes this year? I’d love to know which varieties you’re planning!!

Happy growing!