You’ll want to grow these unique tomato varieties this year!
Who doesn’t love variety when it comes to tomatoes? It’s nice to have different sizes, colors, tastes and uses for these delectable fruits (or vegetables, depending on who you ask). I recently did a major seed haul (video coming soon) so when ordering my seeds online, I intentionally chose unique tomatoes that will give me good variety.
I’ll be growing most of my tomatoes inside my high tunnel (this will be my first growing season with it), so I chose mostly indeterminate tomatoes (that will grow, flower and produce fruit throughout the growing season) and only two determinate tomato varieties (that grow on more compact bushes and are typically smaller and ripen all their fruit in a short period).
Our farm is in Zone 8a, just for reference and I’m planning my garden around growing enough food for my family to eat seasonally as well as preserve in our basement “grocery store” pantry, and also growing enough food to sell at the Farmer’s Market once a month between May and October (hence so many unique varieties… I want my tomatoes to STAND OUT)! I have a feeling the Get Stuffed Tomatoes from Baker Creek (below) are going to be my new favorite to shake up our typical stuffed bell pepper dinners!
Check out these varieties of cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, paste tomato, slicing tomatoes and artisan tomatoes. Each one is a little bit different than its counterpart. The description under each photo gives you a good idea why each of these varieties are unique! There’s also links to order your own if you so desire (they are not affiliate links). Let me know in the comment section below which ones stand out the most and are contenders for your garden this year.
New! A delicious yellow tomato. An updated version of the classic Lemon Boy tomato with added disease resistance and sweet, tangy flavor — a marked improvement over typical yellow tomatoes. The flattened-round, 7–8 oz. beefsteak fruits are consistent in size, shape, and quality with very few blemishes. A high-yielding variety with good firmness. Comprehensive disease package offers wide adaptability and keeps the plants healthy and the fruits clean. Can be harvested bright lemon-yellow to deeper golden-yellow when fruit exhibits light checking and a subtle blush at the blossom scar. Harvest a bit underripe if you prefer a more acidic flavor profile. High resistance to Alternaria stem canker, Fusarium crown and root rot, Fusarium wilt races 1–3, gray leaf spot, tomato mosaic virus, Verticillium wilt; and intermediate resistance to nematodes and leaf mold. Indeterminate. Avg. 126,400 seeds/lb. Packet: 30 seeds.
A spectacular stuffing tomato with gorgeous golden streaked skin. This crisp fleshed and hollow variety is perfectly suited to stuffing, superb when eaten raw but also holds up beautifully when baked. Fruit averages 5-7 ounces each and is similar to a bell pepper in shape. The skin of this variety is gilded in light streaks of gold. Medium large with a strawberry-like seed cluster in the middle that is easy to scoop out. Delicious stuffed with various stuffings raw or cooked. Shaped like a bell pepper with crispy texture but great tomato flavor. Stands up well to powdery mildew. Originally bred by incredible plant breeder Tom Wagner!
The classic sweet red cherry tomato. Reliable cherry with prolific yields of great-tasting, 15–20 gm. fruits produced in large clusters. Widely adapted. High resistance to Fusarium wilt and Verticillium wilt. Indeterminate. Avg. 19,500 seeds/oz. Packet: 40 seeds.
Dramatic color contrast. Purple Bumble Bee is an eye-catching combination of the dusky purple seen in heirloom tomatoes and metallic green striping. Sweet flavor and meaty texture provide a nice accent to any salad. Like all the Artisan™ tomatoes, Purple Bumble Bee was bred with high vigor to perform under tough conditions. 20-25 gm. fruits. Indeterminate. USDA Certified Organic. Avg. 15,900 seeds/oz. Packet: 40 seeds.
80 days. Indeterminate, regular leaf. Indescribable beauty meets stellar flavor with the orange accordion tomato. This highly ruffled, massive tomato in high voltage orange color is packed with nutrition and sweet, fruity flavor. This head-turning tomato is a must have for market gardeners and home growers alike. Its deeply lobed fruit has few seeds and juicy, meaty flesh, making it suitable for sauces and slicing. Its monstrous fruit can easily reach 20 ounces each and makes a perfect stuffing tomato, too!
Delicious pink cherry tomato with leaf mold resistance.
Sunpeach has a loyal following among Johnny’s customers, owing to its productivity, crack resistance, and incredible flavor. Deep-pink, shiny, 15-20 gm., cherries are borne on long trusses. Vigorous, healthy, high-yielding plants. High resistance to leaf mold helps it stay healthy in high tunnels; also has high resistance to tomato mosaic virus. Resistant to cracking. Indeterminate. Avg. 10,000 seeds/oz. Packet: 15 seeds.
High-quality strain of this classic heirloom paste tomato. San Marzano is considered one of the best paste tomatoes of all time, with old-world look and taste. Whole 4–6 oz. tomatoes peel easily and cook down quickly. Various strains of San Marzano exist; this strain was selected by tomato breeder Emily Rose Haga from seeds from the USDA gene bank, which is designed to preserve genetic diversity and increase food security. The strain originates from Parma, Italy, where it was developed for the 1950’s canning industry. This strain has a very traditional San Marzano shape and appearance as well as a vibrant red color. Indeterminate. USDA Certified Organic. Avg. 222,000 seeds/lb. Packet: 40 seeds
Early, delicious, attractive cherry tomatoes. Real sweet tomato flavor and firmness without being hard. Among the first to ripen, Sakura keeps going all season long because of its disease resistance. Very tidy, compact plant fits well in tight spaces. Prolific yielder of bright red, shiny, medium-large cherry tomatoes that average 20–22 gm. High resistance to Fusarium wilt races 1 and 2, leaf mold, and tomato mosaic virus; and intermediate resistance to nematodes. Indeterminate. USDA Certified Organic. Avg. 14,500 seeds/oz. Packet: 15 seeds.
Unusual variety with full flavor. Famously rich flavor and texture make this a colorful favorite among heirloom enthusiasts. Medium-large, flattened globe, 8-12 oz. fruits. Color is dusky pink with dark shoulders. Multilocular interior ranges from purple to brown to green. Relatively short vines. Indeterminate. USDA Certified Organic. Avg. 10,900 seeds/oz. Packet: 40 seeds.
Fresh market greenhouse tomato with strong disease package. Rebelski combines flavor, texture, presentation, and strong vigor. Bright red, shiny, ribbed fruits avg. 7–8 oz., are very crack resistant, and firm enough to withstand some handling. Developed for the French market, which appreciates lightly ruffled tomatoes, and sold as ‘Rebelski’ in Europe. Rebelski’s comprehensive greenhouse-specific disease package has proved its value in our high tunnel trials, where powdery mildew has recently become a major problem. High resistance to Fusarium wilt races 1, 2, Fusarium crown and root rot, leaf mold, powdery mildew, tobacco mosaic virus, and Verticillium wilt. Also known as DRW 7749. Indeterminate. Avg. 10,100 seeds/oz. Packet: 15 seeds.
New! A great start to tomato season. First-early tunnel tomato with sweet, tangy flavor and impressive size. Smooth, rich red fruits avg. 6–8 oz. Medium-vigor plant best for stake and weave systems. NOTE: Fruit size decreases on later clusters, but flavor holds well. Grafting may lengthen production cycles and increase fruit size. High resistance to Alternaria stem canker, Fusarium crown and root rot, Fusarium wilt races 1–2, leaf mold, tomato mosaic virus, and Verticillium wilt; and intermediate resistance to gray leaf spot and nematodes. Indeterminate. Avg. 170,700 seeds/lb. Packet: 15 seeds.
75 days. A favorite variety, introduced from Russia. One of the most beautiful and attractive tomatoes we have ever grown. It is very ribbed and pleated, but otherwise very uniform, large and perfect looking, being a vibrant watermelon-pink color with cream colored speckles that really make the fruit sparkle and glisten. Short, indeterminate plants produce a large mass of these fruit in a thick clustered area in the center of the plant. The flavor is sweet, mild and good; flesh is firm and the seeds are very few. Indeterminate.
Bred for earliness, disease resistance, and flavor.
This mid-size slicer has high resistance to late blight and intermediate resistance to early blight combined with great flavor. The 6-8 oz., globe-shaped fruit are smooth and medium-firm with good texture. Deep red internal and external color. High-yielding, medium-sized plants are widely adaptable. Defiant was traditionally bred to inherit the Ph-2 and Ph-3 major genes for late blight (Phytophthora) resistance. High resistance to Fusarium wilt races 1, 2, late blight, and Verticillium wilt; and intermediate resistance to early blight. Our thanks to North Carolina State University for collaborating with us to develop this variety. Determinate. USDA Certified Organic. Avg. 10,850 seeds/oz. Packet: 15 seeds.
New! Excels in the Southern U.S.
Smooth, deep red beefsteak sets fruit in heat when other tomatoes will not. Round, clean, 8–10 oz. lightly ribbed fruits for mature-green and vine-ripe markets. Improved plant health, production, and fruit quality over Grand Marshall, which it replaces. Strong TYLCV resistance for growers in the Deep South. High resistance to Fusarium crown and root rot, Fusarium wilt races 1–2, tomato yellow leaf curl virus, and Verticillium wilt. Determinate. Avg. 177,800 seeds/lb. Packet: 15 seeds.
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