Tomatoes are just about the most popular plants to garden, and for good reason; they are fairly easy to grow, and commonly used. There are two different types to chose from, determinate (bush) and indeterminate (vine), and dozens of varieties that might work better in your growing climate.

Harvest once the tomato is fully red, or close to it. Tomatoes will continue to ripen indoors for several days.

Optionally, you can also [prune "sucker" branches](https://www.epicgardening.com/what-do-you-do-with-tomato-suckers/) once a week to increase the size of tomatoes as they fruit. 

Tomatoes

The secret to healthy tomatoes is transplanting them deep. For example, if transplanting a 6" tomato plant, remove the lower branches and bury it to 3" beyond above roots. The small hairs along the stem will become new roots, and the plant will be able to grow much faster!

Store un-washed tomatoes on the countertop for 2-3 days, or refrigerate for up to a week.

A 1950s heirloom, 'Ace 55' has excellent, fresh tomato flavor and is a lower-acid tomato. An old favorite for canning, 5"&#8211;6" diameter, 6&#8211;8 ounce fruits are just the right size to quarter and pack into jars. Yields are exceptional; as a determinate type, the majority of the fruits ripen over a 1 to 2 week period. In areas with a long growing season, sow in succession.

Ace 55

Pink, Purple, and Sunrise Bumble Bee tomatoes make up this sweet and tangy blend. Each tomato is striped, no two are alike, and mixed together they are stunning. Juicy right off the vine or in a salad. Big plants (provide support) produce big yields throughout the season. Crack resistant. Organically color-coded seeds for identification: red seed for Pink tomatoes, natural seed for Purple, and yellow seed for Sunrise.

Artisan Bumble Bee Cherry

This tantalizing blend will have you dreaming of fresh summer salads and pastas. Tiger tomatoes are sleek, striped, and colorful. Crack resistant, 2" fruits in a variety of colors. Seeds are color coded with organic food colorings: Green = natural seed, Pink = red color, and Blush = yellow seed.

Artisan Tiger Stripes Cherry

What tomato lover wouldn't love thick, meaty slices of homegrown tomatoes on their sandwiches? 'Beefsteak' is a century-old favorite not only for sandwiches, but also any dish calling for rich, tomato flavor. Vines are so vigorous (up to 6' or more) you will need a sturdy wire cage to support them and the 1&#8211;2-pound fruits! Produces summer to fall.

Beefsteak

This Russian heirloom originated in Krymsk on the Black Sea in Russia. Baseball-sized fruits weigh 10&#8211;12 ounces and have reddish-brown flesh filled with a rich, slightly salty flavor. Fruit sets well in heat and is a reliable "black" tomato, producing even under adverse conditions from summer to fall. Provide support for plants that can reach 6' or more.

Black Krim

You simply will not believe the wonderful flavor of this tomato! Named after Brandywine Creek in Chester County, PA, it is an old heirloom dating back to 1889, passed down from generation to generation. 'Brandywine' is a heat-tolerant, pinkish/red beefsteak type with thin-skinned, rich-flavored, 3/4&#8211;1 lb. fruits. Provide support for vines with potato-leaf foliage that reach 6' or more.

Brandywine

Brandywines have been favored by tomato lovers for more than 100 years. Fruits often weigh around a pound but can weigh close to 2 pounds! 'Yellow Brandywine' turns golden yellow when ripe, with a balance of sweet and tart; 'Red Brandywine' has a rich, well-balanced tomato flavor. Red seeds are stained with organic coloring to indicate the red tomato, while the yellow tomato seeds are their natural color.

Brandywine Red & Yellow

'Cherokee Purple' is said to have been given to a Tennessee family by the Cherokees over 100 years ago. This treasured tomato has just the right balance of sweetness and even a hint of smoke, making  it a winner in taste tests. From summer to fall, you'll harvest more than enough 10&#8211;12 oz. tomatoes from this well-regarded heirloom variety. Provide support for vigorous vines that reach 6' or more.

Cherokee Purple

'Chocolate Cherry' tomatoes&#8212;doesn't just the name make you hungry? These 1" purplish-red,  delectable tomatoes are great for snacking on and add a little sweetness to salads and pastas.  The prolific vines bear seemingly endless trusses with 6&#8211;8 crack-resistant fruits that will keep you  coming back for harvest after harvest.

Chocolate Cherry

Pop a few of these sweet delights in your mouth while gardening! Reviews have proclaimed this 1950s German heirloom the best cherry tomato; extra sweet and packed with flavor. Produces many clusters of 6&#8211;12 tomatoes all summer until frost. Vigorous vines easily reach 6' long.

Gardener's Delight

'Glacier' will be one of your first ripe tomatoes of summer, and one of your last tomatoes in the fall! This 30" tall plant sets fruit earlier and in cooler temperatures than other varieties, and continues to produce throughout the season. 2" flavorful slicers are the perfect size for sandwiches. Enjoy the sweetness of summer longer than ever!

Glacier

Like sunshine in the garden, 'Golden Jubilee' is bright and golden with firm texture. Mild, low-acid flavor makes excellent tomato juice, sauce, and salsa. Small seed cavities means fewer seeds and more solid, meaty slices perfect for sandwiches and salads. Expect high yields of these 3" delights. 1943 All-America Selections award winner. Disease resistant.

Golden Jubilee

A breeder's work of art! 'Green Zebra' has excellent flavor and unique color&#8212;golden green with forest green stripes, developing a slight amber blush when ripe. The 2"&#8211;3" tomatoes have very smooth skin essentially free of cracks. Provide support for vines that reach 6' or more. More heat and drought tolerant than other varieties.

Green Zebra

'Indigo Rose' was developed by Professor Jim Myers at Oregon State University to include anthocyanins (antioxidants that are beneficial to our health) in the fruits. Its 5' vines require support and produce plentiful 2-ounce fruits in clusters of 6 to 8. You'll find dozens of ways to eat these gorgeous purplish-brown tomatoes with red centers after you taste their balanced, sweet, acidic flavor! Allow fruit to fully ripen on the vine before harvesting. Disease resistant.

Indigo Rose Cherry

<p>An absolutely excellent heirloom tomato&#8212;firm, meaty, 3" oblong fruits with few seeds, on compact vines that are very productive. As a determinate type, most of the fruits ripen at the same time, which makes this tomato a good choice for canning. In areas with a long growing season, a second planting will double your harvest! 	</p>

Italian Roma

A very popular variety for commercial growers in the 1950s and 1960s, 'Moneymaker' earned its name because of its uniformity and reliably heavy yields. The medium-sized fruits are sweet with a meaty texture, making them versatile for use in fresh or cooked dishes. A good choice for greenhouses as well as outdoors. A favorite of southern gardeners and those in climates with hot, humid summers.

Moneymaker

'Moskvich' translates to "inhabitant of Moscow", paying homage to the area where it was bred in the early 1970s (more information inside packet). After a winter without homegrown tomatoes, it will be the first one you will harvest, as it withstands cool weather. At the end of the hot summer when temperatures cool off, it is the last to slow down in production of full-size, garden-fresh fruit.

Moskvish

What a name! 'Oxheart', also known as 'Cuore Di Bue' (Italian for ox heart) is so named because of its shape. It is also known as "pear of Liguria", after the northern Italian region where it has long been celebrated. This heirloom is dense with few seeds, cooks down to a robust, thick sauce, and really shines when roasted. It is also a star sliced fresh atop salad greens or paired with mozzarella and fresh basil leaves.

Oxheart

You'll be impressed with this high-yielding variety. These luscious tomatoes ripen to yellow-orange accented with hints of red that go through the solid, meaty interior of the fruit. Large, beefsteak type fruits don't have a lot of seeds but are filled with complex, low-acid tomato flavor with a hint of fruitiness that's just the right balance of sweet and tangy. Provide support for the tall plants and their heavy, 1&#8211;2-pound fruits.

Pineapple

A unique combination of distinctively different cherry tomatoes! Seeds are color-coded for identification. Blend includes: 'Sundrop' (orange tomato), 'Gold Nugget' (yellow tomato), 'Chocolate Cherry' (brown tomato), 'Sweetie' (red tomato), 'Green Grape' (green tomato), 'Super Snow White' (white tomato), and 'Bicolor Cherry' (pink/white striped tomato). Provide support for vigorous vines that easily reach 6'.

Rainbow Cherry

This heirloom blend brings you both red and yellow, firm fruit that can be eaten like grapes all summer long. Sweet, mild flavor and low acidity make these tomatoes traditionally best for pickling and preserves, but they are great for salads and snacking, too. 'Red Pear' seeds are dyed red, while the 'Yellow Pear' seeds remain natural so you know which color tomato you are sowing. Vigorous vines easily reach 6'.

Red & Yellow Pear Cherry

The blue ribbon winner! 'Red Pride' yields a bountiful harvest on vigorous, compact plants. It has superb flavor and is adaptable to almost any climate. Its reliable production combined with an excellent disease resistance package make it an almost perfect variety.

Red Pride

Only an heirloom tomato that came from the climate of Siberia could tolerate the fickle and sometimes cool temperatures that exasperate some gardeners in spring! 'Red Siberian' tolerates regular summer temperatures and withstands cool temperatures while still producing abundant fruit with rich, classic tomato flavor. Stout, short plants (to 3-feet) are great for containers.

Red Siberian

'San Marzano' may very well be the mother of all paste tomatoes, as it is believed by some tomato aficionados to be the parent of almost all the paste tomatoes bred in the U.S. since the 1920s. For generations, Italians have cherished this large, paste tomato as the very best for sauce and canning, and when it comes to sauce, Italians would know! Vigorous vines reach 6' or more.

San Marzano

Rare in grocery stores, 'Sun Gold's' plump, tangerine-colored fruits are a special treat at the peak of flavor in the garden-very sweet and juicy! Provide support for vigorous vines that easily reach 6' long. Pick a bit early and ripen indoors at room temperature. Low-acidity tomato. Disease resistant.

Sun Gold

'Supremo' produces a dependable mid-season crop of impressively large, uniform tomatoes that set well even in heat. You'll have loads of tomatoes to make sauce or paste, chop for salads or salsas, or slice for sandwiches. In areas with a long growing season, a successive planting will double your harvest! Excellent disease resistance, including Fusarium wilt (1-3), Verticillium wilt, root knot, bacterial speck, and spotted wilt.

Supremo Roma

Classic cherry tomato that lives up to its sweet name is well known for its hearty flavor and early harvest. 'Sweetie' produces large numbers of &#190;"&#8211;1" cherry tomatoes in grape-like clusters. Provide support for vigorous vines that easily reach 6' long. Low-acidity tomato.

Sweetie Cherry

There are two different types to chose from, determinate (bush) and indeterminate (vine), and dozens of varieties that might work better in your growing climate.

How to grow
Tomatoes

When to plant Tomatoes

How to plant Tomatoes

Tomato Varieties

Maintaining Tomatoes

Tomato Diseases

Tomato Pests

When to harvest Tomatoes

How to store Tomatoes

How to growTomatoes