How to Choose the Right Tomato for Your Garden
If you grow vegetables in the summer, you probably grow tomatoes, and they’re often the first vegetable a budding gardener tries to grow. It's not a bad call—there’s nothing like eating a vine-ripened tomato you grew yourself.
But not all tomatoes are created equally, and it can be confusing to decide which tomatoes to grow. There are countless varieties, and instead of choosing based on the color or a cute name, learning the characteristics of different tomato types can help ensure a more successful tomato growing (and tomato eating) season. Whether you are growing tomatoes from seeds or buying seedlings at the nursery, here's what to consider to help you choose the right tomato for you.
Determinate versus indeterminate tomatoes
Before you get into flavor, color, or anything else, you should know about the two types of tomatoes. All tomatoes are either determinate or indeterminate, and at the most basic level, the difference is about harvesting: Determinate tomatoes produce all their fruit in a few weeks' time, while indeterminate tomatoes produce over the course of a season. This seems like a simple choice, because who wouldn’t want a season full of tomatoes? And if you’re harvesting, say, slicing tomatoes for sandwiches, a season full of tomatoes would make sense. But if you’re harvesting paste tomatoes to make sauce, you more likely to want them all at once, so you can make a few big batches of sauce.
These two kinds of tomatoes grow differently, too: Determinate tomatoes tend to be bushier, and grow to a set point and then stop. Indeterminate tomatoes grow taller like a vine, and never stop growing and setting flowers. You can prune indeterminate tomatoes to shape the plant, but should never prune determinate tomatoes, or you’ll limit the fruit you’re capable of growing.
Every plant tag or catalog listing will tell you if a tomato is determinate or indeterminate, but ife in doubt, do some research. You can search for the name of a tomato online to find out, or ask someone at the nursery.
Tomato type determines shape, size, and juiciness
It takes nothing more than a trip to the grocery store to see the varieties of tomatoes on offer. There are cherry tomatoes (which aren’t just little baby tomatoes), paste or plum tomatoes, and globe tomatoes. Occasionally you’ll even see slicers. Each of these tomato types serves a specific purpose.
Slicers are best for sandwiches
When you picture the ideal tomato, you’re likely imagining a slicing tomato. Palm sized or bigger, slicers can top a pound in weight, and come in a few different shapes. There are heirloom type tomatoes like Purple Cherokee or Berkeley Tie Dye, which have big, defined lobes and shoulders. There are globe tomatoes, which are what you usually buy in the supermarket—tennis ball sized, and very round and smooth. There are heart shaped tomatoes, like Cuoer di Bue and Oxheart, that have a distinct point at one end and tall shoulders, which makes them resemble hearts.
The thing that truly defines a slicer, though, is that they have a good amount of juiciness—more so than other tomatoes—but also enough meat for slices of tomato to hold together. This makes them ideal for sandwiches or a beautiful caprese salad.
Paste or plum tomatoes make great sauce
While you could make tomato sauce from any tomato, the best tomato sauce tomato is a paste or plum. These elongated tomatoes tend to have more meat and less juiciness, making them ideal for cooking and canning. The shape makes them easy to peel and ideal for roasting. Classic paste tomatoes include Roma (a determinate) and San Marzano (an indeterminate), both of which have spectacular flavor. You can also consider varieties like Amish Paste, an indeterminate popular for its size and production, if not so much its taste. Growing multiple varieties (say, one great-tasting tomato and one well-producing tomato) and using both will yield more sauce, while maintaining the flavor.
Cherry tomatoes are for snacking and salads
Usually the size of a gum-ball, cherry tomatoes are popular at salad bars and make perfect snacks. it’s important to note cherry tomatoes are not baby tomatoes, but full grown and matured tomatoes that are meant to be that size. There are a few subtypes of cherries. While most are spherical, there are also pear shaped cherry tomatoes, the most famous of which is the Yellow Bell. There are also grape tomatoes, which are actually a small paste tomato, like Juliet, which is wildly prolific and a great compromise; they make fantastic sauce and are great for snacking.
Tomato color really does influence taste
One of the most delightful aspects of growing tomatoes is the range of colors you can achieve. Each year I grow a literal rainbow of cherry tomatoes, but the colors aren’t simply for looks. Tomato colors are created by pigment, and those pigmentation elements influence the amount of sugar and acid present in the fruit. Red and pink tomatoes, which have higher chlorophyll and lycopene levels, have higher acid levels than yellow and orange tomatoes, making them more tart. Blue, brown, and purple tomatoes have higher anthocyanin levels, which result in a more savory taste. Green Grape cherry tomatoes are a bit peppery, due to a lack of lycopene.
Cherry tomatoes are a fantastic way to experiment with colors and tastes. Once you find out what what you like, you can try out slicers in those colors. But even among paste tomatoes, which are traditionally red, there have been some been amazing developments in recent years, resulting in yellow paste tomatoes like Sunrise Sauce, which I grow myself—this variety can produce a less acidic sauce or soup if the too much acid in tomatoes tends to overwhelm you.
Know the tomato rules, but don't be afraid to break them
While all tomatoes are somewhat interchangeable—you can make a sauce out of cherry tomatoes or use a paste tomato on a sandwich—you’ll notice a big difference when you use the right tomato for the right job. There is absolutely nothing like slicing a fresh-off-the-vine Yellow Brandywine tomato and slicing it up for a BLT. My canned whole tomatoes, grown as San Marzanos in my yard, taste better than any can of tomatoes from the market, and while you can snack on any tomato, the sweetness of a cherry tomato makes them the top tier choice.
Understanding the type, color, and growing habit of different tomatoes can help you choose the right tomatoes for your home garden and make shopping for seeds or starts a more informed process. Here's to a tomato-filled summer!