Types of Tomato Plants
A List of Tomato Varieties to grow at home
Before you begin to grow your own tomatoes, you want to look into tomato varieties to choose the right ones for you. Here you will find useful information to help you to choose the best type of tomato plant to grow in your garden, indoors or in a greenhouse.
There are many tomato varieties to grow. They differ in yield, tomato plant care required, problems you may have with them and many other characteristics. If you want to grow tomatoes, here is a list of tomato types you can choose from.
Types of tomatoes include:
- Cherry tomatoes
- Beefsteak tomatoes
- Plum tomatoes
- Cocktail tomatoes
- Salad tomatoes
- Pear tomatoes
- Cordon tomatoes
- Bush tomatoes
The list above includes some of the most common tomato types which you can come acrross, but there are more. Some of the most popular tomato types you can find in shops are salad tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes and plum tomatoes. These names refer to groups of tomato varieties categorised this way due to their sizes and how we use them. This is what to expect from these kinds of tomatoes:
The most popular tomato types
Salad tomatoes
This is a very popular type of tomato which you can often find in the supermarkets. They are the size of a golf ball and as the name suggests, they are great for salads as well as salsas or everyday cooking.
Cherry Tomatoes
They are the size of a cherry, hence the name. Cherry tomatoes are one of the sweetest tomato varieties, make a great salad ingredient or a snack on its own.
Beefsteak Tomatoes
They take the name after their size – they are the largest type of tomato. Some people love them because they are easy to handle and slice due to the size. Because of that, they are great for sandwiches or to stuff them.
Plum Tomatoes
Plum tomatoes are very juicy. They also haven’t got many seeds, which makes them perfect for various tomato sauces and purees.
Determinate and indeterminate tomatoes
What is the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomato plants?
- Determinate tomatoes are a bush plant type.
- Indeterminate tomatoes are tall vine-like plant
- Semi–determinate tomatoes are between the two-part bush part vine plant.
Tomato varieties
Which tomatoes to grow indoors, outdoors or in a greenhouse?
When to grow them and what fruits you will get.
Examples of tomatoes for growing at home:
Tumbling tom red or yellow
Type: determinate
Where: indoor and outdoor, baskets and containers
When: fruits in 8 – 9 weeks, indoors January – March, outdoors March – April
Fruits: rosy red and yellow (depending on the seeds), sweet, small size
Red Alert
Type: determinate
Where: outdoors
When: in 8 – 9 weeks
Fruits: red, small
Flavour: very tasty
Advantage: early crop and thanks to maturing early, not prone blight
Roma VF
Tpe: semi-determinate
Where: outdoors or indoors
When: in 10 weeks
Fruits: red, plum shaped, almost seedless
Advantage: great yields, disease resistant
Marmande
Type: semi-determinate
Where: outdoor
When: in 10 weeks
Fruit: red, large, irregular
Flavour: slightly tart, tasty
Special requirements: extra support due to large fruits
Ailsa Craig
Type: indeterminate
Where: indoor and outdoor
When: fruits in 9 – 10 weeks
Fruit: red, medium size
Flavour: tasty rich flavour
Alicante
Type: indeterminate
Where: outdoors
When: fruits in 9 – 10 weeks, early season, plant out only after last frost as the plants are delicate
Fruit: red, medium size
Flavour: great flavour
Black Russian
Type: indeterminate
Where: outdoors
When: fruits in 9 – 11 weeks
Fruit: dark purple with red, large beefsteak, can be oddly shaped
Black Krim
Type: indeterminate
Where: greenhouse or a warm spot outdoors
When: fruits in 11 weeks
Fruit: large black with reddish glow
Flavour: very juicy and sweet
Brandywine
Type: indeterminate
Where: outdoors
When: fruits in 11 – 13 weeks
Fruit: large, pink and red
Flavour: excellent, considered as one of the best beefsteak tomatoes, dates back to 1800’s
Special requirements: extra support due to large fruits
Gardeners delight
Type: indeterminate
Where: outdoors or greenhouse
When: fruits in 9 – 10 weeks
Fruit: red, small, slightly larger than cherry tomatoes
Flavour: tangy and sweet
Moneymaker
Type: indeterminate
Where: outdoors
When: in 8 – 9 weeks
Fruits: red, medium size
Flavour: may be a bit bland
Advantage: great yields
Sungold F1
Type: indeterminate
Where: outdoors
When: in 8 – 9 weeks
Fruits: yellow and orange, small
Flavour: very sweet
Advantages: tobacco virus resistant
Tigerella
Type: indeterminate
Where: outdoors or greenhouse
When: fruits in 8 – 9 weeks, early harvest season
Fruits: red with orange stripes, medium size
Flavour: excellent flavour
Advantages: great yields
I hope this gives you some idea what to expect from different tomato varieties and halps you choose those you want to grow.
