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Tomatoes are one of themost democratic food plantsgrown in plate gardens in the U.S. and around the macrocosm , and there are many types of tomatoes available to accommodate wide-ranging climates and personal tastes . According to a sight by the National Gardening Association , 86 percent of home gardener grow this tropical South American fruit .
The love apple is popular due to its culinary versatility , but no storage - buy tomato ever tasted as good as vine - mature , homegrown Lycopersicon esculentum plucked from a backyard gardenat the heyday of ripeness . add to their collection , almost all types of tomato plant works are easy to grow and produce abundant yields in a small amount of real the three estates . Here are eight types of love apple gardeners can maturate and reap at home .
Photo: istockphoto.com
1. Globe Tomatoes
One of the most uniform tomato varieties in size of it and form , globe tomatoes let in popular cultivar Better Boy , Celebrity , Rutgers , and Early Girl . Often farm commercially because their thick skin helps them resist shipping , storing , and handling , the medium size of it and uniform rounded form of globe love apple make them a top choice for slicing .
Tasty when fresh , they ’re equally suitable forcanning , juicing , and cooking . Earth Lycopersicon esculentum offer a meek smell that complements many dishes . Most are red , but yellow and green motley also are available . This rotund tomato rarely break up and the plants are known for bring on ponderous yields on vigorous vines .
well For : Slice globe tomatoes to consume in sandwich , salads , or beefburger . Our Recommendation : other Girl Hybrid at Burpee Seeds for $ 5.95.This mixed bag produces secure quality fruit on sturdy vines , with heavy yields of round red love apple .
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2. Beefsteak Tomatoes
For a larger tomato plant that really bind its shape when slice , the Beefsteak love apple offers a brawny ( 1 - plus quid ) and flavorful option . These meaty and juicy tomatoes are among the biggest . Because they have a thin peel and a poor ledge liveliness , they are seldom usable commercially , but stay on a perennial backyard garden favorite .
Familiar cultivars include Beefsteak , Big Boy , Beefmaster , Brandywine , and Cherokee Purple . Slightly flattened , lob yield grows on plants that can reach 6 feet tall . These tomato plant type can benefit from staking , trellising , or caging — as well as from periodicfertilizing . All varieties are susceptible to garden cuss . They are high - yielding , but late - suppurate plants .
Best For : An excellent choice for sandwich and burgers because their beefy flesh holds its shape ; they ’re also delicious when eaten by themselves . Our Recommendation : Burpee Steakhouse Hybrid at Amazon for $ 8.68.Burpee ’s Beefsteak hybrid tomatoes mature a few days earlier than average and are laborious producers of large , uncompromising flora with an copiousness of tomato with great feel .
Photo: amazon.com
3. Cherry Tomatoes
If you ’re looking for a bite - size love apple you could snack on without all the jam of slice , take one of the tomato plant types that ’s smaller than a golf game ball . Fast - grow cherry tomatoes produce clustering of little round , oblong , or pear - shaped yield in colors of cherry , yellow , orangish , and purpleness . Most are under an in in diam , with flavour ranging from mild and sweet to tangy .
Popular cherry tomato cultivar include Sweet 100 , Super Sweet 100 , Sweet Million , Black Cherry , and Midnight Snack . Many varieties are well suited to container horticulture , but they can also beplanted in the gardenonce all danger of frost has passed .
well For : Great for snacking , broil , salad , hors d’oeuvres , and shish kebobs . Our good word : Burpee Super Sweet 100 Hybrid at Amazon for $ 7.82.These seed grow into plant that produce strings of bite - sized , sugary - sweet-scented cherry tree tomatoes that are the first to ripen and will continue to produce until Robert Lee Frost .
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4. Plum Tomatoes
Slightly big than cherry red tomato at 2 to 2½ inches , plum tree tomato are wanton to key by their elliptic shape . These business firm , solid little love apple have been selectively bred to make tomato sauces , peculiarly for classic Italian recipes , with solid pulp magazine and skin and seeds that are easy to remove . For this reason , they ’re also known as processing tomato or paste Lycopersicon esculentum .
Since they ’re less blue , plum tree tomatoes also knead well on pizza and as Sunday - dried tomatoes . The Roma may be the well - know instance of these kinds of tomatoes , but other plum tree cultivar include Juliet , Supremo , Amish Paste , Big Mama , and Orange Banana .
well For : Specifically breed for canning and making thick sauces and paste ; they also store well . Our Recommendation : Big Mama Hybrid at Burpee Seeds for $ 6.45.The plum - determine fruit is tiptop meaty and produce to about 3 by 5 inches to make plenty of sauce for canning .
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5. Oxheart Tomatoes
Like the Beefsteak Lycopersicon esculentum , Oxheart tomatoes are large and meaty , typically weighing at least a quid . The big dispute is their shape . oxheart have a point bottom to form a eye shape . Another difference is that Oxheart tomatoes do n’t have lobes . or else , they look more like a Earth love apple with an elongate head at the bottom . Most are red or pink , but some miscellanea are icteric , orangish , dark-green , or purple .
Different types of tomatoes in this class can have flavor ranging from acidulent to savory to slightly cherubic . Common cultivars of this mid- to tardy - time of year manufacturer admit Yellow Oxheart , Hungarian Heart , Livingston ’s Giant Oxheart , and Cour di Bue .
well For : Much like the Beefsteak , the big , meaty Oxheart tomato is best for fade , but can also be used for stuffing and canning . Our Recommendation : Ohio Heirloom Seeds Pink Oxheart at Amazon for $ 4.69.This heirloom variety produces an abundance of orotund , odoriferous , ruby , nerve - shaped tomato .
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6. Heirloom Tomatoes
The family of heirloom tomatoes encompasses old - fashioned varieties — typically open - pollinated bypollinators such as bees — that have been pass down from one coevals to the next . Heirloom tomatoes should breed true for at least two generations , or 40 to 50 geezerhood , although many are nearly identical to their ancestors of more than 100 years old .
While heirloom tomatoes often try out better , they can be more susceptible todiseases and other problems . They come in all shape , sizes , and colors . Well - known heirloom choices admit Cherokee Purple , Black Cherry , Amana Orange , Brandywine , and Chocolate Stripes .
Best For : Best enjoyed fresh , such as in a salad or sandwich , but heirloom tomatoes can also be baked . Our Recommendation : Marde Ross & Company Pink Brandywine at Amazon for $ 12.99.This industrial plant fork up a heavy return of flavorful , juicy heirloom tomatoes weigh up to a pound .
Photo: amazon.com
7. Green Tomatoes
Many green tomatoes are simply unripe tomatoes of other types . However , there are heirloom cultivars that are green when mature . Usually less acidic than cherry love apple , they often have a sweet - tart , tangy flavor that work well in salad . They ’re a secure source of vitamins A and C , as well as potassium . conversant cultivars of green tomato include German Greens , Green Zebras , Cherokee Green , and Green Tiger .
love apple that are green because they are not yet mature are tart , acidic , crunchy , and less juicy than their ripened relation . They can bestored until advanced , if preferred . Unripe green tomatoes should not be eat bare-ass ; they ’re toxic .
well For : immature green tomato are good breaded and fried or baked in dishes , used in salsa and Indian relish , and sauce , while ripe green tomatoes are good in salads and salsas . Our testimonial : Gardeners Basics Green Zebra at Amazon for $ 5.95.These heirloom seeds will turn true , produce a high-pitched yield of yellow green fruits with unslaked lime - green chevron that hold a copious , angelical flavor with a sharp raciness and a subtle lemon - lime gustatory perception .
Photo: istockphoto.com
8. Specialty Tomatoes
Specialty tomatoes add oomph to a repast with their centre - catching coloration , unusual shapes , and alien flavors . Officially defined as small snacking types , there are different kinds of Lycopersicon esculentum included in this category — and they come up in a hoi polloi of shapes and coloration . Most democratic are the grape , cherub , and cherry sizes , but not all cherry tomato are specialty Lycopersicon esculentum . While specialty tomatoes are often thought of as lowly snackers , there are Beefsteak varieties in this category as well .
The key to a specialty tomato is flavor , followed closely by color , texture , aroma , and twelvemonth - round availability , although buying local and organic speciality tomatoes also is an important vogue . placeable cultivar let in Black Krim , Purple Calabash , Japanese Black Trifele , Mini San Marzano , and RedRoyals Sweet Cherry Tomatoes on the Vine .
well For : Most popular for nosh , although they can also be used in salad and sandwich . Our good word : Seed demand Rainbow Blend on Amazon for $ 7.99.Variety is one component that makes strong suit tomato desirable , so this blend of colour , savour , and shapes offers an compartmentalisation of unusual and tasty kickshaw .
Photo: amazon.com
The prices listed here are exact as of the last update on 2/13/23 .
Our Best Advice for Beginner Gardeners
We ’ll assist you set up your first garden — whether that ’s a few pots on your patio , a raised bed , or an in - ground plot of land out back — and select the ripe works for your soil and region .
