My Favorite Tomato Varieties – 2018

We’re at the end of the spring and summer tomato season here in Las Vegas. They are not too happy with our 110+ degree summer days! Once the weather cools off a bit, the tomatoes will start producing again and will continue until killed by frost. Last year, our winter was so mild that many people saw their tomatoes produce all winter! Now that we are at a break in the tomato growing season, it’s time to look back and pick our favorite tomato varieties from this year.

 

The Contenders

This was the first year that I started my tomatoes from seed instead of buying transplants from the nursery. I choose Old German, Chianti Rose, Yellow Pear, and Sunrise Bumblebee. Two of them I’ve grown before and two are new to me. I started them soon after Christmas and planted them in early February. Harvest started in early to mid-May for all of them. Check out this post for more details on how to get an early start on tomato season.

I started 2 of each of the 4 varieties in hopes that one of each would survive to transplant. That doesn’t sound like a high expectation of success but life gets busy and often I lose plants due to neglect. I’m getting better as my kids get older and I have more time to pay attention to my garden. I actually had all 8 plants not only survive but do quite well! The hard part was finding space for them. I planted one of each variety in a raised bed under 30% shade cloth at home. A Chianti Rose and an Old German ended up in containers. A Yellow Pear and a Sunrise Bumblebee found a home in my bed at the community garden.  My last contender is Early Girl.  I didn’t plan on planting this one but I received an extra transplant from a friend.  I found just enough space for it in the community garden.

 

Winners and Losers

Yellow Pear

Yellow Pear is really cool looking heirloom cherry tomato that is tear drop shaped. It’s indeterminate which means it has very long vines that will continue to produce until killed by frost. (I’m pretty sure all cherry tomatoes are indeterminate). Indeterminate tomatoes are really big plants so be prepared with a heavy duty cage or staking system. Mine are 10’ tall! Yellow Pear continued to set fruit long after our temps reached above 95 degrees. Production slowed down a bit but not that much compared to other varieties. Generally, I’ve had better luck with smaller varieties (grape and cherry tomatoes) continuing to set fruit during our hot summers. I have one plant under 30% shade at my house and one at my community garden plot in full sun…blazing, scorching, inferno, insane, (get the idea?!) Las Vegas summer sun. The one under the shade cloth is much happier but the one in full sun has been a trouper and is still producing a bit.

Related Post – Get an Early Start on Tomato Season

 

 

Sunrise Bumblebee

Sunrise Bumblebee is an heirloom indeterminate cherry tomato. I grew it last year for the first time and we absolutely loved it! Last year, I bought it as a plant at a local nursery but this year I grew it from seed. It produced well and is continuing to set fruit in our crazy hot summer. I haven’t been as pleased with the taste as I was last year. The color seems to be off this year too. It’s a striking yellow and red striped tomato but as the season went on it got overripe if I waited to let the colors deepen like they did last year. So, most of the tomatoes have been paler and not as beautiful. The earliest tomatoes had great color but it faded as the season went on.  The fruit has also been a bit smaller than it was last year. I’ll grow it again next year in hopes that it’ll perform as well as it did last year. But if it doesn’t improve then it’ll be time to try something else.

Related Post – How to Grow Tomatoes from Seed

 

Old German

This is my first year growing this heirloom indeterminate beefsteak tomato. I have one plant under a 30% shade cloth in my raised bed and one in a large container with afternoon shade. The one in the raised bed is much happier but I’ve never had much luck with indeterminate tomatoes in containers so that may just be me. Smaller determinate varieties are much easier to grow in containers. Old German gave us a lot of tomatoes before the heat kicked in and still continues to give us a tomato every now and then in the hot summer! I’m very happy with how much it has produced and it produced the the largest slicing tomatoes that I grew this year.  The largest ones weighed in around 1 1/2lbs which at Whole Foods would cost over $8 per tomato! They are lower acid, very flavorful, and meaty. This will be one that we grow again!

Related Post – How to Start Seeds in Soil Blocks

 

Chianti Rose

Chianti Rose is another heirloom indeterminate beefsteak tomato. This was my earliest producing slicing tomato. I have one plant under 30% shade cloth in a raised bed and one in a large container that gets afternoon shade. Again, the one in the bed is much happier. The first tomato was a decent sized slicer but not as large as it’s supposed to get. And the tomatoes that came after were quite a bit smaller…still okay for slicing but small. It is also low acid and meaty but the flavor was something else! It actually has a slight but definitely noticeable wine flavor! All of us agree that it has been the best tasting tomato I’ve grown and everyone gets excited when I bring one in from the garden.

Unfortunately, the taste is the only thing that impressed me. It hasn’t produced as well as others, the tomato size decreased significantly throughout the season, and it was the only variety to get blossom end rot. The other tomatoes planted in the same raised bed didn’t get BER so this one is definitely more susceptible to it than other varieties. That tells me that the problem is with the variety and not really a watering or calcium issue. The one thing that saves this tomato is the taste and so I will grow this one again to see it improves next year. Fingers crossed because we really love the flavor!

 

Early Girl

Early Girl is a much loved favorite here in Las Vegas. It seems that everyone grows it. This is the first time I tried it and it’s the only hybrid I grew this year.  It was definitely a very productive plant and completely loaded with tomatoes with the harvest lasting until the end of July. However, I was not a fan of the size or the flavor.

The tomatoes shrunk considerably in size as the season went on (similar to Chianti Rose). It’s supposed to be a smaller slicing tomato but aside from the very first round of tomatoes it was more like a large cherry tomato. Towards the end, I sliced them into quarters to put them in salads. I grew this in my community garden bed and the rest of the tomatoes there didn’t have size or taste issues. The flavor was comparable to what you find in grocery stores. Nothing special at all. If that’s what you’re used to eating then I guess this would be a good tomato to grow but home grown tomatoes can be so much more! Early Girl gets a thumbs down from me.

 

What to Grow Again?

We love fresh tomatoes but we don’t like many tomato products like salsa and marinara pasta sauce. So, my choices for tomatoes are based on fresh eating instead of canning. Cherry tomatoes are always a big hit especially with kids. Many of them never make it into the house as we’re always munching on them in the garden. Old German is now at the top of my list for favorite beefsteak tomatoes. I’m holding out hope that next year will be a better year for Chianti Rose. I really want that one to end up being a keeper. Yellow Pear is an old favorite that always does well for me but it may be time to try something new. Sunrise Bumblebee has one more year to prove itself before it can earn a regular spot in my garden.  I’m glad I tried Early Girl but I won’t plant her again.

 

Fall Tomato Season

The next test will be to see which of these has a successful second half to the season. Soon our temps will drop enough to kick start another round of tomato growing. Some people clean out their beds and start with fresh transplants. Others clean up their plants a bit and let the new growth that is starting now take the plant into the next harvest. These are all showing a lot of new growth so I’m going to let these continue on and see how they perk up to produce a second harvest.

What tomato varieties were winners or losers for you this year?

 

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