Every spring I sell heirloom tomato plants at the farmers’ markets and I’m always trying to organize the information in a way that is not so overwhelming for people. Based on the questions I have received over the years, I’ve put together a chart that compares popular heirloom tomato varieties against each other.
Of course there are many varieties that do not show up in these charts. While the charts below primarily compare growth characteristics, I also wrote a post that compares heirloom tomatoes by flavor in each of their color categories
Although these charts were developed in 2012, very little has changed. I still grow most of these.
Red Globe (aka Slicer) Heirloom Tomatoes
Easy to Grow Heirloom Tomatoes
Bi-Color (Striped) and White Heirloom Tomatoes
Black Tomatoes
Orange Heirloom Tomatoes
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[…] to the extent that I can in a blog post. For a more complete summary of growing attributes, see Heirloom Tomato Summary Charts. For my favorite catalogs for ordering heirloom tomato seeds, see Top 5 Seed Catalogs for Heirloom […]
Great Website!!
But I cannot find Cherokee :Purple listed anywhere. I am growing 20 plants this year for myself and friends and it is the most tasteful tomato we have tasted and very prolific.
Thanks for considering. John
Hi John, I go back and forth growing Cherokee Purple. I will be growing it this year, but didn’t last year, so it wasn’t in the roundup. I like Cherokee Purple… I just find it very similar to a lot of the other large pink-to-purple varieties, so I switch it up a bit.
[…] market. For more specific information on size, growth habit, flavor, and disease resistance see this post which gives more in-depth information (*note that the previous post is for 2012 varieties, so a […]
[…] tomatoes […]
Very helpful charts on tomatoes that are not as commonly grown. So thanks for that. Would you be willing to expand the charts to include some info about disease resistance?
Thanks!
Thank you for the comment Lisa, it helps me know what is missing for people. That’s a good idea and I am more than willing to expand the charts. I won’t be able to get to it until next Spring when I start ordering specific varieties and culling the ones I currently grow. I will definitely make note to add more of that information to the charts! In the meantime, here is the post that I have related to disease. It’s mainly during the seedling stage, but that is the most critical time for the plants (now the soil related disease is a different story). Here is the link: https://farmtojar.com/signs-and-solutions-of-nutritional-deficiencies-in-heirloom-tomato-seedlings/
Also Lisa, I coordinate a facebook group on growing and cooking your own food and it has over 300 people that like to offer suggestions and their experiences with all things gardening. Here’s the link if you’d like to join: https://www.facebook.com/groups/growyourownfoodgroup/?ref=share
Marvelous it helped me a great deal to see it written compared to trying to remember what goes with what.companys should do this
I am searching for a high acid tomato that I remember from my childhood. Lots less sweet
Suggestions please
Well, my favorite high acid one is called Druzba…..it’s a Czechoslovakian heirloom. Box Car Willi and Mortgage Lifter might be options. Basically stick with the bright red heirlooms as they tend to have more acid.