Tomatoes are a gardening favorite across the US and around the world. They’re tasty, they produce a lot of fruit for the size of the plant, and they’re pretty easy to grow. But there are literally thousands of different types of tomatoes to choose from, so how do you choose which ones to try for yourself?
Here’s a list of 10 tried-and-true favorites that have fantastic flavor and grow well here in Iowa. You’ll be sure to get excellent tasting tomatoes growing any of these varieties!
- Sun Gold is a beautiful golden orange cherry tomato. This popular variety is a very vigorous producer, and its branches will be loaded with super-sweet tomatoes all season! They bloom quite early and are easy to care for. Sun Gold tomatoes win our Tomato Festival taste-testing contest every single year!
- Black Krim is a unique heirloom tomato that is popular with gourmet chefs. It has a complex flavor combo of sweet, smoky, and a little bit salty. Black Krims are quite large, weighing anywhere from 8-12 ounces, and they’re particularly delicious with basil, fresh mozzarella, and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Black Krim is a top favorite among our staff members.
- Gold Medal tomatoes are a large and delicious yellowish-orange heirloom variety. They practically melt in your mouth and have a sweet, rich flavor. These are perfect for tomato sandwiches!
- Green Zebra is another heirloom variety, and they’re as beautiful to look at as they are tasty. These have striking bright green stripes that will catch your eye right away. Green Zebras are very rich, with just the right amount of tomato tang. They are also very popular with gourmet chefs. Green Zebras mature a little late, but they produce very prolifically.
- Amish Paste is a Roma tomato, and they might be the perfect option for canning or eating fresh. They have a wonderfully rich flavor that is perfect for sauces and soups. They do get quite tall and produce prolifically right into the fall, so they will need to be trained on strong stakes to support their heavy crop.
- Martino Roma is a prolific producer with lots of flesh and very few seeds. These dense little tomatoes are excellent for canning, making salsa, or in fresh bruschetta. They produce prolifically but may fall off the vine when they get ripe, so keep an eye on the ground to prevent fallen fruit from bruising!
- Italian Heirloom produces huge tomatoes, weighing in from 12-20 ounces. They are a perfect balance of sweet and acidic, with meaty flesh and very few seeds. This is your ideal sandwich tomato; you should only need one slice to cover an entire piece of bread. They make great sauces as well and are resistant to many tomato diseases.
- Early Girl, as their name implies, is one of the earliest ripening varieties of tomato available, maturing in just 57 days! These are a little bit smaller than other varieties at 4-6 ounces each, but they still pack a delicious flavor and are excellent for salads and sandwiches. They produce abundantly through mid-summer, though they do taper off in early fall.
- Sweet 100 is a cherry tomato with a vivid, bright red color. These are the perfect size for picking and snacking on while they’re still warm from the sun, and they have a delicious sweet flavor. Sweet 100 produces long clusters of tomatoes right into the fall. They’re perfect for salads or Caprese salad skewer appetizers.
- Celebrity Tomatoes are a hearty producer, giving you lots of flavorful fruit that can be used in any recipe that calls for tomatoes. The plants’ average 7-ounce fruits that are resistant to cracking.
If you’d like to add some tomato plants to your garden this year, give us a call! We’ve got curbside pickup available or delivery within the Des Moines metro area. We can set you up with the variety that will be perfect for your yard. Don’t forget to check out our tips for growing amazing tomatoes when you pick up your selections for the year
