There’s something about growing tomatoes that begs for experimentation. Rarely do we get excited about a new carrot variety or see all the green beans in a catalog and think, “Ooh, I wish I had more space so I could grow them all!”
No, it seems tomatoes are the one vegetable that have us willing to try a few different varieties every year.
Sure, we all have our favorites, the tomatoes that reliably produce each season and will always have a spot in the garden. But all it takes is a great photograph of an heirloom sliced neatly, or a splash of color or the promise of huge (or tiny) fruit, and suddenly we’re adding yet another variety of tomato to our garden that year.
Or three or four.
And who can blame us?
Tomatoes are one of the most cultivated vegetables in the gardening world, with new heirlooms being discovered and new hybrids being developed all the time. You could easily grow a different variety of tomatoes every single year and never have any repeats.
I’ve rounded up a few superstars that are worth a closer look and a spot in your garden this year.
Rebel Starfighter Prime
I was tempted to save this one for last, but it’s too much fun not to share right away. Don’t let the gimmicky name fool you; this tomato is good eats. This wild-looking tomato is the lovechild of a Reinhard Kraft Green Hart (RHK GWR) and the Xanadu Picasso, dreamed up by Russ Crowe.
It grows in the shape of a heart with just about every color imaginable afforded to tomatoes – purple, green, pink, orange – they’re all in there. But sliced open, it reveals a deep burgundy. The Rebel Starfighter Prime will often grow long lobes as well, giving it that sci-fi spacecraft look it’s named for. Let’s hope whatever flies in that ship doesn’t visit Earth anytime soon.
Truly a conversation piece at the table, the oxheart shape and color striations of this novel breed make it a must-grow for the adventurous tomato grower. Foodies and budding home chefs will want to give it a try as well for its umami flavor, tinged with a deep, rich sweetness. This tomato is just begging to be roasted and made into sauce.
The Rebel Starfighter Prime can be quite prolific, so it does best in the ground. Regular pruning or string training will be required to keep it orderly. Once it starts producing, it doesn’t slow down.
If you want it, you better order it now, as it has become quite the darling in the gardening world, and seed purveyors sell out fast!
70 days. Indeterminate.
You can order seeds here.
Buffalosun
This All-America Selections Winner had me fooled. At first glance, I assumed it was an heirloom variety with its classic ribbing and old-world looks. But no, it’s a hybrid (F1) that’s resistant to late blight and several other common tomato diseases.
The color is mostly yellow but also tinged with orange. It’s like a sunset in a tomato! Not just a pretty face, Buffalosun is sweet but meaty, like a beefsteak variety.
Among its other glowing attributes, it’s also less prone to cracking and continues to put out tomatoes long after other varieties slow down for the year.
If you’re looking for the reliability of a hybrid with the flavor and looks of an heirloom, give Buffalosun a try.
70-85 days, Indeterminate.
You can order seeds here.
Oregon Spring
Short-season gardeners rejoice! The folks at Oregon State University created this incredible tomato just for you back in 1984. (Don’t let the year put you off.) Despite it having been around for so long, I’m amazed at how few people have heard of it.
This incredible tomato can be planted outside a month before your last frost. You’ll need to cover it when you’re expecting a frost. This compact, medium-slicer is meant to withstand those cold spring starts and put out a ton of fruit early in the season. Fruits are around 4” in diameter but can be bigger.
If you’re a short-season grower and you’re tired of racing the clock to see if you’ll get any tomatoes, give Oregon Spring a try this year. It was bred just for you. Best of all, because it’s a determinate tomato, it will need little to no pruning. You’ll want to stake it early so it’s good and sturdy to hold all that fruit.
65-70 days. Determinate.
You can purchase seeds here.
Napa Chardonnay Blush
I grew these myself last year, and I can’t wait to enjoy them again this summer. This is another tomato created by Brad Gates, and if you know anything about Mr. Gates, you know you can expect a delicious tomato.
These lovely, little yellow-green cherry tomatoes have a sweet, slightly creamy taste. They do exceptionally well grown in containers. As always, be sure you choose a container that is deep enough to accommodate a tomato’s large root system. I found they were quite vigorous and benefitted from regular pruning. I think next year I might string-train them for a tidier plant.
These are by far one of the best-tasting cherry tomatoes I’ve ever eaten. Sweet with a little less acidity than your typical cherry tomato.
I think one of my favorite things about these is that the clusters all ripen around the same time, so I could easily snip off the whole cluster like a bunch of grapes!
The Napa Chardonnay Blush was the first tomato to start producing and the last one to quit at the end of the season. I can’t recommend them enough. If you’re looking for a cherry tomato that stands out from the crowd both in flavor and performance, give the Napa Chardonnay Blush a try.
70 days. Indeterminate.
You can purchase seeds here.
German Pink
This is another tomato I grew last year, and I enjoyed it so much I had to recommend it. The German Pink will be a standby in my garden from now on. This heirloom grew especially well both in the garden (until the late blight showed up) and in a large container on my patio.
These tomatoes took a little while to get going, but that was likely due to our drought-like spring. Once it began producing, though, I had all the pink tomatoes I could handle. What made this heirloom stand out from others I’ve grown is how few cracked or catfaced tomatoes I got. (My biggest complaint about growing heirlooms.) The plants consistently put out medium to large, firm fruits.
Best of all, the German Pink tomato seems to be the perfect all-purpose fruit.
Its heft and shape made it an excellent slicer for fresh salads and topping sandwiches. It’s great for freezing and canning. It makes juice for days and is equally suited to make the heartiest of sauces. I think the only thing I didn’t do with it was roast it. It truly is a beautiful, flavorful workhorse of a tomato.
If you’re looking for an heirloom with fewer traditional heirloom problems, I can’t recommend the German Pink enough.
80-80 days. Indeterminate.
You can buy seeds here.
Get the famous Rural Sprout newsletter delivered to your inbox.
Including Sunday musings from our editor, Tracey, as well as “What’s Up Wednesday” our roundup of what’s in season and new article updates and alerts.