Chart of Tomatoes
Here is a list of the various types of tomatoes I’ve tried growing in Texas along with how each tomato performed. For a general overview and when to plant read Tomatoes in Texas.
Pests
Tomatoes are bothered by spider mites, leaf hoppers, tomato horn worms and a few other nasty bugs, but most are readily controlled by insecticidal soap. If you don’t want to buy insecticidal soap, you can mix your own–two to three tablespoons of liquid hand-washing soap (such as Dial) per gallon of water. Do NOT use laundry soap or dishwashing soap. Use a very mild hand or body soap. Spray during cool parts of the day. If you’re spraying daily, rinse the plants with plain water every few days.
For horn worms, there’s a specific spray that affects only the worms–BT Worm Killer. It works because the bateria cultures in the spray are eaten by the worm and then the worm stops eating. Check at any gardening store for this product.
| Name | Taste | Size | Cracking | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merced—Very heat tolerant, produced in 90+ degrees. (Houston) | Average | Medium | None | High | Celebrity—good all around tomato. Does okay with the heat, but won’t produce above 92. The plant can live through the summer and start producing again when it cools down. In hot weather will crack deep around stem. | Very good –Favorite large tomato. | Large to very large | Cracks when hot and often the shoulders stay green. | Medium to high |
| Grape—these have such good taste! “Tami G” — not wilt, heat or insect resistant. Produced some tomatoes before it succumbed to thripes. Requires babying and spider mites love it. Be prepared to spray weekly with soap and/or neem oil. Plant VERY early (January). | Excellent | small | None | High |
| Roma—does well and is disease resistant. Excellent salsa tomato. Did better than any other tomato in the heat in both Houston and Hill Country. | Good for Roma. | Medium to large | None | Very high |
| Health Kick – Newly developed Roma with higher levels of lycopene (antioxidant). Resistant to most diseases. Very pretty and firm. Sauce/salsa tomato. | Good for Roma | Large | None | Medium to high |
| Brandywine—vigorous plant; early tomatoes were better than late ones, huge plant, but did not produce in heat. Same results when grown in NM. | Average to good. Slightly mushy. | Very large | Yes | Extremely low |
| Early girl Excellent taste, but no production above 90 degrees. Have seen it produce again in fall, but isn’t as good and plant is weak in the fall. Not as disease/bug resitant as other types. | Very good | Small to medium | Some when hot | Medium |
| Husky Good early tomato. | Very Good | Medium | Less splitting than Early Girl. | Good |
| Rose Heirloom Not a lot of blossoms or yield, but the fruit was good. | Good | Very large | Some | Low yield |
| Ruby Cluster Large cherry tomato—I’m not a big lover of cherry tomatoes. My favorites are the grape tomato and Juliet. This tomato was kind of boring and bland. | Average | Large for cherry | None | High |
| Yellow -I like yellow tomatoes but the plants I’ve tried haven’t been particularly good at resisting insects. Most have died of wilt or spider mites after producing none or a low yield. From seeds, I had a very low ratio of seeds that germinated-the plants were also weak. | Good Flavor | Medium to small | Split in heat | Low |
| Beefsteak sprawling plant, fruits just a tad mushy | Average to good | Large | Some when hot | medium |
| Johnny’s 361 Beefsteak medium to large beefsteak with average taste. Beefsteaks apparently aren’t my favorite. | Average to good | Medium to large | Some when hot | Medium |
| JS 2000 Seemed to get a slow start growing, but is supposed to be an early tomato plant. Didn’t produce many—too hot. |
Okay | Medium | Average production, but I started the plant late | Low |
| Juliet Shaped like a grape tomato (I think it is a variety) but does much better than the smaller varieties. It did well when planted in the spring and again when planted in the fall. I’d recommend it over the grape tomatoes. The taste is almost as good, yield is better and plant does better against insects. Did very well in the heat, probably better than any other tomato I’ve grown. |
Very Good | Large for a cherry type tomato. | Some now and again, but only on overripe tomatoes | High, high yields. |
| Homestead I found the fruit a bit on the mushy side, although the taste was good. Prefer Celebrity. | Okay | Medium | Lots of cracking | Low to medium yield |
| Red Grape New try for 2007. This tomato produced well and early. The taste is similar to Juliet–in other words, a grape tomato that isn’t quite as sweet as I was hoping for. However, it seems to have good disease resistance, and heat tolerance (we’re in the nineties so far). Since it doesn’t seem overly unique, I’ll probably stick with the Juliet, although it did produce and ripen faster than Juliets–likely because it is a smaller grape. | Good | Small | Unknown | Pretty high. |
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For some odd reason, my site gets hit now and then with a search for “big green spider” in my tomato plant (or in some other plant.) Spiders are good in the garden–especially those that are big enough to see. Green spiders are very common in greenery. Don’t worry about the spiders. Just leave them be and they will eat many bugs.
I often see pale tan spiders and green spiders. When they attach themselves to me via their string-lines, I just deposit them on a leaf. They are harmless and not aggresive. If you have rocks or logs bordering your garden, use gloves to move things like that around. It is possible for black widows or a brown recluse (or even a snake for that matter) to lodge itself in these types of crevices. Use common sense, but most spiders are great friends of gardeners!
Comment by Maria — September 21, 2008 @ 11:32 am
I have recently been asked if tomato plants can produce in the fall. The short answer is “yes.” I generally baby a few plants through the heat of the summer and they produce again in the fall. Juliets are great for spring, summer and fall. Celebrities produce in the spring and then again in the fall. The key is to determine if the plant is “determinate” or “indeterminate.” Determinate plants will produce a healthy, full flush of tomatoes and then diminish–to very few or none no matter how much you water, fertilize or the temperature.
In Texas you can plant fresh transplants in about September and expect a fairly healthy crop into the end of November–or whenever the first freeze is. I generally try to work two methods: Keep a couple of plants alive through the summer so that they begin producing again in September and also plant fresh ones in the ground in September. The fresh ones will usually start producing in October. I only get a few weeks of produce out of them.
In colder climates, obviously the fall crop is going to be restricted. If you live in a colder climate and you plant determinate plants, you’ll want to start a second set of plants by the time the first set is producing.
The other question I have received is about yields. Yields vary dramatically depending on the type of tomato plant. If you are looking for a high-yielder, generally you will want to avoid heirloom tomato plants. Spend some time researching in a tomato catalog to determine yields. The chart on my website list yields of some types, but it is going to depend on where you are growing your tomatoes. Juliet is one of the highest yielders I’ve grown. Celebrity is a good yielder of larger tomatoes. The Opener has been a prolific yielder for me early in the season until the heat slows it down. There are some Roma types that yield a lot, others not so much.
I always advise people to start by growing two or three varieties to hone in on what types of tomatoes they enjoy and what types grow best. In general, I like Juliet (a grape tomato type that does very well in Texas and elsewhere) Celebrity (a nice medium, meaty, wonderful-flavor) and a roma of some type. I haven’t settled on a favorite roma yet.
Comment by Maria — September 26, 2008 @ 1:28 pm