I read a lot of articles on tomatoes—which ones to get, which ones grow best where. Everyone has their own tastes, so it’s hard to figure out which ones to grow. For what it is worth, I’ve compiled a list of tomato plants that I’ve grown in Texas—both the hill country and in Houston. I suspect that some of these strains grown farther north probably taste different and also produce differently so take into account your weather. Texas generally has temperatures near 100 in the summer with warm nights in the mid-seventies.

In summary, my favorite tasting tomato is: Celebrity. It grows decently in Texas, medium to large sized, very tasty fruits. Second, and I grow it for yield, resistance to pests, and tolerance to heat is: Juliet. These large grape tomatoes are not as sweet as some of the the smaller ones, but one plant produces enough to keep me eating tomatoes all summer when production of other tomatoes is over.

Last, but not least, Roma tomatoes are also high yielding, tolerant to heat and pests–I grow these for salsa and freezing.

When to Plant

Tomatoes start producing in Texas in May—if planted in mid-February to mid-March. The same holds true for most other plants, including chiles. I always plant in late January or early February. Sometimes a late freeze means I plant twice, but when that doesn’t happen, my yields are high and delicious!!!!

For fall, I buy Juliet plants as soon as I can find them–usually around late August or sometime in Sept. I keep them indoors in a pot until it cools down and then either plant in a large pot or directly in the ground.

Best Method: Pot them in a large pot. Leave outside most of the time, but bring them in during freezes. The plants will produce all winter.

If you plant them directly into the soil, the plants will freeze–but I’ve had them make it through most of November (covered on any freezing night).

I’ve tried potting Celebrity over the winter, but the tomatoes grow too slowly and have to get too big before harvest. I got a single medium-sized tomato for my trouble. I highly recommend cherry or grape tomatoes over larger varieties for fall planting!

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.

For a chart of the tomatoes I’ve tried growing, see Chart of Tomatoes.