From cherry tomatoes to beefsteak tomatoes, you can find all shapes and sizes when it comes to these fruits. That’s right, tomatoes are classified as fruits but society is still divided as to whether they should be vegetables. Let us know what you think tomato plants!
If you have enjoyed tomatoes in various meals over the years, you have probably only eaten a small selection of what is available. In truth, there are approximately 10,000 varieties of tomatoes to choose from.
Therefore, it can be pretty hard work when trying to choose the best tomato to grow in your backyard. Some are ideal for adding to salads while others are perfect on their own after being cooked.
Well, in today’s article, we will be guiding you through some of the most well-known tomato plants so you can hopefully figure out what kind you want to try to grow and eat. Don’t worry, we won’t be going through the thousands today. We’ll leave that for another time.
Types Of Tomato Plants
1. Incas
Tomato Incas are a very plum species of tomatoes. These are bright red and are loved for their sheer ‘meatiness’ and thick flesh. Incas grow on bushes and can reach 100cm in height. To enjoy best, these tomatoes should be barbecued and used in different sauces and purees.
2. Costoluto Fiorentino
A perfect example of a juicy beefsteak tomato is the Costoluto Fiorentino. These come in medium and large sizes and are often misshapen. These ribbed fruits come with a burst of wonderful tomato flavors and are grown in cordons before reaching 150 cm in height. These are great for slicing and using in sauces.
3. Ildi
The Ildi is a cherry variety of tomatoes. This bears a yellow pear shape and has all the sweetness you would expect from a cherry tomato. Ildis are grown in cordons and can reach 180cm in height. If you’re making a salad or want to eat some raw tomatoes, these are a great choice. They are also ideal for growing in containers.
4. Astro Ibrido
Small but plum, Astro Ibrido tomatoes are perfect for sauces and use in preserves. This is one of the tastiest tomato varieties out there and is sustainable for growing in containers. Grown in cordons, you may find these tomatoes advertised as ‘Scipio Ibridos’ in certain stores.
5. Brandywine
Next up is an heirloom cultivar (tomatoes that have been grown for over 100 years). These sport large potato-leaved foliage with sizable beefsteak-shaped tomatoes with a pink hue. In the world of tomatoes, these are considered some of the best tasting available with many describing them as having ‘great tomatoey flavors,’ and sandwich-sized tomatoes that are offset by a perfect amount of acidity. We don’t know about you but we are always happy when tomatoes taste ‘tomatoey!’
6. Azoychka
Good luck pronouncing this one! This is a Russian beefsteak heirloom tomato. It is easily distinguishable from Brandywine types of tomatoes thanks to its multilocular structure.
7. Rio Grande
Grown on bushes, Rio Grande tomatoes are plum and ideal for all kinds of sauces. These are typically produced in heavy crops and are instantly recognizable thanks to their deep-red nature.
8. Super Sweet 100
Super Sweet 100 tomatoes are renowned for their super sweet flavors when the skin is left on. These cherry tomatoes are ideal for use in salads and produce high yields when grown in cordons.
9. Tigerella
Tigerella tomatoes have a very rich and tangy flavor. Once you bite in, it will be a unique experience. Also unique is the striped flesh of these fruits. Ideal for sauces and salads, Tigerella tomatoes are grown in cordons and can reach 200 cm in height.
10. Alicante
Alicantes are medium-sized tomatoes that come with red coloring. These are resistant to some conditions and diseases, in particular, greenback. This is a condition in which fruit fails to ripen evenly and a heavy, early crop is produced.
11. Red Alert
Red Alert tomatoes are of the cherry variety. They are bright red and wonderfully sweet. A heavy cropping fruit, Red Alerts are full of flavor and perfect for salads and cooking all kinds of meals. These are grown on bushes rather than in cordons.
12. Black Cherry
Grown in cordons that reach 150 cm in height, Black Cherry tomatoes are, you guessed it again, cherry tomatoes. These grow masses of deep brown fruits that come with wonderful delicious flavors that are perfect for sauces, pasta, and salads.
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13. Moneymaker
Reaching 2 m in height, the cordons of Moneymaker tomatoes are a sight to behold. This is of the salad variety and is popular because of its high yields that can be relied upon every year, even when planted in poor soil and the summer conditions have been poor. As the name suggests, these Moneymakers can be used for all kinds of food preparations from use in sandwiches and salads to grilling and roasting.
14. Gardener’s Delight
This large cherry variety boasts delicious flavors and is a prolific grower when grown either outdoors or undercover. Gardener’s Delight is just that. Grown in cordons that reach 1.5 m in height, these tomatoes have repeatedly been voted the best for use in salads.
15. Sungold AGM
Sungold tomatoes have won the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (AGM) in the UK. This prestigious accolade is well deserved as this variety of tomato plants grows cherry tomatoes with orange fruits. These have been voted the sweetest tomatoes and best when eaten raw. With cordons reaching 2 m high, Sungold tomatoes are also renowned for their resistance to different diseases.
16. Ailsa Craig
Ailsa Craigs are salad tomatoes and packed with flavor. This variety has been grown for over 100 years and is famous for its dark red skin and thin yet very firm texture.
17. Tumbling Tom
Tumbling Tom tomatoes are of the cherry variety and have been voted as the best type of tomato for growing in hanging baskets. Growing in bushes that reach 30 cm in height, compact Tumbling Toms are as small as they are sweet. They are available in yellow and classic red varieties.
18. Shirley AGM
Another tomato that holds the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (AGM), Shirley tomatoes are ideal for growing in unheated greenhouses. This salad tomato grows in cordons and matures early. It is also pretty resistant to diseases.
19. Marmande
Yep, Marmande tomatoes are another holder of the Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (AGM). This is mainly down to the fact that this beefsteak fruit has a meaty texture and uber strong flavors that make it perfect for cooking and slicing into sandwiches. This can be grown in cordons outside which can reach a height of 60 cm.
20. Rosada
This sweet-tasting cherry tomato variety is small and sports plum-shaped fruits. These are ideal for both pasta dishes and salads. Another winner of the Garden Merit award, Rosada tomatoes are grown in cordons that can reach 2 m in height.
21. Adoration
This variety of tomato is a hybrid. Very small at 50 to 55 g, Adoration tomatoes are round, cocktail fruits. These are self-fertile tomatoes so direct sowing is not recommended. The seeds should be sowed into a sterile seed starting mix around 6 to 8 weeks before the last expected frost date.
22. Golden Sunrise
Golden Sunrise are salad tomatoes. These are quite unique in that they have unusual yellow fruits that are extremely vivid. The flavor of these is pretty sweet making them perfect for salads. Grown in cordons that reach a height of 2 m, these are also winners of the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit.
23. Black Russian
Bearing medium-sized fruits, Black Russian tomatoes have a purple-brown color. Although they arguably look like they are about to rot, these offer a sumptuous delicious flavor. Black Russian tomatoes are ideal for indoor or outdoor cultivation and grow in cordons.
24. Better Boy
This variety of tomato has been around for over 50 years and is actually in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most amount of fruit produced from a single plant.
Famous for its superior flavor, this fruit is grown from an indeterminate plant (vining tomatoes) and weighs about 12 ounces on average. These typically ripen after around 72 days and because of their high yields, it is recommended that Better Boy varieties are grown against sturdy wooden or metal steaks.
25. Black Krim
Famous for being the first commercially sold black tomatoes in the U.S. in 1990, Black Krim tomatoes are also known as Noire de Crimee or Black Crimea. These are heirloom tomatoes (been around for over one hundred years) that originated from the Isle of Krim in the Black Sea which is off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula.
Open-pollinated, indeterminate plants, Black Grim produces 8 ounces of flattened globe fruits that boast dark, reddish-purple to black colorings with green-brown shoulders.
26. Orange Santa
Here we have a wonderful cherry plum tomato that is popular for its super sweet flavor. Orange Santa is best grown in greenhouses and is cultivated in cordons.
In Summary
Above are just a fraction of the tomato plants that grace our planet. We could go on and on and even further when guiding you through all the tomato plant varieties in the world. But, our list shows some of the most popular dishes out there and we are pretty confident that a few of these will become staple ingredients in many of your dishes from now on.
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The majority of people who have no interest in the subject, and aren’t green fingered assume that all plants and vegetables require the same growing conditions. This is not the case at all. Each plant has its own unique and interesting history and growing process.
I hope you will find The Natural List useful, and that it will help educate you on the wide variety of different flower and plant species there are across the globe.
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