Hey everyone — spring is coming up fast and I'm starting to plan my tomato varieties for this year.
I'm thinking of adding a few new ones to the garden and wanted to see what others are growing this season.
Any must-grow tomatoes you'd recommend for 2026?
Heirlooms, hybrids, weird colors — I'm open to anything.
Always fun seeing what varieties people swear by.
*** Update:**\* A few people sent me DMs asking where I get many of my seeds each year and how to contact the program I mentioned.
For anyone curious, I usually get seeds from two places:
1. Local library seed libraries – check with your local library or city services (Based locally)
2. Free Harvest Seeds – a small online program that sends heirloom seed bundles to gardeners.
Email: [freeharvestseeds@gmail.com](mailto:freeharvestseeds@gmail.com)
Web: https://freeharvestseeds-ubqhz.wordpress.com
Cheers and happy gardening. 🌱
by SophiaGeorgeLiving
27 Comments
Mine are already out but I’m trying several new varieties this year. The Roma VF Virgina Select are looking extremely healthy and I have a lot of sauce hopes pinned on that one.
I really wanted to try Barry’s Crazy Cherry but the damn seeds had about 0% germination (one technically did germinate but it never produced true leaves). I bought the seeds brand new last year; the plant from last year started healthy but died young. The seeds were stored with all my other seeds, which are all fine. Damn it Baker Creek. I will buy seeds from someone else toward the end of the year, and try for the third time next year. I am going to grow this variety, damn it.
My nursery did have Sweet Million seedlings and that’s almost kind of sort of multiflora so I bought two of those.
I am also trying Banana Legs. One of the two plants died a couple of weeks after transplanting and the survivor is looking absolutely pathetic next to the much sturdier varieties in that bed. No idea if I’ll get anything out of this one. If not, meh.
I am growing Nebraska Wedding again. That one did spectacular last spring and I am suspicious because it’s an heirloom and this is Texas, so I’m trying it again. For science!
I always grow Yellow Patio Choice, Roadster, Red Snapper, Hossinator, Bush Early Girl, and Chef’s Choice Red. I would be growing BHN871G, but just didn’t have room.
I don’t really have a must grow to suggest, since personal favorites are so subjective.
But I’m trying a lot of “new to me” varieties this year ( split between spring garden and fall garden )
Bread and salt;
Tropical Sunset;
Midnight Snack;
Norfolk ‘Althea’ purple;
Tangerine Krim;
Blue Berries;
Sart Roloise;
Moonglow;
Raspberry Burst;
Indigo Apple;
Kryptonite;
SuperSauce;
Darkstar.
I’ll probably order some more varieties though, because I love trying new varieties! Edit: spelling.
Sungold, chocolate cherry, sweet million, prairie fire, costoluto fiorentino, pineapple.
Big Beef, Jet Star, Terrenzo for hybrids.
I managed to get seeds of some of my old favorites: New Big Dwarf, Dwarf Wild Fred, Dwarf Jade Beauty, Eva Purple Ball, and Marianna’s Peace. So I can refresh my seed stock.
Man, I wish I could make up my mind on what to grow, lol. I have a little collection of 121 tomato seed packets and only want to bother with 5-6 at a time. I’ve chosen, then un-chosen, then chosen, then un-chosen, then chosen…… so many times in the last 3 weeks.
Here’s my current list of nominees (subject to change lol):
1. Sweet Million F1: produced prolifically the last few months and I let it die. So time for a new one for production stability reasons.
2. Madhatter: this one’s a dark tomato that was just released by MIgardener last November or so. It’s been growing indoors for 3 months with an 8W light and a McD’s cup. It’s not actually growing anymore, I think, just surviving, hoping I move it outdoors to a bucket.
3. Chef’s Choice Orange F1: supposed to be my big-fruit tomato and I want to test whether it produces well here (tropics).
4. Dark Stripe multiflora dwarf: dark fruited dwarf, and I want to see whether the multiflora gene gives me better production than regular “prolific” tomato varieties that drop 80% of their flowers
5. Golden Sweet F1: the breeder’s Taiwanese so I hope this one produces well here (again, tropics). Also has a Brix rating of 9.3 so I’m hoping it’s about as sweet as the Sungold and Sun Sugar but much more prolific (neither are prolific in my experience).
6. Sunpeach F1: I want to confirm whether the Leaf Mold A-E resistance is worth anything here, as I THINK Leaf Mold is the most common disease I’m seeing. Every single variety I’ve grown has been susceptible to the leaf spots I get here, including the Celebrity Plus which is supposed to be a disease resistant tank.
Black Brandywine, Amish Paste, Sunrise Sauce, Valencia, and Carbons are must haves for me.
My wishlist is long, my space is limited. This is my first year and space is limited. However, these are the contenders. *** denotes must grow. Feedback welcome.
* Ananas Noire ***
* Sungold Cherry ***
* Kellogg’s Breakfast ***
* Lucid Gem ***
* Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye **
* Dr. Wyche’s Yellow Beefsteak **
* Sunset Torch Cherry *
* Bronze Torch Cherry *
* Genuwine *
* Black Cherry *
* Hillbilly *
* Sun Sugar Cherry
* Sunrise Bumblebee Cherry
* Jaune Flamme (saladette)*
* Amish Paste
* Big Rainbow
* Mortgage Lifter
* Rebel Starfighter Prime
* Red Torch Cherry
* San Marzano
Mortgage lifter, San marzano, Juliette, Sungold, black Krim, pineapple, Roma, early girl, green zebra, brads crazy cherry so far. I’m in South Florida
Big Zac,
Sweet Aperitif,
Sophia’s Sweet Caramel,
SunGold,
Sun Sugar,
Sweet Million,
Barry’s Crazy cherry,
Pomodoro Coure Antico di Acqui Terme,
Carbon,
Cherokee Purple,
Cherokee Carbon,
Katinka Cherry,
Japanese trifele black,
Uluru Ochre,
Black Cherry,
Evil Olive,
Green Giant,
Kellogg’s breakfast,
Big Rainbow,
Buffalo Sun,
Coure Di Bue,
Martino’s Roma,
Santa Maria,
Great White,
Pineapple,
White beauty, &
White Tomesol.
The only must have tomato I grow every year is black cherry. I’ve tried so many others and none compare in taste nor plant vigor for my region. Sun gold, chocolate cherry, chocolate sprinkle, super sweet can’t even come close imo. I’m still trying to nail down a great sauce tomato. San marzano and Amish paste both are decent but I’m in a hot humid area and they always slow earlier than I’d like due to the climate
Stripes of yore
The season is wrapping up here in southern Australia so I’m speaking about September’s preparations. I’d love to grow Black Krim, Brandywine Pink, Tigerella. I had a shocking time with my seeds this season and need to regroup. I’ll be sticking with Honey Drop and Sugar Burst.
I’ve started sungold, karma peach, karma purple multiflora, one of the rebal star fighter varieties (I forget which), a sungold cross I’ve been growing out, a tiny cherry tomato I saved from a friend’s garden (likely pimpinellifolium), a yellow micro dwarf, a red micro dwarf, uluru ochre, brandy Fred, blazing beauty, an unknown seed that was on paper towel in my kitchen cupboard…
Realistically I have space for 5 this year, with preference for the dwarf varieties. The two micros I can also do in pots.
No idea what I’ll do with the extras.
I found some “Dancing with Smurfs” seeds from a seed swap I did over 10 years ago, so I threw them all in a pot. Hopefully I’ll get some germination!
I always grow Green Zebra, Orange Stripe and Harzfeuer
Amish Paste , super sauce , saucy lady , San Marzano . Roma and martino Roma tomatoes
I really enjoyed the Hungarian Ox hearts I grew last year and I’m looking forward to them again.
Just local stuff – Amish paste, reisentraube, Brandywine, Rutgers. I’ll see what the nursery brings to the farmers market too and get some transplants.
My “must grow” tomatoes are already planted out, along with a few others that I’m trying for the first time this year. My favorites overall are rich-flavored, dark slicers. These are the ones in that category for this year:
Black Krim, Pruden’s Purple, Black from Tula, Cherokee Carbon, Noir de Cosboeuf, Dark Star, and Black Seaman.
NE Texas. Growing in large grow bags.
pineapple, saint pierre, roma, yellow pear shaped, black cherry, green zebra and indigo rose. I only plant in open air so I’m hoping for a warm and dry summer (with just enough rain for my water collection)
I have around 33 varieties this year,, and many of them is varieties i never grown before, but the ones that stays from previous seasons are black krim, irish liqueur, black cherry, sungold, supersweet 100, whippersnapper, Appetitnyi and kenneth pienollo.
Barry’s Crazy Cherry,
Black Cherry,
Honeycomb,
Super Sweet 100,
Sun Gold,
Brandywine Cherry,
Principe Borghese,
Green Zebra,
Jubilee,
Paul Robeson,
Black Krim,
Japanese Black Teifele,
Cherokee Green,
Aunt Ruby’s German Green,
Abe Lincoln,
Amish Paste,
Ananas Noire,
Dr. Wyche’s Yellow,
Kellog’s Breakfast,
Striped German,
I don’t have a lot of space so I’ve narrowed mine down to Sungold, Amish Paste, and Black Krim. One for daily bruschetta (I can’t help it), one for sauce, one for sandwiches/miscellaneous. These are from seed. I might cave and buy a couple Early Girls later on because they’re so handy.
To fill my freezer with wonderful sauce-ready tomatoes: Grandma Mary’s Paste, San Marzano
To slice and make bruschetta: Bush Beefsteak, Italian Rosso (just a new one I’m trying)
To snack on: Aunt Ruby’s Yellow Cherry, Gardeners Delight, Chocolate Cherry, Matt’s Wild Tomato
Just started mine Friday!
Cherokee purple, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye, Pink Brandywine, Yellow Brandywine, Amish paste, San marzano, and weaver’s black brandywine were my must tries.
I also started black krim, beefy purple, moneymaker, pineapple, pork chop, and sun gold because I had the seeds.
In no particular order:
* Brandy Boy
* Kellogg’s Breakfast (KBX)
* Berkeley Tie-Dye Pink
* Black Krim
* Aunt Ruby’s German Green
* Abe Lincoln
* Sungold (or Sun Sugar/Honeycomb)
* Black Cherry
* Super Sweet 100
* Green Zebra
* Lemon Boy+
* Celebrity+
* Juliet
* Barry’s Crazy Cherry
* Azoychka
* Amish Paste
* Thorburn’s Terracotta
* Ananas Noir
* Pineapple
And a few dwarf varieties in containers:
* Rosella Purple
* Tasmanian Chocolate
* Uluru Orche
* Dwarf Emerald Giant
I’m a newbie and this will be my second year trying to grow tomatoes. This is my lineup:
Sungold,
Chocolate sprinkles,
Supersweet 100,
Pink Berkeley tie-dye,
Kellogg’s breakfast,
Azoychka,
Lucid gem,
Cherokee purple,
Black Krim,
Brandy boy,
Carmelo,
Early girl bush,
Rosella purple dwarf,
Aunt ruby’s German green,
Bobcat
Lemon Boy. They’re big, yellow and low acid. I eat too many tomatoes and get heartburn from too many red ones. The elderly neighbors love these too.