tomato Varieties 2024
Swansons is pleased to offer a wide variety of heirloom, open-pollinated, and hybrid tomatoes. Please note that not all varieties are available throughout the season, and some varieties may not be listed. We would be happy to offer suggestions for substitutions!
Essential tomato information
Tomatoes are vining plants. Most varieties grow big and wild and should be planted with a tomato cage or other staking support. This will hold up your heavy tomato harvest, and improve airflow and disease resistance. When planting, bury all the roots and up to half of the stem to speed up growth. Roots will grow off of the stem underground. All tomatoes do best in rich, moist, well-drained soil in a hot, sunny (6 hours minimum) location. Water deeply and consistently (but don’t keep constantly wet) and fertilize with vegetable food. We also recommend weekly foliar feeding with seaweed extract. Tomatoes need protection from the cold until temperatures stay consistently in the 50’s at night! Learn How To Protect Your Tomatoes.
Indeterminate varieties keep growing and producing fruit over a very long season. They need to be staked or grown in cages to support their stems. They can be grown in the ground or in containers with a diameter of 20”-22”.
Determinate varieties tend to produce fruits that ripen all at once and are good choices for canning. Plants are typically smaller and often do not require cages but may need small stakes.
Heirloom varieties are those whose seed strain has been preserved intact and passed down in a community for 85 years or more.
Note: number of days is the typical interval from planting to harvest.
Not sure which tomato to grow? Check out our helpful infographic at the bottom of this page
and our blog post: Choosing the Best Tomatoes (for every space, taste, and temperament)!
CHERRY TOMATOES (grow to 4 ft. and taller)
Indeterminate cherry tomatoes grow well in Seattle when planted with support, either in 20”-22” containers or in the ground with 2-3 square feet of spacing.
'CHOCOLATE CHERRY' - heirloom Indeterminate ~ 70 days
Heirloom cherry tomato with rich mahogany-purple color and sweetly complex flavor. Expect high yields on this vigorous, fast-growing plant.
'MATT’S WILD CHERRY’ - heirloom Indeterminate ~ 60-65 days
Copious quantities of small, deep red cherries with exceptional, wild flavor. Plant grows rapid and rampant.
'SUN SUGAR' - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 63 days
This golden-yellow has it all: perfect tangy-sweetness, superb texture, and thin skins that are also crack-resistant, even in heavy rains. Heavy crop on a BIG plant.
'SUNGOLD' - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 60-65 days
The darling of the cherry tomato world. This explosively productive hybrid tastes like summertime. The golden-orange flesh bursts with sweet, tropical flavor. Try in a fruit salad!
'SUNRISE BUMBLEBEE’ Indeterminate ~ 70-75 days
Sunrise Bumblebee is a gorgeous combination of yellows and reds, inside and out. Excellent sweet and tangy flavor.
'SWEET 100’/’SUPERSWEET 100’ Indeterminate ~ 60-70 days
Very sweet, thin-skinned, red cherry hybrid. Could also be called “vine-candy”. Abundant production over a long season. The plant grows vigorously.
'SWEET MILLION'- staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 60-65 days
Bright red hybrid cherries are extra sweet and resist cracking. Each plant produces a seemingly endless supply of perfect 1” tomatoes. Disease resistant.
'YELLOW PEAR' - heirloom Indeterminate ~ 70-75 days
Very sweet fruits have a mild flavor and low acidity (AKA, picky-eater friendly!). The delightful shape looks wonderful on pasta, salad, or snack plates.
SLICING TOMATOES (grow to 4 ft. and taller)
Plant these varieties with a cage or other support, in pots 20”-22” in diameter or in the ground with 2-3 square feet of spacing.
'ANNA RUSSIAN' - heirloom - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 65-75 days
Big tomatoes with rich flavor, meaty texture, and early production. Color ranges from dark pink to red, in heart-shaped fruit. An excellent, gorgeous tomato. 12-16 oz. fruit.
'BEEFSTEAK' - heirloom Indeterminate ~ 80 days
These large, red, ribbed fruits are the cook’s garden favorite. Solid, flavorful, meaty, and juicy, and an excellent slicer. 12-20 oz. fruit
'BLACK KRIM' - heirloom - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 70-80 days
This outstanding heirloom is popular at farmers’ markets. The flavor is smoky, salty, and sweet, all at once. Reddish purple skin with dark green shoulders and firm texture. 10-14 oz. fruit.
'BLOODY BUTCHER’ - heirloom - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 55 days
Fruits are deep red inside and out. Great, rich, full tomato flavor. Tomatoes grow in clusters of 4 oz. fruit.
'BRANDYWINE' - heirloom Indeterminate ~ 78-90 days
Sweet and spicy taste, few seeds, and meaty flesh. One of the largest and most popular heirloom tomatoes and well worth the wait. 10-20 oz. fruit.
'CHEROKEE PURPLE' - heirloom Indeterminate ~ 72-80 days
Ranks highly in taste tests with a good balance of sweet, acid, savory, and a hint of smokiness. The skin has tones of brown, green, and purple. 8-12 oz. fruit.
'COSMONAUT VOLKOV’ - heirloom - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 65 days
Delicious red slicing tomato from Ukraine with a full, complex flavor in 8-12 oz. fruits. Named in honor of a famous Soviet cosmonaut.
'DONA' - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 65-70 days
Bred for the choosy French produce markets, the flavor of this tomato has a near-perfect sweet/acid balance. Shiny, bright red, uniformly round fruits grow abundantly. Crack and disease resistant. Très bon! 4-6 oz. fruit.
'EARLY GIRL' Indeterminate ~ 60-65 days
The classic early producing slicing tomato with 4-6 oz. red fruit. Relied on by many NW gardeners, the fruit arrives early and keeps producing until frost.
'FRENCH CARMELLO' - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 65-70 days
Very popular in France, this bright red tomato has an immense, sweet flavor. Disease resistant and crack resistant, it is also one of the most prolific producers. 8-12 oz. fruit.
'MOSKOVICH' - heirloom - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 60-65 days
4-6 oz. fruits are round to slightly flattened with deep red color and luscious, rich flavor. Ripens early and great eaten fresh or processed. Highly resistant to cracking.
‘PAUL ROBESON’ - heirloom - staff favorite! Indeterminate 72-76 days
A gorgeous, dark and dusky-hued fruit that is sweet and spicy with a hint of tanginess. Add to that its superb texture and high production, and you’ll see what makes this a cult favorite with seed collectors. Named in honor of the 20th century civil rights activist, actor, athlete and vocalist.
'STRIPED GERMAN' - heirloom Indeterminate ~ 78 days
Skin is yellow marbled with a pink, beautiful marbled interior. Excellent, dense, juicy, sweet complex flavors and tomatoes up to up to 3 lbs in size!
'STUPICE' - heirloom - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 55-62 days
A native of the former country of Czechoslovakia and pronounced “stu-PEACH-ka,” this tomato’s extreme earliness, tolerance to cold, superior flavor, and high yields have earned it worldwide attention. 2-4 oz. fruit.
CHERRY & SLICING TOMATOES FOR CONTAINERS & SMALL SPACES
As little as 8“ tall up to 4‘, these varieties can fit into smaller spaces. Cages are not necessary, but some staking support will benefit plant health.
'BLACK SEA MAN' - heirloom - staff favorite! Determinate ~ 75 days
Brownish-pink, 8-14 oz. fruits with olive green shading on the exterior and interior. Rich flavor and highly productive, this tomato benefits from staking, often 4 ft. tall.
'BUSH GOLIATH' - heirloom - staff favorite! Determinate ~ 65-68 days
Attractive, compact plants grow 2 - 4 ft. tall and need little staking. Fruits are large (6-8 oz.), red, and packed with flavor. Bears consistently up to frost. Disease resistant.
'OREGON CHERRY' - staff favorite! Determinate ~ 58-62 days
Early season variety developed by Oregon State University. Reliable Northwest treat with thin skin and sweet flavor. Heavy producer on a compact (18”-24”) plant.
'OREGON SPRING' Determinate ~ 60-65 days
This OSU-bred tomato produces loads of 3-7 oz. slicing tomatoes even in cool, early season weather or at higher elevations. The fruit has a good flavor, true red color, and is nearly seedless. The plant grows to 4 ft.
‘RUBY CRUSH’ Determinate ~ 60 days
Rich tasting fruits resist cracking. The compact plants can be grown with minimal support (2-foot high fence trellising or standard tomato cage).
'TUMBLING TOM RED or YELLOW CHERRY' Determinate ~ 65-70 days
A cascading cherry tomato with vines that can trail up to 2 ft. Striking in hanging baskets, window boxes, or tall containers, the fruit is deliciously sweet. Can be grown in a 6-inch pot.
'YELLOW PERFECTION' Determinate ~ 75 days
Sensational flavor, tart, and savory, matches the brilliant yellow color of this 2 - 4 oz. salad tomatoes. The fruit grows abundantly on strong, stocky vines. Easy to grow in our maritime climate!
PLUM OR PASTE TOMATOES
These are the traditional tomatoes used to make sauce or for canning, with dense flesh and less water content. Staking or cages are needed to support indeterminate varieties.
'AMISH PASTE' - heirloom Indeterminate ~ 85 days
One of Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste varieties, this heirloom tomato was discovered in Wisconsin although its origins are in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which is the heart of Amish Country. The 8-12 oz. tomatoes are teardrop or heart-shaped with brilliant red-orange color. It has a balance of acid and sweetness. When sliced fresh the juicy flesh speckles and has a solid texture. The Amish Paste is eaten fresh or perfect for making sauces.
'PAISANO’ Determinate ~ 70-80 days
A high-yielding Italian sauce tomato, these vigorous plants yield an abundance of 3 oz. fruits that make outstanding soups and ketchup. The firm but juicy fruits are not only fine for peeling and canning but delicious for fresh eating as well because they are high in natural sugars, which is rare in paste-type tomatoes. The determinate plant habit is refined and compact, with good fruit set even under adverse conditions. Disease resistant.
'ROMA' - heirloom Determinate ~ 72-75 days
The most popular heirloom tomato for cooking, canning, and saucing. The fruit has thick flesh, a low seed count, and produces up to 200, egg-shaped fruit per plant. 2-3 oz. tomatoes.
'SAN MARZANO' - heirloom - staff favorite! Indeterminate ~ 80 days
San Marzano ranks among the most famous and richest Roma types available. These tomatoes are high in sugars, pectin, and flavor for the very best in sauces, pastes, and soups. 4-5 oz. fruit.
Learn more about growing fruits and vegetables in our edible gardening guide!
