How to Choose the Right Tomato Breed to Grow for Eating, Canning, and Cooking

With hundreds of varieties to choose from, there’s bound to be a tomato that will fulfill your preferences for size, taste, and growing season.

Tomatoes are easy to grow, and there are hundreds of varieties to choose from. bbernard/Shutterstock

Hybrids or heirlooms. Determinate or indeterminate. Small (cherry, grape), medium, or large (beefsteak). Heat-resistant for long, hot summers or fast-maturing for short-season growers. There are also color choices to consider: red, yellow, purple, or orange. Not to mention types of disease resistance.

The wealth of options can soon become overwhelming. So, let’s look at the benefits and drawbacks of each, as well as which are best fresh for canning and more.

The Traditional Heirloom

Once handed down in families but now available commercially, heirloom tomatoes are non-hybrids that have been cultivated for more than 50 years and are open-pollinated by wind, rain, and insects.