Choose the Right Tomato
How do you choose the right tomato, when there are 75 varieties of one-of-a-kind heirloom and hybrid tomatoes in our 2026 Great Tomato Plant Sale? Like they say in real estate—location, location, location! You need first to select varieties that will thrive where you live. We’ve included two site-specific lists: tomatoes that grow well in the cooler climates of West County and those that need lots of heat, typically found in parts of Central County and throughout East County. Next, determine where your tomatoes will be grown. They all want lots of sun. If you are planting in containers, we’ve highlighted some of the best choices for growing in pots and small spaces. (Click here for more information on successful container gardening.)
But don’t forget the fun part: what do you want out of a tomato plant? Our Master Gardener-curated list shares some of the best traditional tomato choices, as well as unusual varieties for the more adventurous avant-garde grower.
Ready to choose your tomatoes? Our lists of the tomato varieties we’re offering includes detailed descriptions and are also organized to make shopping easy. Choose from beefsteaks and slicers—perfect for sandwiches; paste tomatoes if your goal is homemade pasta sauce; and cherry tomatoes for a sweet snack or to toss in salads.
So many choices! For your convenience, we also have downloadable Shopping Lists for you to bring to each of our three sales: Walnut Creek, Antioch and Richmond.
For our Cooler Climes Buyers:
- 42 Day—new in 2026, one of the world’s earliest tomatoes. High yields of small, bright- red cherries with an excellent, sweet flavor. It’s also ideal for containers.
- Big Beef—offers an unbeatable combination of big, tasty and early (73 days)! This highly disease-resistant hybrid is adaptable to a variety of growing conditions, producing colossal (10-16 oz.), bright-red fruits even in cool, foggy West County.
- Gold Nugget—developed at OSU – where else for cooler temperatures? These ¾” golden fruits will mature in only 56 (!) days, continue from early season ‘til frost and have a rich, sweet flavor. A guaranteed winner!
- Black Sea Man—a hardy Russian heirloom that grows particularly well in cooler climates, ripens early (75 days) and has a delicious sweet-tart flavor.
- Stupice—a very cold-tolerant, disease-resistant and early tomato with delicious, 3-4 oz. fruits in clusters.
For Hot and Dry Climate Buyers, here are some varieties that prefer lots of heat:
- Brandywine Red—one of the most popular and best-tasting of the heirloom tomatoes with a luscious, old-timey red tomato flavor; fruits can weigh between 16-24 oz.!
- Chocolate Pear—new in 2026, a brick-red, pear-shaped cherry with a very long season that’s also a consistent taste winner.
- Hawaiian Pineapple—the name says it all—these large, yellow, 1-pound tomatoes are sweet and fruity.
- San Marzano—the prolific, Italian classic pasta tomato with a long season of enormous, meaty fruits.
For our Buyers who grow in containers:
- Beauty King (Dwarf)—new in 2026, a 6-12 oz. slicer that is indeed a beauty! Red fruits have deep golden stripes and speckles. But it’s not only nice to look at - it also has an outstanding rich and sweet flavor.
- Lizzano—ideal for hanging baskets and containers, a cherry with a non-stop harvest of 1” fruits. Perfect for snacks and salads.
- Patio Choice Yellow—ideal for containers! This All-American Selections award-winning cherry will brighten your patio with neon yellow fruits on a high-producing plant.
- Wild Fred (Dwarf)—new in 2026, a beefsteak in a small container? And, one that comes closest in flavor to the beloved Cherokee Purple? Yes, siree! It yields meaty, purple fruits with a deep, red tomato flavor.
For Traditional Buyers, some of our most trusted and much-loved classics:
- Cherokee Purple—needs no introduction. Pre-1890s’ heirloom with a delicious, classic flavor.
- Granadero—Italian for “grenade” because its flavor literally explodes in your mouth! 4-5 oz., bright red fruits are ideal for salsas, salads and sauces. Highly disease resistant as well. Some consider it our best paste tomato.
- Mortgage Lifter— the legendary, large (1-2 pounds!), tasty beefsteak on very productive, disease-resistant plants.
- Sungold—positively luscious, apricot-orange cherries borne on beautiful, 15” long trusses. Eye-candy that you can actually eat in your garden!
For Avant-Garde Buyers, here are some of our unusual varieties:
- Alice’s Dream—sweet, complex flavor in beautiful red veined, orange-black fruits that are meaty and juicy. Grows well in lower temps and is disease-resistant to boot!
- Chef’s Choice Black—If you love the Chef’s Choice tomatoes (there are 8!), try this All-American Selections Winner, with dark green-brown-black hues and flesh that is juicy and sweet. It grows well, if a bit late, even in West County.
- Eagle Smiley (Dwarf)—only 5’ but extremely productive with plants loaded with golden-yellow fruits in clusters which explode in your mouth with an intense sugary goodness! May be the best flavored of all dwarf cherries to-date.
- Italian Red Pear—an old Northern Italian stand-by, with huge (8-18 oz.), tasty fruits.
- Jetsetter—new in 2026, a slicer (8 oz.) that’s early maturing, but doesn’t sacrifice on flavor. Yields are plentiful on vigorous plants that have lots of disease resistance.
- Orange Paruche—a cherry with superb flavor, disease and crack-resistant and early to boot!