Every year our wonderful gardening customers, from the Kemptville and Merrickville area, come to us for Tomato Gardening Tips. Today we discuss the different varieties that are available and which variety is best for your needs.
There is nothing quite like the taste of a fresh tomato from the garden. With over 15,000 varieties of tomatoes being cultivated worldwide, we are here to help you decide which variety of tomato is best for your needs. Be it for cooking or slicing, to cherry tomatoes you can pop in your mouth, read on for Part 2 in our series: Tomatoes 101 | Breaking Down the Best Tomato Varieties for Your Needs.
Catch up on our Tomatoes 101 series | Part 1 | Vine vs Bush.
The 3 Main Tomato Varieties
Cherry tomatoes produce small fruits in a rainbow of colors and an array of shapes, including round, pear-shaped and teardrop-shaped. These tomatoes are great for picking right off the vine and popping in your mouth. Perfect for salads. Our favourite varieties include Tiny Tim, Sweet Million, and the exciting new addition of Rapunzel.
Slicing tomatoes are round and juicy, making them ideal for eating fresh on sandwiches Fruit size and color vary from deep red to pink, yellow and orange. There are some monster sized slicing tomatoes like the well-known Beefsteak, Brandy wine and Big Beef. Bonny Best is a great slicer that we have been growing her at Gemmell’s since 1932 . It’s a customer favourite!
Paste tomatoes, also called canning tomatoes, have dense flesh and little juice, so they are the best type for cooking, canning and drying. Great varieties to choose are Roma and Heinz.
