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Indeterminate, determinate, bush, beefsteak, cherry are all terms used to describe tomatoes or tomato plants. But which variety is best for your garden or greenhouse?

We group them alphabetically and independently review each variety to help you choose exactly the correct ones for you.

Click here for our review of who sells tomato seeds at the cheapest prices. The top six suppliers compared.

 Indeterminate or Upright or Cordon - these require staking and pinching out (pruning).
 Determinate or Bush - require little or no staking and pruning is minimal
 Beefsteak Tomatoes - the largest tomatoes of all, great if you need to slice them.
 Cherry Tomatoes - the smallest tomatoes. Great for salads or just eating on their own because of their sweetness.
 Plum Tomatoes - high in juice, low in pulp, they cook exceptionally well
 Hybrid F1 - seeds whose known immediate parents have been selected for specific qualities.

Note that the tomato varieties highlighted in green below are known to us and recommended highly by us. But just because we haven't taste a particular variety of tomato doesn't mean it's not an excellent choice.

The suppliers, in the vast majority of cases, have been randomly selected. This is just to help you if your favoured supplier does not stock a variety which you want.

Some of the variety names below have links (click on the variety name) to individual pages describing the variety in more detail and with a picture.

  Variety Name Type G'house /
Outdoor

Fruit

Supplier Comments

  Abraham Lincoln Upright Both Very large, red Victoriana Nursery Bred over 80 years ago, this variety produces average tomato weights of 1 lb. Deep, deep red in colour with a full old-fashioned tomato taste.

  Black Krim Upright Both Large, purple Victoriana Nursery A favourite of Jamie Oliver. Not only is the colour of this tomato unusual but it is also extremely tasty. An heirloom variety pre-dating the Crimean War.

  Blizzard Upright Greenhouse Medium, red Victoriana Nursery Very prolific and great tasting. This variety is set apart from from others by its ability to set fruit in low light / short day times. This makes it ideal for extending the greenhouse growing season into the winter.

  Cedrico Upright Greenhouse Medium sized, red Jersey Plants Direct An F1 variety which is the top tomato for exhibition purposes. Fruit is perfectly round and remains firm after picking.

  Classy Upright Greenhouse Medium sized, red Seeds by Size Another exhibition variety but not in the same class as Cedrico and Goldstar. Firm, round red fruits.

  Fantasio
F1
Bush or upright Both Red, medium size Dobbies Tasty, early fruiting, outdoor tomato plant with very good disease resistance. Rated best resistant tomato for blight. Also good resistance to Tobacco Mosaic Virus.
 

  Floridity Upright Greenhouse or outdoors in warm Bright red, cheery plum Nicky's Seeds Rated the best tasting small tomato in the 2007 RHS taste trials. We haven't grown it yet or tasted one which is why this row white. But we will definitely be growing them in 2009!

  Gardener's Delight Bush or upright Both Red, cherry Suttons Well-proven, excellent flavour, good disease resistance, early cropping, good for containers.

  Garden Pearl Bush Outdoors Red, cherry Marshalls Specially bred for hanging baskets and pots. Bright red bite-sized tomatoes which taste sweet and juicy.

  Giant Delicious Upright Both Red, huge! Victoriana Nursery Listed in the Guinness Book of Records as producing the largest tomato in the world. Amaze your friends with tomatoes weighing over 1lb.

  Golden Cherry Upright Greenhouse Orange, cherry Marshalls Bite sized, very, very sweet and packed full of flavour.

  Ildi Upright Both Yellow, cherry Thomson & Morgan Small, bite-sized yellow tomatoes. Unusual because each truss produces around 60 tomatoes. Individual trusses can be hung in a cool place and the tomatoes will keep for three weeks "on the vine".

  Matt's Wild Cherry Upright Outdoor Red, cherry Victoriana Nursery An old and very reliable variety. Produces large crops of sweet tasty tomatoes. Great for salads.

  Red Alert Bush Outdoor Red, bite-sized Unwins Excellent flavour, easy to grow, some disease resistance.

  Shirley Bush or upright Greenhouse Red, medium Victoriana Nursery A well tried and trusted tomato which produces an early, heavy crop.

  Shirleys' Pixie Bush Both Deep red, large Victoriana Nursery Lots of largish red tomatoes with a good full tomato flavour.

  Snowberry Upright Greenhouse (outdoors in warm areas) Yellow, bite-sized Nicky's Seeds Highly rated in the RHS tasting trials. Very pale flesh, excellent juicy taste. Produces lots of tomatoes. Highly rated by us.

  Sungold Upright Both Yellow/orange, bite-sized Victoriana Nursery So delicious and sweet! Great for tubs, early cropper.

  Super Marmande Upright Both Red, large Nicky's Seeds Delicious taste, few seeds, shape is irregular. Improved version of Marmande. Requires lots of support for the large fruits.

  Super Sweet 100 Upright Outdoors Red, bite sized Victoriana Nursery As the name implies this is one of the sweetest tomatoes around. Produces a large crop and is suitable for growing outside or in pots.

  Sweet Million   Both Red, bite sized Suttons Lots and lots of red cherry tomatoes from this variety. Recommended by the chef Raymond Blanc in RHS tasting trials.

  Tigerella Upright Both Red stripped orange, medium size Victoriana Nursery An old variety which is striped red and orange / yellow. Good taste and ideal for brightening up salads. Produces fruit early in the season.

  Tropical Ruby Both Both Red, bite sized Nicky's Seeds Very attractive bite sized tomatoes which look like mini-plum tomatoes. Very sweet and tasty. They keep very well after being picked.

  Vanessa Upright Greenhouse Red, average size Mammoth Onion A strong grower which produces a good crop of red tomatoes. The skins are pleasantly thin and the flesh tasty.




 


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