Selecting Varieties

If you’ve stood in our greenhouses or scrolled our online shop, you know Uncle Wayne’s offers a vast selection of varieties to choose from. For some, this can be overwhelming! Do I select for color? Size? Flavor profile? How many should I buy?! If you’ve asked yourself these questions, this article is for you. 

Some initial questions to ask yourself would be: 

1. What does my growing space look like?
2. What do I hope to do with my harvest?
3. What do I consider a “good” tomato flavor? 

GROWING SPACE

Whether you are working with an apartment balcony or a whole field, there are tomato varieties to suit your needs.

Many varieties can thrive in pots on your patio or porch. While you could truly grow just about any variety in a container, some are better suited than others. If this is the type of planting you will be doing, selecting something “dwarf” or “determinate” that will produce best here. These will stay more compact in their space. If you choose an indeterminate variety, be sure to add a tomato trellis or support system of some kind, because these guys will continue growing all season long – up until frost or you pull them! Whatever variety, be sure to regularly feed and water since they won’t be getting these vital nutrients from the ground.

When planting in a bed or field, your options are expansive! Raised beds are often considered superior due to improved drainage and better control over the soil inputs, but beds are also more expensive to install than simply planting in ground. If planting in native soil, your plants are more susceptible to the microbiology of the soil. Disease and pest pressure can increase in these spaces, so choosing varieties for disease resistance is a wise choice here. This is where certain hybrids can be good options, as they have been bred to perform better against certain soil-borne disease. 

When considering how many plants to purchase, consider your planting space. As a general rule, tomatoes like to be planted 2-3′ apart. This will determine how many tomatoes you have room to comfortably grow.

HARVEST GOALS

Preserving? Snacking? Providing a restaurant with fresh heirloom slicers all season long? Again, there’s a variety (or 10) here for every scenario! If your goal is to load your pantry with your garden bounty, selecting paste and “seedless” varieties will be most suitable. Growing to sell or supply produce? Seek out varieties that are considered “high yield” for maximum production potential. If you are simply selecting for fresh garden eating and the joy of growing, you have the most vast selection (and difficult decision!) to choose from as it all comes down to preference.

FLAVOR

When asked about flavor preferences, our founder Carl will tell you “flavor is in the palate of the beholder”.  Every person is different in how they interpret flavor, but knowing what tomato flavor profiles there are will help you hone your selection. Fortunately, a tomato’s color can help us get a general idea of the flavor it will yield. 

All in all, no matter which variety you choose – it’s going to taste far superior to anything you’d purchase in the store and will be well worth the efforts!

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Happy Gardening friends,

Miranda