Tomatoes come in all shapes, sizes and colors. In my opinion there are only a few kinds of fruit and vegetables that can match the diversity of tomatoes.

How do you choose the best tomato variety for you, how do you see the wood through the trees?

Most important is that the varietyshould produce tasty tomatoes. It’s also nice if the plants are healthy and not too sensitive to diseases. But just as important, I think, is that the variety givesplenty of tomatoes. I love tomatoes and I love eating a lot of them, so I’d rathernot have plants from which I can pick only a few tomatoes on my list of favorites.

There are tomato varieties that have a special appearance,like stripes, a distinctive color or shape. Sometimes these pretty varieties are not particularly tasty or don’t produce that much fruit, so mainly I cultivate them to surprise people with their distinctive colors and shapes.

Tasty tomatoes, healthy plants, a plentiful harvest and pretty or special-looking fruit, that’s what I love and that’s the basis of selection for my list of favorite tomatoes.

I always grow tomatoes in a greenhouse, so I don’t have that much experience with outdoor cultivation. If you are in the Netherlands and plan on growing tomatoes outside, I advise you to choose varieties that you can harvest early in the season. The outdoor season is a lot shorter than in a greenhouse, so the sooner you can harvest a tomato plant, the greater the harvest.

In general, cherry tomato varieties ripen faster than beef tomato varieties. Often the seed suppliers indicate per tomato variety how many days it takes from planting to the harvest:

Early: 50–68 days

Middle: 69–79 days

Late: 80–95 days

In general, you’ll get the best result for outdoor cultivation with the early tomato varieties (50–68 days after planting). For the middle tomato varieties you need a good summer and as for the late varieties, I wouldn’t try growing them outside.

The biggest problem with growing outdoors is the fungal disease Phytophthora. There are currently a number of tomato varieties that are reasonably resistant to Phytophthora. Pay attention to this when you’re selecting an outdoor crop.

It doesn’t matter in a greenhouse. Here you can grow all tomato varieties.

Taste is a personal choice, but everyone can tell whether a tomato is tasty or not. For people who love really sweet fruit the best choice is the cherry tomato varieties. If you prefer a juicy tomato flavor, opt for round or beef tomato varieties.

I grow cherry tomato varieties for a tasty snack, Roma tomato varieties for pasta sauce and beef tomatoes for sandwiches. (And if I ever have a surplus of a certain kind of tomato, it all goes into the sauce or soup.) 😊

Just try them out to discover the variety you like. I’ve been sowing some varieties for years, because my family and I like them so much. But every year I also try 2 to 3 new species. That’s how you collect your own favorite tomato varieties over the years.

Do you want to know which 10 tomato varieties I like the most and have grown for years?

Read: "My top 10 tomato varieties."