Stanley's Tomato Varieties for the 2025 Growing Season

NOTE: We are growing three tomato crops for 2025. Our first crop and last crop will be available in 6-pack containers, while our large second tomato crop will be sold in 4-inch containers. The tomato varieties in the first crop (available in March and early April ) include: Better Boy, Better Bush, Big Beef, Celebrity, *Cherokee Purple, *German Johnson, La Roma, Superfantastic, & Supersweet 100.
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~ Beefmaster - a popular, high-yield, red, Beefsteak-sized hybrid, sweet-flavored variety that bears throughout the growing season (indeterminate). Great for sandwiches. Requires staking, caging, and pruning. Very disease resistant. 

~ *Beefsteak - named for its large one-pound, thickly fleshed fruit; one of the favorite tomato varieties for the home garden; phenomenal flavor; meaty texture perfect for tomato sandwiches or served sliced on their own; requires a heavy cage or stakes for support.

~ Better Boy - this red tomato is not an heirloom tomato, but has been around for 50+ years. Has superior flavor, high-yield,  & bears throughout the growing season. Requires staking or caging.

~ Better Bush - a great choice that bears delicious, medium-sized, red fruit on a very compact plant that works well in containers and small gardens. Great for sandwiches and slicing. A determinate variety that produces for around two months. Very disease resistant.

~ Big Beef - an All-American Selection (AAS) winning variety! A high-yield, vigorous, early red tomato with great flavor and high disease resistance. Bears on indeterminate vines all growing season.

~ Big Boy - a big, sandwich-sized slicer with red fruit and a delicious flavor. Bears heavily in mid-season, yet the indeterminate vines continue fruiting (though not as heavily) until frost. Needs strong support by staking or in a tall cage. Resists cracking.

~ *Black Cherry – a vigorous, highly productive heirloom plant producing bite-sized, dark-purple-brown, cherry-shaped fruit with excellent sweet, smoky, slightly tangy flavor. Regarded as one of the best hybrid tomatoes. (Indeterminate)

~ *Black Krim - a large purple/brown heirloom variety, bears throughout the growing season, notable for its rich sweet flavor, good for slicing and salads.

~ *Brandywine - a large pink heirloom, beefsteak-style variety notable for its great flavor; easy to grow and bears throughout the growing season. This variety dates back to around 1885.

~ Celebrity - a red hybrid, semi-determinate variety prized for its flavor. Chosen as the 1998 AAS (All-American Selection) winner. Highly disease resistant. Great cooked, fresh, or in salads.

~ *Cherokee Purple - a standout purple/red heirloom variety with sweet flavor that often wins taste contests. One of the easiest tomatoes to grow. Monte Stanley's favorite! Originally grown in Tennessee by the Cherokee People. Bears all season. Handles humidity well.

~ Champion II - a high-yielding, medium-sized, red variety that bears delicious fruit throughout the summer. Good fall producer with strong disease resistance. Good for salads, slicing, and sandwiches.

~ Early Girl - very popular, fast-growing plant that produces medium-sized tomatoes beginning early in the growing season and continuing till frost (indeterminate). Easy to grow and disease resistant.

~ *German Johnson - large, pink/red heirloom tomato that bears throughout the growing season. Has a low relative yield per plant but produces very large fruit.

~ [NEW TO STANLEY’S THIS YEAR] *Goldie – produces very large, split resistant, orange-gold, tomatoes that are deliciously sweet and flavorful. Some experts think this indeterminate, heirloom favorite, which dates back to the 1870s, produces the best orange tomatoes. Hint: harvest when the bottom of the fruits show a rosy blush color.

~ Green Zebra - a highly productive, open-pollinated, indeterminate plant that bears 3 to 4 ounce, striped-green fruits perfect for salads and slicing. Ripe when the fruit shows a yellow blush. Beloved by many gardeners and chefs for its unique fruity, sweet, yet tart flavor and its crack-resistant beauty.

~ *Jubilee - an All-America Selections (AAS) winning heirloom, high-yielding variety that bears large, meaty, golden-orange fruit perfect for fresh eating, salads, sauces, slicing, or tomato paste. Arguably the best medium-sized, open-pollinated orange tomato. Indeterminate.

~ Juliet - a customer favorite that can be hard to source, but we have it again this year! An All-America Selections (AAS) winning cherry tomato that is juicy and sweet, crack resistant, and resists Alernaria and Leaf Blight.

~ La Roma - a plum-shaped, thick-walled, early-yield tomato with few seeds growing on a vigorous, uniform plant. Bears tomatoes that are perfect for canning, sauces, or homemade tomato paste. Arguably, the most popular Italian-style roma tomato variety. Bears at a defined time (determinate).

~ Lemon Boy - high-yield, easy-to-grow; bears beautiful yellow tomatoes that are sweet and tangy--great for sandwiches, slicing, salads, cooking, and salsa. Highly disease resistant, and bears all growing season.

~ *Marglobe - outstanding heirloom variety developed in 1917, introduced by the USDA in 1925. Superb tasting, disease and crack resistant; good producer of 7-to 10-ounce deep red, juicy tomatoes.

~ *Mortgage Lifter - an easy-to-grow, delicious, very productive red/pink heirloom variety. Developed before, and registered during, the Great Depression, this plant earned its name by being so prolific and delicious that it sold well and "saved the farm". Disease resistant.

~ *Pineapple – one of the best tasting heirloom varieties. Easy-to-grow, prolific, producing huge yellow-gold (sometimes striped in red), Beefsteak-type tomatoes. Has fewer seeds and more solids and bears throughout the growing season. Very high-yield. Need to be staked or caged.

~ Pink Girl - as the name suggests this variety produces large, juicy pink tomatoes. Fruit has a mild flavor and good resistance to cracking. Vigorous plants bear throughout the summer and need to be staked or caged. Highly disease resistant.

~ *Rutgers - red heirloom, determinate variety, a cross between Marglobe and J.T.D. tomato varieties at Rutgers, NJ. Strong disease resistance. A highly productive favorite.

~ *San Marzano - heirloom plant that produces medium, plum-sized red tomatoes. An excellent Italian roma tomato good for eating raw or in sauces. Bears throughout the growing season.

~ Solar Power - a good yielding, indeterminate plant bearing highly nutritious and delicious tomatoes with three times the beta carotene of the average tomato variety. Very juicy, beautiful orange-colored fruit with medium-low acidity perfect for salads and making sauces.

~ Sungold - one of the most popular varieties of cherry tomatoes, this extra-sweet golden-orange tomato ripens early and bears throughout the summer. Stays firmer longer than other cherry varieties.

~ Super Fantastic - a large, red, Beefsteak-style tomato great for canning, sandwiches, salads, grilled, and sauces. A high-yield plant with strong disease resistance. Bears throughout the growing season.

~ Supersonic - a very large red, mid-season tomato with great flavor, size, and quality. Produces firm, meaty, very large fruit with excellent resistance to cracking. Bears vigorously throughout the growing season. Sturdy and disease resistant.

~ Supersteak - these disease-resistant plants produce huge Beefsteak-style, red tomatoes that can weigh up to 2 lbs. Perfect for sandwiches or burgers, since often only one slice is needed. Bears throughout the growing season.

~ Super Sweet 100 - a small red, round cherry tomato that bears prolifically, as the name suggests, 100 or more tomatoes throughout the growing season. Disease resistant.

~ Sweet Million - another prolific cherry tomato plant that produces delicious red fruit. Easy to grow, dependable, hardy plants adapt well. Winner of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Award of Garden Merit. Extremely vigorous plant that bears all season.

~ **Tomatillos - not really tomatoes, these little fruits are native to Mexico, but have been adopted by American farmers due to their resistance to disease. Sometimes called husk tomatoes, look like green, unripe tomatoes in a dry husk. Delicious fruit used in Mexican cuisine, salsa, and sauces.

~ *Yellow Pear - a small, pear-sized, heirloom yellow tomato notable for its low acidity and firm flesh making this cherry-like cultivar a great choice for sandwiches, salads, or fresh eating. Disease resistant and bears throughout the growing season.
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*Heirloom variety.
**Tomatillos are not really tomatoes, but are a similar fruit.

Accompanying photo by Niki Emmert.

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NOTES:
An explanation of determinate vs. indeterminate tomato plants: 

~ Determinate tomato plants - reach maturity and set their fruit at one time. They are often called “bush” tomatoes because they do not continue growing longer throughout the growing season. Their strength: giving you a lot of tomatoes at one time—which is useful if you like to can your tomatoes at one time.

~ Indeterminate tomatoes plants - continue to grow and produce fruit throughout the growing season giving you tomatoes to eat and enjoy for months. Most of these varieties, often called “vining” tomatoes, tend to ripen a bit later in the growing season. Most heirloom and cherry tomatoes are indeterminate plants. 

TOMATO PLANTS ARE NOT FROST PROOF:  Tomato plants are susceptible to frost so use caution on the timing of when you plant them. The experts at UT Extension advise it is best to transplant them into the ground when the threat of spring frost is passed, which in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area ranges from April 19 to April 28. UT Extension experts further advise that young plants should be around 6 to 10 inches tall and properly hardened off when they are transplanted.