TOMATOES and PEPPERS 2026
Big Beef
Ripe fruit from 65 - 67 days after setting out. An 1994 All-American Selections winner, Big Beef is considered by many experts to be the ultimate tomato. The smooth, red, uniformly globe-shaped fruits will mature at 8 to 12 oz. Big Beef was bred for consistent pollination under various climate conditions. Plus it is widely resistant to disease and pests. Its rich tomato flavor beats most hybrids. Expect excellent production 'early and until frost.
This really is a super tomato for the home gardener. The fruits are consistently unblemished, uncracked, and large. Weather and disease do not seem to affect production. Big Beef was developed by Colen Wyatt at Seminis Vegetable Seeds for PetoSeed Co in 1991. Colen is somewhat of a genius in the plant breeding world, and in 1998 AAS presented him the Medallion of Honor for his many high quality vegetable introductions.
Celebrity
70 days - 1984 AAS winner.Celebrity is highly disease resistant and adapts to a wide range of growing conditions. The bushy plants are tolerant to blight, but not so much to cold temperatures. The smooth, firm, dark red, oblate 7 to 8 ounce fruit grow on stocky vines that do well caged. Although a true determinate plant that should not be pruned, Celebrity is often considered to be a semi-determinate variety because it does not grow tall or scraggly and it continues to produce fruit until frost. Celebrity's strength is its reliable high productivity. Its weakness is that some heirloom lovers might think its flavor ordinary and bland. But I think the flavor is superior to most hybrids - just be careful of the seed vendor. Usually you get what you are willing to pay for in garden seeds.
Cherry Falls
60 days - tidy habit and good early establishment makes this a great choice for containers. Very vigorous, 1.5 to 1.75 oz., juicy, cherry red fruits crop heavily over a long harvest period. Semi-determinate. The tomatoes are juicy and fruity flavored. Cherry Falls almost always gives me the first ripe tomatoes of the season; In 2017 I picked my first Cherry Falls tomato on June 10. Some seed catalogs advertise a F1 hybrid by the same name, but look for the OP Cherry Falls. They taste better and you can save the seeds to replant for yourself.
heirloom
Early Girl
57 days - For good reason Early Girl is the most purchased six-pack tomato plants at retail stores every spring. Indeterminate 4 to 6 ounce, globe shaped, meaty, smooth, reliable, and heavy yielding. Crimson red, blemish-free skin. Somewhat resistant to wilt. Large leaves protect against sun scald. Early Girl's rich tomato flavor compares favorably to many heirlooms. It has enough juice and thick enough walls to be an ideal canner. Early Girl does not sprawl, but still responds well to caging. Considered the earliest true slicing-size tomato, it starts producing quickly and keeps on until frost. Early Girl continues growing with temperatures even as low as 40 F. Early Girl is the standard by which all other early tomatoes are compared, and in my opinion still the best. Make sure your Early Girl seeds are indeterminate.
Fantastico
50 days - All America winner, unique determinate bush tomato with rich flavored half-ounce grape shaped fruit. High yielding plants produce up to 12 pounds of ripe fruit. Best grown in a cage to provide some plant support, but can also be grown in a large patio container or an 18-inch hanging basket.
Goliath Giant Early Bush
49 days. 'Giant Early Bush' is a week earlier than 'Early Girl' and at 14 to 18-oz., as big as 'Big Beef.' Goliath has the classic, old fashioned tomato flavor that’s both tart and tangy. Early Bush is a semi-determinate with a spread of only 28-in. and a height of 48-in. that’s ideal for large pots. It does need to be staked due to the weight of its fruit. This is the slicing size tomato I most recommend for growing in a large container.
Independence Day
New variety for me. Info from AI. The Fourth of July tomato (or Independence Day tomato) is an ultra-early, indeterminate hybrid plant famous for producing 4-ounce, bright red, savory fruits in as few as 49 days after transplanting, allowing harvests by July 4th. Developed by Burpee, this high-yielding variety provides juicy, "tomato-y" flavor, offering a sweet yet balanced taste superior to many early cultivars.
Jelly Bean
Another new variety for me. Also from AI: Jelly Bean tomatoes are small,, sweet, and firm grape-shaped tomatoes known for their high-yielding, indeterminate vines that produce clusters of 15–30 fruits. These crack-resistant hybrid tomatoes, available in red and yellow, are excellent for snacking, salads, or cooking, with a fast harvest within 2-3 months.
Juliet
60 days - 1999 AAS Winner famous for yielding the first elongated, grape-like fruits that don't crack! Clusters of unusual, sweet-flavored fruits cling to the vine longer than any other cherry tomato. Glossy, red-skinned fruits weigh 1 oz. each. Absolutely great halved for oven drying. Indeterminate, and grow in clusters of 12 to 18 fruit. Juliet’s ripe fruit hold longer on the vine or in storage than most cherry tomatoes. Before frost in the fall even the hardest, greenest, Juliets can be picked and stored in a cool place. Most will gradually ripen giving you healthy garden tomatoes until Christmas. The vigorous vines need support. Another cultivar you need to be careful of getting genuine true-to-name seed from vendor.
Kellogg’s Breakfast
93 days. Look for 1 pound plus, meaty, orange fruit, with few seeds. The juice could be mistaken in color for orange juice. The fruit grow in clusters of 2 or 3 on strong vines that resist disease better than most heirlooms. Many think its complex, not too sweet - flavor is the best they've ever tasted. Expect huge fruit, reliable, but moderate yields.
This West Va. heirloom is named for Darrell Kellogg, a Redford MI railroad supervisor who made this variety well-known after receiving seed from a friend.
Heirloom
Marianna’s Peace
85 days - indeterminate. The plants of Marianna's Peace have potato leaf foliage and produce fruit that are a deep, reddish-pink color, weigh one pound on average, and deliver a good, balanced, sweet-acid flavor. Peace is often compared to Pink Brandywine, but Peace is earlier and more productive during hot spells. Marianna's Peace was introduced in 2001 by Gary Isben of Tomatofest and named in honor of his mother-in-law, Marianne Worschech Tibbetts (1927-2013) who as a schoolgirl in Czechoslovakia escaped being taken by the Russians to a labor camp by jumping from a moving truck, and then, though shot in the leg while crossing the Czech border, she managed to cross the Austrian Alps to freedom in Vienna. The seeds were given to Gary by Marianna's sister.
Heirloom
Mrs. Maxwell’s Big Italian
New to me. Copied from TomatoFest: 30 years ago Mrs. Maxwell of Mexico, Missouri was given tomato seeds by a friend from Italy. She valued the tomato so much that for the next thirty years she saved the seed, choosing the largest, earliest, non-cracking tomatoes each year. Her son passed the seeds on so we could share them. Our TomatoFest organic tomato seeds produce large, very prolific, indeterminate, potato-leaf tomato plants that yield 1-2 pound, 3 to 4-inch, dark-pink beefsteak tomatoes with incredible flavor. A perfect tomato for eating fresh off the vine or as a canning tomato or for cooking into a tomato sauce.
Heirloom
Patio Choice Yellow
50 days - an 18-inch compact determinate tomato plant . The 2017 All-America Winner cascading plants are prolific yielders of delicious 2 oz., cherry-sized fruits. Great for snacking, salads or for adding a pop of color to your favorite recipes. Perfect for containers.
Big Rainbow
(83 - 94 days) These meaty, golden-orange, ruby streaked, 1 - 2 pound tomatoes also go by the moniker Rainbow. The low acid fruit grow on 6 ft. vines that definitely require support. Although not a high yielder, fruit production is consistent - even through hot, dry weather.
Rainbow has a sweet, fruity taste yet still maintains a rich tomato flavor. Rainbow slices are perfect for tuna sandwiches.
In 1990 Rainbow came to the attention of SESE, a seed savers network, from Polk Co. MN thanks to Dorothy Beiswenger. It's conjectured that most, if not all, of the gold-red multicolored tomatoes have a common German heritage.
Won 1st place at Dekalb Co. Fair 2005. Entered by Jim Yuvan of Plano.
Heirloom
Rutgers
75 days - developed in the 1920s and still famous for its remarkable flavor and large yields of 6 to 8-oz., solid, meaty, deep-red fruits, perfect for canning. In 1984 twelve and a half million Park Seed Company's California Supreme Rutgers tomato seeds were launched into space aboard the Challenger shuttle and spent 5 years in orbit aboard NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility. The Columbia shuttle retrieved the tomato seeds in 1989 and found no significant change in plants grown from the space seeds. Many Rutgers devotees claim it is the original 'Jersey' tomato. Be sure to purchase OP (open pollinated) indeterminate Rutger’s seed. The other varieties will disappoint you.
Saucy Lady
My 2nd year planting this variety. Was very productive. Copied from Urban Farmer: The absolute best sauce tomato for home gardeners and market growers. This tomato is packed full of flavor. Produces firm, deep red fruits that cook down beautifully to make the smoothest pasta sauces and pastes you’ve ever had. A very productive plant that will produce a large crop of medium-sized dense oblong fruits with a sweet flavor profile.
Sheboygan
90 days - indeterminate. The regular leaf vines of Sheboygan are vigorous and productive. The paste-type fruits are pink in color, weigh between four and nine ounces each but average six. Unlike most bland paste tomatoes, 'Sheboygan' delivers big flavor that is balanced and complex making them excellent for fresh eating, processed into paste or sauce, or for canning. Introduced to seed savers in 1998 by heirloom preservationist Dr. Jeff Nekola who said his source told him that this variety has been grown since the early part of the 1900s in Sheboygan, Wisconsin by Lithuanian immigrants.
Heirloom
Sweet Million
(60 - 67 days) Bright red, round, 1 to1¾ oz. fruit, that grow in grapelike clusters. Very disease resistant and sweet as candy. Heavy yielding 6 ft. vines need support and will produce until frost. One plant is claimed to have produced over 1000 tomatoes grossing 32 pounds of fruit.
The fruit have a very long shelf life, and can be picked green before frost and allowed to ripen inside without spoiling. Sweet Million fruit will crack if left too long on the vine; especially during rainy periods.
Yellow Pear
71 days. Heavy sets of 2" pear-shaped tomatoes grow in clusters of seven to nine nearly seedless fruit. While historically a favorite for making preserves, its size and mildly sweet flavor make it a good tomato for salads or for fresh snacking. Yellow pear is one of the oldest known named varieties. It was recorded in Synopsis Plantarum by taxononmist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon in 1805 and was sold byThe Hudson Bay Company as early as 1825.
Yellow Pear is prized by gourmet chefs for its bright color, distinctive shape, and subtle taste. It makes an attractive garnish whole or halved lengthwise. A very hardy plant, I find it to still be ripening a few fruit in the fall well after all other tomato vines have been added to the compost heap.
Heirloom
Zenzie Hybrid
This will be my 3rd year planting Zenzie. It is very reliable. AI: Zenzie is a highly productive, indeterminate Roma-type hybrid tomato, named a 2023 All-America Selections winner. It is ideal for canning, freezing, and sauces, producing 5 oz meaty red fruits in 70–80 days. Known for its bushy, compact growth, it is suitable for smaller gardens, requiring full sun and minimal pruning.
PEPPERS
Big Red
New variety for me. Copied AI. The Big Red pepper is a popular, high-yielding heirloom sweet bell pepper known for its large, 3-4 lobed fruits that turn from green to a deep, glossy red. These 4-inch, thick-walled peppers are crisp, sweet, and ideal for, salads, stuffing, and cooking. They are well-suited for home gardens, container planting, and produce well in sunny spots.
Carmen
2nd year variety for me. Copied High Mowing: The standard-bearer for sweet Italian frying peppers in the Corno di Toro class. Early maturing fruit on medium-sized 20" plants can be harvested at green or allowed to ripen to a deep red. Unbelievably sweet and crisp flavor won the hearts of the All-America Selections committee in 2006, and growers have been dedicated to it ever since. Suitable for greenhouse or field production. From the breeders at Johnny’s Selected Seeds.
King Arthur
aka Fat 'N Sassy - 60 days - the large, blocky peppers developed by Petoseed are sweet, thick-walled, and ripen from green to bright red. The upright, multi-virus resistant plants set fruit well in heat with thick foliage providing excellent cover.
Margaret’s
3rd year variety for me. Copied AI; Margaret's pepper is a highly regarded heirloom sweet pepper variety, known for producing large, 7-inch, thick-walled fruits that mature from green to orange and finally deep red. Originally brought from Hungary to Wisconsin, this sweet, mild pepper was maintained by Margaret Gubin for over 50 years and is popular for salads, stuffing, and roasting.
Pot-O-Peno
New variety for me. Copied AI: ideal for compact container gardening, producing 35–50 mild, 3–4 inch jalapeños per plant in 45–65 days. Start seeds indoors 6–8 weeks before the last frost, planting 1/4 inch deep in warm, moist soil. The 2021 AAS winner thrives in full sun and is perfect for hanging baskets.
Soundwave
New variety for me. Copied True Leaf Market: 75 Days to maturity (from transplant). Capsicum annuum. Big Red Pepper Seeds. Non-GMO, annual, open-pollinated, high-yielding, drought tolerant, sweet pepper with no heat levels. 0 Scoville Heat Units. Suitable for growing in containers, garden plots, raised beds, and greenhouses. Producing 4-inch fruit with thick, sweet flesh.
Super Chili
New variety for me. Copied True Leaf Market: 75 Days to maturity (from transplant). Capsicum annuum. Big Red Pepper Seeds. Non-GMO, annual, open-pollinated, high-yielding, drought tolerant, sweet pepper with no heat levels. 0 Scoville Heat Units. Suitable for growing in containers, garden plots, raised beds, and greenhouses. Producing 4-inch fruit with thick, sweet flesh.
