If you’re going to plant one thing in your vegetable garden in 2022, you need to grow tomatoes! These fast-growing edibles produce enormous harvests, saving you plenty of money on groceries””have you seen how expensive those little tubs of cherry tomatoes are lately?! With so many different tomato varieties to try and endless ways to use them, you’ll love growing these juicy gems in your garden.
The Best Tomato Varieties at Salisbury and How to Use Them
We have 13 delicious tomato varieties growing in our greenhouses, each with its own unique flavours, colours, shapes, and textures. Here’s an overview of their features and the best recipes in which to enjoy them.
Sweet Million
These vining tomatoes are quick to mature and continually fruit until frost. Though their fruits are small, they’re big on flavour, growing in long clusters. We love watching their fruits transition from green, to yellow, to red””they’re like shiny rainbow baubles! Pop them onto toothpicks with bocconcini cheese, basil leaves, and a drizzle of balsamic reduction for a mini Caprese salad appetizer.
Sweet Treats
This gorgeous tomato plant grows adorable, tiny pink fruits””need we say more? This hybrid variety is easy to grow, resistant to cracking, and resilient against common tomato diseases like Fusarium Crown & Root Rot and Leaf Mold. Toss them in a salad with grapefruit, shaved parmesan, pine nuts, and green goddess dressing.
Candyland
With adorably tiny, red fruits that max out at ½ inch wide, Candylands are perfect for raw snacking or simmering into a sweet tomato jam. They’re ready to harvest in 55 days, and the plants usually remain under two feet tall, so they’re great if you don’t have loads of free space for gardening. Pop a few containers of Candyland tomatoes on your patio or front porch!
Rapunzel
You won’t believe how long the fruit clusters grow on this showy tomato plant””hence the name Rapunzel! Up to 40 fruits will grow along each cascading stem. They look so beautiful as their colours transition to ripeness! Sprinkle some Rapunzels throughout your next charcuterie board for a bite-sized snack to enjoy with fancy cheese and crackers.
Sungold
These gorgeous golden cherry tomatoes are some of the sweetest you’ll find! They’re also among the most disease-resistant varieties, so your chances of a successful harvest are high. Dice them up with some cilantro, minced jalapeno and a squeeze of lime juice for a sweet, spicy salsa to add to tacos or avocado toast.
Celebrity
Highly resistant to Fusarium Wilt 1 and 2 and Verticillium Wilt and Tobacco Mosaic Virus, the tough Celebrity tomato is famous for good reason! This large slicer tomato is firm and juicy””perfect for topping on burgers and BLTs.
La Roma
A determinate variety that produces one massive harvest all at once, La Romas are ideal if you plan on canning and preserving homemade tomato sauce. Their smooth texture, lower moisture and small seed count make for luscious sauces you’ll adore. They’re super disease-resistant, too!
Lemon Boy
No surprise how this quirky tomato earned its name! Each fruit is the size and colour of a freshly picked lemon. However, unlike lemons, Lemon Boys are much lower in acid, so they’re great for folks with digestive issues or sensitive stomachs. Slice them up into salads so you can appreciate their ultra-vibrant colour!
Patio
Apartment dwellers need not suffer from vegetable gardening FOMO””the Patio tomato is ideal for growing on balconies! A determinate bush variety with a compact shape and 3″“4 oz fruits, the Patio variety has quickly become a top favourite. Dice them up and sprinkle them on a pizza with some feta cheese and oregano!
Early Girl
One of the fastest maturing tomato plants, Early Girl ensures a big midsummer harvest of meaty fruits the size of tennis balls. Slice them up and toss them onto an everything bagel with cream cheese for a quick, tasty breakfast!
Beefmaster
Like other Beefsteak tomatoes, the Beefmaster is a juicy giant with a meaty texture and mild flavour. Crushing them will help strain the watery juice if you want to make a thicker sauce. For a quick and delicious side dish for barbecue night, slice the tops off some Beefmasters, top them with parmesan and herbs and toss those bad boys onto the grill!
Steakhouse
Holy guacamole””this behemoth tomato plant is one of the biggest in existence, producing fruits that weigh as much as 3 pounds! It’s indeterminate, so it’ll keep flowering and fruiting all season. Make sure you’ve got sturdy supports to keep this heavy plant upright. One Steakhouse tomato is enough to make a whole salad””chop it up with some sweet Vidalia onions and crumbled blue cheese to serve alongside an actual steak!
Better Boy
Always better, never bitter””these 1-pound fruits have a low seed count and a mild flavour, resulting in a versatile tomato to use in so many ways. It’s perfect for stir-frying, so if you want to make Indian Butter Chicken from scratch, grow some Better Boys in your garden this year!
Visit Salisbury Greenhouse in Sherwood Park and St. Albert to see all the different tomato varieties for sale in 2022. Try planting several different kinds so you can compare flavours and experiment with new recipes!
