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Heirlooms & Hybrids

What's the difference? Simply old and new. Heirloom tomatoes are handed down from generation to generation. Hybrids, on the other hand, are newly developed tomatoes bred for color, flavor, size and growth habits.

Which to choose is simply a matter of what your taste buds like. Both are equally easy to grow.

Heirlooms to try are:

  • Golden Pearl - these small cherry-like tomatoes grow in grape-like clusters. Wonderful right off the vine and the perfect size for salads.

  • Red Current - Believed to be related to the wild tomato of Peru. Small fruits grow in clusters and can be eaten by the handful. Sweet and tart at the same time.

  • Yellow Pear - Grown in the 1800's, this is a favorite heirloom tomato shaped like tiny pears. Pretty in salads or as a garnish.

  • Burbank Slicing - Developed by Luther Burbank in 1914, Burbank's tomato is an 8 oz. red slicing fruit that taste great on sandwiches.

  • Black Krim - From the Black Sea in Russia, this dark and full flavored tomato can tolerate a bit of chill and makes a good early or late season choice.

  • Brandywine - Everyone's favorite heirloom. This Amish tomato has been handed down since the 1800's and is loved for it's rich, juicy full-bodied taste.

    Hybrids to try are:

  • Sungold - A Japanese cherry-sized tomato with orange skin grows on long tresses over a long season.

  • Sweet 100 Plus - A heavy producer of tiny, bright red fruits. Good tomato flavor, disease resistant.

  • Early Girl - A tasty medium-sized fruit that tolerates cooler conditions. Makes a good early and late season crop.

  • Big Beef - Won the 1994 All-American Selection. Combines old fashioned beefsteak flavor with heavy hybrid yields.

  • Beefmaster - Big, juicy tomatoes great for slicing on sandwiches. Yields large crops.

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