Find the Tomato That’s Right for your Colorado Garden
Tomatoes thrive in Colorado and with many different varieties of tomatoes, it may be hard to choose which ones you want to grow in your garden.
At Nicks, we can help you choose the perfect tomato, whether you’re making BLT’s or Salsa’s this summer. Use the following guide to help get you started with an idea of what you may be looking for.
The following tomatoes are prime for growing within Colorado:
Ace
Ace
VFNT determinate. 80 days plant produces good yields of large 12 oz. red tomatoes. Tomatoes are meaty and have low acidity. Fruit is protected from sunburn from large foliage. Disease resistant.
Beefmaster
Beefmaster
VFNT hybrid indeterminate. 80 days one of Americas favorites for the solid, meaty, flavorful red fruit that weighs up to 2 lbs. vigorous vines and outstanding fruit taste and quality.
Beefsteak
Beefsteak
Hybrid indeterminate. 96 days also known as red ponderosa or Crimson cushion. Produces huge, delicious, ribbed fruit on vigorous vines. Grown in wire cages for best results.
Better Boy
Better Boy
VFN hybrid indeterminate. 52 days rugged vines produce large crops of bright red, 12 to 16 oz. smooth, flavorful fruit. Similar to big boy, but with additional disease resistance. Firm and perfect for slicing.none of the best tasting tomatoes available.
Big Beef
Big Beef
VFFNTA Hybrid indeterminate. 73 days 1994 ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS WINNER. one of the finest finest hybrids ever for home gardeners. Impressive yields of extra-large 10 to 12 oz. smooth tomatoes with real old-time flavor. It’s virtues, early harvests and fruit that’s stays enormous even at the end of the season.
Black Krim
Black Krim
Heirloom. Indeterminate. 80 days always a favorite in tastes-tests. Tangy, rich, and sweet. It makes beautiful dark slices. 6 oz. fruit size.
Brandy Wine
Brandy Wine
Indeterminate. 80 days this variety is legendary for its very exceptional rich, succulent flavor. Large pink-red fruit can become 1-1/2lbs. With creamy flesh. Vines grow quite tall and have potato-leaves foliage. An Amish heirloom since 1885.
Burpee Big Boy
Burpee Big Boy
Hybrid indeterminate. 78 days a long favorite because of its very large, smooth scarlet fruit with meaty flesh and great flavor. Heavy crops peak in midseason but continue until frost.
Celebrity
Celebrity
VFFNTA Hybrid determinate. 70 days 1984 ALL-AMERICAN SELECTIONS WINNER. Absolutely incredible set of exceptionally flavorful, from 8 to 12 ounces fruit on strong vines with good cover and outstanding disease resistance. Large clusters of consistently large, beautiful tomatoes.
Cherokee Purple
Cherokee Purple
Indeterminate. 80 Days very productive plants bear loads of 10 to 12 oz. dusky rose/purple fruit deep brick red interiors. The tomatoes are absolutely delicious with a pleasantly sweet and rich flavor. With thin skin and soft flesh, the fruit is somewhat perishable, but they taste so good they will be eaten quickly anyhow. Heirloom from Tennessee.
Early Girl
Early Girl
Annual vegetable. Bred for vine or pot ripening in gardens, it can grow up to 1.8-2.4m/6-8ft in height. It needs some structural support such as trellis/lattice or garden stakes to keep it upright due to its size. The support is most needed when the fruit is at maturity, on average, the fruit produced is 150-200g/5-7oz in weight. When grown in the right conditions this variety can produce a large yield (approximately 50 per plant) of sweet, firm fleshed fruit.
Fantastic
Fantastic
Indeterminate. 70 days tall, vigorous plants produce abundant harvests of large round juicy fruit. Smooth, solid, and meaty with absolutely delicious flavor that is a wonderful combination of sweet and acid. Well adapted to all growing areas and bears continuously though the entire season.
First Lady
First Lady
VFNT indeterminate. 66 days plant produces good yields of 5 oz. red tomatoes. Tomatoes are very flavorful and turn red when mature. Excellent for salads and sandwiches. Crack and disease resistant.
Fourth of July
Fourth of July
This is the earliest variety of non-cherry type tomatoes and it definitely has a reputation as being a very juicy pixie tomato with that real tomato taste. Does the name of this variety of tomato give away its origins as American? According to American gardening folklore, in a typical climate, these variety of tomatoes should always be ripe by Independence Day aka the “Fourth of July”. This plant produces luscious 3 – 4 oz / 10 g tomatoes that are bright red and normally ripe 49 days after planting in the ground or germination. The harvest is abundant and of medium to small size but there are always many of them. Despite being one of the earliest sprouting varieties, it will continue to produce tomatoes until late summer to early Autumn / Fall and in some ideal weather they will even produce until the first frosts.
USES
There are very few meals in which a tomato can not be added to. This tomato suits all dishes – sandwiches, salads, soups, casseroles, sauces, stews and many others – certain to add color and flavor.
GROWTH
It’s best to pick the leaves as frequently as possible to encourage new growth. Tomatoes and asparagus that are grown together are mutually helpful. All varieties of Tomatoes and Brassicas that are grown together will help to repel white cabbage butterfly. Tomatoes are also known to help aid in the early harvest of cabbage.
CULTIVATION
They do best in hot climates, with extra water in spring while the plant is growing and drier sunny conditions while the fruits are ripening. Grow in rich, moist soil climates. Plants may be grown in a green house but usually the flavor is better when grown outside, provided that they ripen properly on the vine before harvesting. The advantages of green house cultivation are earlier and heavier crops, a longer period of fruit production in autumn/fall and a wider choice of suitable varieties.
Soils that are suitable for tomatoes need to be fertile, well drained and moisture retentive. A good quality potting mix will provide this for this variety if the soil in your garden is not suitable. Ground grown Early Girl tomatoes require a feed of potash when young and a balanced feed with more nitrogen later on. It is found that more potash is needed in the dull ‘wet season.’ Tomatoes can suffer from a few problems, such as Wilt, Virus, molds and Red Spider to name a few. However on the upside if you keep your plant in good health the diseases risk is lessened. Companion plant to Parsley. Grow in the same soil each year with the old stems and leaves dug into the soil for compost.
Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee
Indeterminate. 70 days this is a large yellow-orange round beefsteak that’s is higher in Vitamin C and less in acid than most other varieties. The tomato fruits are produced in a heavy yield from upright and uniform vines, which makes this variety easy to manage.
Grape
Grape
Indeterminate. 60 days long, grape-like clusters of brilliant red elongate cherry tomatoes have earned this variety its name. Very sweet, complex flavor is delicious. Vogorous vines are very productive. Their taste is addictive!
Great White
Great White
Beautiful, large white beefsteak tomato with sweet flavor and lots of juice. Fruit is larger than that of White Beauty. Vigorous plants have heavy foliage that provides good protection against sunscald on the fruit. Indeterminate. 85 days.
Large Red Cherry
Large Red Cherry
Indeterminate. 65 days one of ten most popular varieties in the cherry tomatoes. Fruits are bright scarlet, round smooth, 1-1/4 inch to 1-1/2 inches and very sweet. An excellent salad tomato. The plant is large and vigorous, bearing large clusters of tomatoes.
Mortgage Lifter
Mortgage Lifter
Indeterminate. 80 days this huge heirloom beefsteak (up to 4lbs. Average 2.5 lb.) consistently wins taste-tests. An old pink variety still in demand by gardeners.
Mountain Pride
Mountain Pride
VF hybrid determinate. 77 days plant produces good yield of large red tomatoes. Tomatoes are firm and flavorful. Developed by NC state university. Crack and disease resistance.
Patio
Patio
F Hybrid determinate. 70 days this dwarf variety is one of. America’s most popular varieties ever for growing on patios, decks, courtyards, or wherever garden space is limited. Plants only become about 2 ft tall, but produce a large harvest of bright red, 3 to 4 ounce flavorful tomatoes. Grow in containers that measure at least 12 inches wide.
Roma
Roma
VF determinate. 78 days ones of the most popular varieties for paste, sauces, and canning. Compact vines yield large harvests of 3 inches long bright red fruit that his pear shaped. Thick walled and solid with few seeds and good flavor.
Rutgers
Rutgers
VF determinate. 75 days gardeners throughout the country are rediscovering this old-fashioned Classic for its terrific flavor and productivity. Disease resistance ensures large crops of crack-free, bright red 6-8 oz. tomatoes with delicious old-time taste. For many years, this was a favorite for canning because of its abundance, juiciness, and deep red color.
San Marzano Gigante
San Marzano Gigante
90 days. A heftier version of any San Marzano tomato that we have trialed with a magnificent, robust flavor to boot. Large, open, indeterminate plants produce enormous, meaty fruit measuring 2 1/2 inches wide and 7 inches long. Ruby red tomatoes have green streaked shoulders and very few seeds. These giants will go a long way in sauce and salsa recipes.
Shady Lady
Shady Lady
VFTA Hybrid determinate. 75 days well known in California as a top performer in tomato fields and a favorite in farmers markets this one grows well in other regions also. Large vines provide excellent coverage for the fruit, hence the name shady lady. Round, globe-shaped red tomatoes range from medium to extra large and have an excellent flavor.
Sun Gold
Sun Gold
One of the most popular varieties of cherry tomatoes, Sungold ripens early to a golden orange, ready to harvest throughout the summer. These extra-sweet tomatoes stay firmer longer than other cherry varieties. Indeterminate. 75 days very sweet, bright orange cherry tomatoes. Taste not just sugary but also fruity and delicious. Vigorous growers, these tall plants bear long clusters of fruit. Try these for a real taste treat, you won’t believe you eating tomatoes.
Sweet 100
Sweet 100
Hybrid I determinate. 65 days huge, multiple-branched clusters of 1/2 inch very sweet fruit with high vitamin C content. Mouth-watering flavor. Vigorous vines bear abundantly until frost and need staking for best results.
Yellow Pear
Yellow Pear
F Hybrid determinate. 70 days this dwarf variety is one of. America’s most popular varieties ever for growing on patios, decks, courtyards, or wherever garden space space is limited. Plants only become about 2 ft tall, but produce large harvest of bright red, 3 to 4 ounce flavorful tomatoes. Grow in containers that’s measure at least 12 inches wide.
Yellow Plum
Yellow Plumb
Indeterminate. 78 days clusters of plum shaped yellow fruit, 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Flavorful and excellent for preserves or salads.
