Linda Chisari’s favorite tomato varieties:
Sun Gold: An orange cherry tomato with a distinctive tropical flavor that sets it apart. Produces long strands of fruit on vigorous, tall, indeterminate vines. Early. Hybrid.
Sweet 100: Aptly named, these hybrid cherry tomatoes bear sweet and juicy bite-sized tomatoes in abundance. High in vitamin C, they are ideal for salads, crudites, or straight from the vine.
Carmello: A very popular variety. Mellow, sweet, and full-bodied, Carmello bears a large harvest of medium-sized, juicy fruits. VFN Hybrid.
Celebrity: A 1984 All-America Selections winner. Absolutely incredible set of exceptionally flavorful, firm 8-to 12-ounce fruit on strong vines with good cover and outstanding disease resistance. Large clusters of consistently large, beautiful tomatoes.
Dona: Plant produces good yields of flavorful glossy red, egg-shaped tomatoes. This variety has excellent acid/sugar ratio balance. A gourmet tomato from France.
Enchantment: (Hybrid) Cascading clusters of rich-tasting, plump, oval crimson fruits cover vigorous productive disease-resistant vines. Full-bodied, delicious sweet flavor.
Green Zebra: A unique and delicious salad tomato. Three-ounce green fruits ripen to amber-green with darker green stripes. The light green flesh is very flavorful, sweet yet zingy. This one is a real taste treat.
Juliet: A 1999 All-America selection. Juliet produces lovely, oval, 1-ounce fruits that are perfect for salads, salsa and sauces. These beautiful little fruits have excellent flavor. Highly disease-and crack-resistant.
Note: Inland gardeners can grow heirloom varieties and beefsteak like Better Boy. Coastal gardeners need to wait until late June to plant and may have disappointing results if summer temperatures are cool.