Sweet Success: How to Choose [and Grow] Tomatoes & Peppers
Choose your own adventure! No matter where you grow, it’s important to select tomato and pepper varieties that are well-adapted to your region and conditions. If you grow in Alaska, you’ll need to choose short season varieties that will mature and produce quickly. If you’re a Floridian, you need the opposite—varieties that produce over a long season even when temperatures climb over 90°F. Whether you grow in the cool North, the dry Southwest, the temperate Northwest or in containers or your patio, we’re proud to offer a selection of organic varieties that meet your unique needs.
Short, Cool Seasons (North & Mountain States) Look for varieties that produce early, perform well in cool, wet conditions and offer resistance to fungal diseases like blight.
Tomatoes: Moskvich, Crimson Sprinter, Cosmonaut Volkov, Mountain Princess, Iron Lady F1, Green Zebra, Marmalade F1, Glacier, Yellow Perfection, Matt’s Wild, Montesino F1, Merlot F1, Black Cherry, Bing, Sweetie, Red Pear, Bellstar, Roma VF, Fortamino F1 Rootstock
Peppers: King of the North, King Crimson, Purple Beauty, Sweet Chocolate, Golden California Wonder, Oranos F1, Hungarian Hot Wax, Early Jalapeno, Ancho Poblano, Maya Habanero, Magnum Habanero
Long, Warm to Hot Seasons (Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and South) Look for varieties that can set fruit in sustained hot temperatures over 90°F, have good leaf cover and offer strong resistance to local diseases. In the Southeast select varieties that tolerate heavy soil and offer nematode or bacterial leaf spot resistance; in the West look for short season varieties with exceptional drought-tolerance.
Tomatoes: Cherokee Purple, Pruden’s Purple, German Johnson, Brandywine, Copia, Caiman F1, Skyway 687 F1, Merlot F1, Sakura F1, Granadero F1, Estamino F1 Rootstock
Peppers: Sprinter F1, Olympus F1, Catriona F1, Milena F1, Iko Iko, Abay F1, Xanthi F1, Belcanto F1, Corno di Toro, Lively Italian Orange, Lively Italian Yellow, Bastan F1 Poblano, Shishito, Ring-O-Fire, NuMex Joe E. Parker
Disease-Resistant In climates where diseases are prevalent, such as the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and parts of the Northwest, look for varieties with suitable resistances.
Tomatoes: Skyway 687 F1, Caiman F1, Roni F1, Iron Lady F1, Rutgers, Lola F1, Marmalade F1, Arbason F1, Medford, Matt’s Wild, Montesino F1, Toronjina F1, Merlot F1, Bartelly F1, Esterina F1, Sakura F1, Roma VF, Granadero F1
Peppers: Olympus F1, Catriona F1, Milena F1, Madonna F1, Abay F1
Heated Greenhouse Crops Many of our varieties have been specifically bred for heated greenhouse culture. Look for crack-resistant indeterminate tomato varieties with disease resistance, and long season peppers with strong fruit set in hot conditions.
Tomatoes: Cherokee Purple, Caiman F1, Roni F1, Green Zebra, Lola F1, Marmalade F1, Arbason F1, Montesino F1, Toronjina F1, Bartelly F1, Pink Bumblebee, Purple Bumblebee, Sunrise Bumblebee, Sakura F1, Granadero F1
Peppers: Sprinter F1, Milena F1, Madonna F1
Unheated High Tunnel Crops Look for vigorous, productive varieties that can tolerate a wide range of conditions, particularly heat, cold, humidity and fungal diseases.
Tomatoes: Cherokee Purple, Caiman F1, Moskvich, Cosmonaut Volkov, Rose de Berne, Green Zebra, Arbason F1, Montesino F1, Toronjina F1, Bartelly F1, Bing, Pink Bumblebee, Purple Bumblebee, Sunrise Bumblebee, Sakura F1, Granadero F1, Fortamino F1 Rootstock
Peppers: Olympus F1, Catriona F1, Milena F1, Madonna F1, Belcanto F1, Lively Italian Orange, Lively Italian Yellow
Ornamental/Container Varieties Look for productive, compact or determinate varieties with good flavor and disease resistance.
Tomatoes: Skyway 687 F1, Moskvich, Crimson Sprinter, Mountain Princess, Iron Lady F1, Rutgers, Medford, Glacier, Indigo Rose, Merlot F1, Bellstar, Roma VF, Gold Nugget
Peppers: Sprinter F1, Purple Beauty, Catriona F1, Bangles Blend, Belcanto F1, Feher Ozon, Ring-O-Fire, Early Jalapeno, Black Hungarian, Dwarf Little Blue, Candlelight, Hot Purira
Processing for Sauce, Pickling, Powder or Freezing Look for drier, meatier varieties for sauces, drying and powder, and choose versatile classics with few seeds for pickling and freezing. Often varieties with short harvest windows (or concentrated fruit set) are preferred when growing for processing.
Tomatoes: Rutgers, Bellstar, Roma VF, Granadero F1, Amish Paste, San Marzano, Gilbertie
Peppers: Jupiter, California Wonder, Bangles Blend, Belcanto F1, Feher Ozon, Hungarian Hot Wax, Early Jalapeno, Ancho Poblano, NuMex Joe E. Parker, Hot Purira
Over 90% success of germination of greens and cucumber;
Just over 50% for tomato (regular and cherry); and only
10% for the papers (regular red and yellow and hot).
I'm now on round two, after transplanting to a larger pots, the ones that did not germinate during first try. so far in this round, which is mostly paper and tomato, I have again limited success.
Any suggestions?
P.S. in New-England, In-doors, under the light, all transplants are growing nicely with the heat, moistrure and light provided