Australia’s favourite tomato types

With so many variations of tomatoes out there you might be a little confused about what type to grow in your garden. To help you out, we’ve created a list of the favourite variations of tomatoes grown in Australia.

You’ll find tomatoes that are bush or vine types with a range of sizes, shapes, colours and tastes that grow in different conditions.

Related:

• See how easy it is to grow tomatoes at home

Indeterminate vs determinate

Indeterminate varieties are considered vining and should be staked for support. Indeterminate tomatoes usually grow for a longer period and produce larger crops but start to flourish later. The determinate variety of tomatoes are usually a shorter bush type that blooms over a shorter time frame. After the tomatoes on these plants ripen they die shortly after.

The HomeLeisure list of tomato types

There is some 7,500 varieties of tomato around the world, but heres’s a list of some cultivars available in Australia that you could try growing in your garden.

Apollo

A hybrid type that is a tall indeterminate capable of growing up to about 2.5 metres in height. They tend to fruit early with some great tasting fruit but unfortunately their tolerance to diseases and bacteria is quite low.

Beef Steak

This indeterminate variety tends to flourish mid-season growing fruits that are large and have solid flesh, making them a great option for salads.

Black Russian

As the name suggests this tomato has a darker colour and can be described as almost purple or chocolatey. The Black Russian is an open pollinated heirloom variety making it a traditional meaty and rich tomato. They can thrive in a cooler climate than most due to the fact they can absorb more heat than most other types of tomatoes.

Father Tom

The best feature of this hybrid tomato is that it is bred to be highly resistant to a range of diseases including Verticillium, Fusarium, and Tobacco Mosaic Virus just to name a few. The plant itself is a tall, fast growing and can protect their fruit from sunburn due to their extensive foliage. They can be described as a gourmet style tomato that would be great for salads and also have a long-lasting shelf life.

Grosse Lisse

These open pollinated indeterminate tomatoes fruit in a warmer climate which is generally the medium to late season. However they grow medium to large tomatoes and are seen as reliable with a great flavour which makes them very popular.

Health Kick

This determinate type of tomato is known for its added health benefits as it contains 50% more of the antioxidant lycopene. It is a roma type that grows quite tall and requires a decent amount of direct sunlight.

Mama’s Delight

If you’re a novice gardener then you should consider this type of tomato as it’s easy to manage due to it’s height. They are medium sized, don’t require any trimming and can be grown in a pot. However they should be staked or grown alongside a medium sized wire frame.

Mini Roma

Also known as grape tomatoes, the mini roma is a hybrid that is bred from a cross between a roma tomato and a cherry tomato. They fruit a small roma tomato that are considered sweet and bite sized and go great salads.

Patio Tomato

The Patio Tomato is a roma hybrid that is a compact determinate and is very productive despite it’s small size. They only grow to an average of 0.5 meters and product small plum-shaped tomatoes. They are low maintenance, don’t require staking and they grow well in small gardens or pots.

Pink

Most pink tomatoes have either a mild or sweet taste. The most common types are the German pink, Caspian pink and the Brandywine heirloom tomatoes.

Pot Prize

You probably could have guessed from the name that these hybrid tomatoes are the perfect type to grow in pots! Despite the fact that they only grow to a medium height they produce heavy tomatoes and do need to be staked.

Reggae

This roma type is well known for being a high yielding variety, growing tall and producing sweet, thick skinned tomatoes. Due to their thick skin, these heavy tomatoes are well suited for drying and saucing. They can work well growing in a tomato cage and tend to be a one harvesting plant.

San Marzano

This tomato is very popular and often described as the classic Italian roma because it originates from Italy, is great to cook with and is ideal for making tomato paste. It is an indeterminate small bush plant that produces high yields of thick skinned roma tomatoes. They can be grown in small pots, don’t need to be stake and have a high resistance to diseases.

Sweet Bite

This cherry sized tomato is an indeterminate type that is also known as the Sweet 100 and can grow to around 2 metres. They are vigorous and high yielding, producing sweet cherry tomatoes in the mid to late season. They can also self seed so they may continue to grow from last years season but they need to be staked. Sweet bite tomatoes should be picked quite regularly as over watering can cause them to split.

Sweet Grape

Another high yielding plant, the sweet grape plant is considered the “original grape tomato” that produces small and sweet tomatoes.

Tommy Toe

This indeterminate type usually grow to around 2.5 metres with the right support as this vining plant has good climbing capabilities. They are a strong garden variety that grows in the mid to late season producing sweet and large cherry tomatoes.

Truss Sweet

This type of tomato is an indeterminate that grows to about 1.8 metres tall producing great tasting plum shaped tomatoes.

Tumbler

The tumbler is well known for being a traditional hanging basket plant that produces small, yellow and red sweet cherry tomatoes. They are quite unusual but are attractive, low maintenance and fairly high yielding. They can be grown in a small pot or in the garden supported by a small stake.

Yellow

There is a variety of different yellow types tomatoes including the little sugar yellow, yellow baby (aka the mini yellow pear) and lemon boy just to name a few. Typically they have a lower level in acidity which causes them to be more mild than most other tomatoes. The typical yellow tomato is a mellow salad variation and can grow quite tall. They are usually quite vibrant with their bright yellow flesh which is a great feature if you are looking to add colour into you garden.