[8 Min] X Tomato Varieties That Provide The Biggest Harvest

For some home gardeners, the promise of fresh, sun-warmed tomatoes is the whole reason they've tilled up part of their yard. No grocery store tomato, not even an heirloom from the organic market, tastes as summery and appetizing as a home-grown tomato. While tomatoes are a vegetable garden staple, not all are created the same. Certain varieties are known as workhorses who'll regale you with tasty bites all summer. They keep the goodness flowing by enabling you to stock your shelves with jars to tide you over until next year. Luckily, these prolific plants also produce savory-sweet specimens you'll actually want to keep enjoying once the days turn cold.

What kind of "big harvest" do you want? Are you hoping for consistent eating for a longer period of time, or does a profusion of tomatoes all at once appeal to you? Many modern lifestyles don't afford us several days we can consecrate to canning, but this list contains varieties that give you that option, too. Some of these tomato types may be hard to find at nurseries, so skip the tasteless tomatoes from the garden center and stick with seeds that you can start yourself.

Compiled here are both indeterminate varieties — ones that fruit all season — and determinant ones that ripen in one massive flush. Not one of these tomatoes sacrifices taste for bounty, either, whether they're gargantuan 'Orange Oxhearts', sauce-ready romas, or cherry-type 'Sakuras'. Up your chances of a bumper crop, no matter the variety, by planting tomatoes in full sun, pruning suckers, harvesting regularly, and trying some other of the handiest hacks to remember when growing tomatoes.

Say "Nice to meet ya" to stupice tomatoes. Pronounced "stu-peech-ka", this colder-tolerant indeterminate tomato hailing from former Czechoslovakia is an enthusiastic producer that can share its deliciousness in areas as cool as Alaska. This toughie can take hot temps and dry weather as well.  If you start stupices indoors by January, you may be able to harvest fruit as early as the end of June. Each mature fruit typically weighs 1 to 2 ounces.

There are a handful of characteristics that make the 'celebrity' tomato fame-worthy. These determinate tomatoes handle both cool and hot weather beautifully, are remarkably resistant to pests and diseases, and reward you with lots of tomatoey goodness without much effort. This adaptable plant is highly productive and takes 70 to 75 days to reach maturity. Once they're ready to harvest, the red fruits will be about 6 to 8 ounces each.

If you've struggled with pests and diseases, 'Mountain Merit' tomatoes merit a place in your garden. Plus, they can produce mountains of red fruit in cool weather. Yet, deep south dwellers share that 'Mountain Merits' perform wonderfully in hot, humid climates, as well. This determinate variety puts out large tomatoes, weighing between 8 and 10 ounces each. They're also less likely to crack than other tomatoes. Mountain merits take about 75 days to mature.

'Romas' aren't hard to find at grocery stores, but once you taste one grown in your own soil, you'll want your local Safeway to keep their stock to themselves. 'Romas' are determinate and resistant to diseases. What's more, they take well to container gardening. Their red fruits peak at weights of 2 to 3 ounces around 75 days after planting. If you have picky eaters in your life, 'Roma' tomatoes might be people pleasers; they are known for not having lots of seeds.

Undersized and sweet, 'Sakura' tomatoes are a kind of cherry tomato that may be the first variety you pick in a season. It takes a mere 50 to 55 days for these indeterminate tomato plants to display round, red fruit weighing 1 to 2 ounces. Along with being precocious fruiters that pump out tomatoes all season long, 'Sakuras' are tough against diseases and cracking. They are also well-suited for growing in containers. 

Orangey-yellow and heart-shaped, the orange oxheart tomato is a tasty novelty for your vegetable patch. The "ox" part of the name refers to its extreme size of up to 18 ounces and pointed end, which resembles a heart. There have been instances of oxhearts growing up to 2 to 3 pounds, as well. This indeterminate tomato rewards gardeners with a plentiful harvest. Generally a resilient plant, keep an eye out for blossom end rot and bugs like cutworms and tomato fruitworms. Orange oxhearts are better off growing in zones with longer summers, since they take up to 90 days for the first harvest.

The deep purple, almost black skin of black beauty tomatoes are a visual break from the iconic tomato red and are almost certainly a variety you'd never encounter in grocery stores. The dark pigment of these fruits is due to anthocyanins, a compound that studies have shown to hold antioxidant and antimicrobial qualities. Black beauties take about 80 days to mature and bear tomatoes weighing between 3.5 and about 5.5 ounces each. They are indeterminate and are good fits for gardens in both chilly and hot climates.

What could be more summery than snacking on sunshine-yellow tomatoes straight from the vine? Plant some 'Sungold' tomatoes, and bring this imaginary scenario to life. At only ½ ounce each, 'Sungolds' are cherry-sized and perfect for popping into your mouth. They're indeterminate and grow well in a variety of climates. They are ready to harvest after only 65 days. As for bugs and illnesses, 'Sungolds' can be susceptible to blight, aphids, thrips, and powdery mildew.

The name alone might spur you to order 'Carmello' tomato seeds. These indeterminate tomatoes return on your time investment as early as 70 days after planting, and they reliably keep the fruit coming until frost. You're not likely to find 'Carmello' tomatoes for purchase, even at farmers' markets, since they don't travel well. Snag a pack of seeds in order to try these treats. 'Carmellos' plump up to between 4 and 5 inches in diameter. They're resistant to cracking and diseases like fusarium and tomato mosaic virus.

If you're just dipping your toes into tomato growing, 'Big Beef' tomatoes are a wonderful introduction to raising these fruits. Setting up 'Big Beef' plants in your garden will give you an instant green thumb. This indeterminate variety doesn't present a lot of challenges and really lives up to its name (all but the "beef" part). 'Big Beefs' are hybrids that have been bred to outwit diseases like tomato wilt virus and fusarium. It'll take just a shade over 70 days  for your plant to offer you slicers weighing between 8 to 12 ounces each.

French for "yellow flame", jaune flamme tomatoes are really more orange than yellow. No matter its true color versus its name, this indeterminate tomato is marvelously productive after about 70 to 80 days. Jaune flammes are a good choice if you're hoping to plant tomatoes in your garden in nearly any climate. They're also tough against diseases and are easy to grow. Pick a copious crop of fruit weighing 3 to 4 ounces each for straight-up snacking, salads, and drying.

Sporting stripes of orange, yellow, and red, the 'Hot Streak' tomato serves up eye-catching fruit after as few as 60 days. The "hot" part of its name comes from a slight spiciness that commends these long-storage tomatoes for salsa and other applications requiring a bit more tang. Not only are these indeterminate tomatoes attractive, they're also extremely resistant to diseases that plague other tomato varieties. Mature 'Hot Streak' fruit weigh in at 6 to 12 ounces. They grow especially well in tunnels or greenhouses for "growth insurance".

Impatient tomato fans, 'Early Girls' are the ideal variety for your vegetable patch. Ready for harvest as early as 50 days after planting, these determinate, disease-resistant tomato plants offer the promise of fruit to people living in a wide variety of areas. Early girls grow well in containers and produce fruits that typically weigh 6 to 8 ounces each.

Like the Speedy Chevy with the same name, 'Camaro' tomatoes are quick to arrive in the summer. Mature after 70 to 75 days, 'Camaros' are not only fast to fruit but also large in body. The plant itself is compact and needs little pruning, but its tomatoes burgeon to a beefy 10 to 14 ounces each. This determinate hybrid is resistant to a handful of diseases including fusarium wilt and alternarium stem canker. 

Another fruit you're unlikely to find in the produce aisle, black krim tomatoes are an indeterminate heirloom with an unforgettable flavor. A bit sweet, a tad salty, and slightly smokey are some of the ways this tasty fruit has been described. You might be picking black krims as early as 70 days after planting. Mature fruits are medium sized. Black krims can be victims of off blossom end rot, but you may be able to prevent it by applying bone meal.

Big and bountiful 'Rambler' tomatoes might be your next garden obsession. 'Rambler' fruits dish up the quintessential tomato: deep red, rounded, and firm. These big boys weigh between 8 and 12 ounces each. These determinate tomatoes take about 70 days to reach maturity. 'Ramblers' don't need much pruning if any, and they stand firm against many diseases like fusariums, verticillium wilt, and alternaria 1.

Yellow with a hint of blush, 'Tangerine' tomatoes are balls of sunshine that fill gardens with fruit in drastically different climates. Whether your summers are hot and dry, hot and humid, or cool and short, you don't have to miss out on these glowing prizes. 'Tangerine' tomatoes are determinate, and 6 to 8 ounce fruits mature in about 70 days. They are a fan favorite for their resistance to diseases, sweetness, and high yields.