Gardening For Beginners: These Are The Easiest 9 Tomato Plants To Grow

There is nothing more delicious than a juicy, ripe tomato fresh from the garden. Grocery store tomatoes don't even come close to the flavor of one that's been home grown. So, it's no wonder that tomatoes usually top the list of produce that gardeners regularly plant. They are an amazing garden favorite that has a huge return on investment (some tomatoes can produce 10 to 12 pounds on one plant). Plant one little seed and you have tons of fruit in the late summer or early fall to create all kinds of delicious dishes with. Even though tomatoes as a whole are easy to grow, 'Early Girl', 'Roma', and 'Sun Gold' are some of the most popular varieties that even a beginner can master with ease.

One of the hard truths about being a beginner gardener is that it can feel like an uphill battle. Between getting your garden space ready, knowing your frost dates, choosing what's best to grow, and how much to water it can feel pretty overwhelming. For those reasons alone, it makes sense that you would want to choose the easiest plants to grow for beginner gardeners on your first attempt. And tomatoes are always on that list.  They tend to be less finicky than other produce, have multiple varieties that are low-maintenance, and can be grown in different sized gardens. The next big decision you will have to make is whether to buy tomato seedlings or grow them from seed for the biggest harvest. Whatever you choose, you will have the easiest start to get your tomato dreams off the ground if you choose one of the nine easiest varieties to grow.

The 'Early Girl' tomato gets its name for having an extremely short maturity time, it only takes this variety 50 days from planting the seed to reach full maturity and start fruiting. It produces medium sized fruit (6 to 8 ounce), and because it is of indeterminate variety it produces throughout summer. Some have been able to harvest over 300 tomatoes from one plant in ideal conditions. Because it is exceptionally disease-resistant, it's a great variety for beginners. The 'Early Girl' is the perfect hybrid variety for impatient gardeners wanting an abundance of fruit through fall.

'Roma' tomatoes are the go-to variety for sauce making, roasting, drying, and cooking. With a thick, meaty flesh and few seeds, these tomatoes are the perfect option for canning. They grow to approximately 4 feet tall, so they will still need some support, but they are perfect for raised beds. They become fully mature from 70 to 80 days. 'Romas' are great for beginners because they don't need to be pruned, are disease-resistant, and do well in raised beds or containers.

Black krim is a beefsteak variety of tomato that has its origins in the Crimean Peninsula. They take 70 to 90 days to reach full maturity and produce 3- to 4½-inch fruit. The color is a reddish-purple with green around the top. They can develop almost black skin if exposed to plenty of sunlight. These tomatoes are known to have a strong flavor, but less acidic than most varieties. Black krim can grow in a variety of conditions, and that makes it great for beginners. Consistent watering can produce an abundance of fruit for your efforts.

The 'Patio Choice' tomato is a wonderful cherry variety. Most cherry tomatoes are easy for beginners to grow, but this one is a great choice due to its excellent disease-resistance. It also has a short growing time of only 45 days to maturity. As the name implies it is well suited to grow in containers on a patio, perfect for those short on gardening space. It produces lovely, sweet, yellow-colored cherry tomatoes.

This heirloom variety has a distinctive deep reddish-purple hue that is green towards the top of the fruit, with a deep red flesh.  Cherokee purple can grow very large, over a pound in weight. They take 80 days to reach full maturity, reaching a height of 5 feet tall (rather short for an indeterminate variety). Because of their ability to adapt to harsher summer climates, they are a little more forgiving with inconsistent water. They produce an abundance of large fruit that have a sweeter flavor and are perfect for eating fresh off the vine.

The Amish paste tomato is a medium-sized "plum" type tomato. Similar to 'Roma' it is ideal for use in canning, sauces, and dried. Like 'Roma', it has a meatier flesh and few seeds. It takes approximately 85 days to reach maturity, and the plants can grow to up to 6 feet tall. Because of this, it is another variety that will benefit from trellising. This is a perfect paste tomato for beginners due to its ability to withstand some drought — it will be more forgiving than others if you forget to water.

'Sun Gold' tomatoes are a cherry-sized variety with small fruit and a bright yellow-orange color. They have a relatively short maturity time of only 55 to 65 days, which means you will have fresh tomatoes for your salad rather quickly after planting. They have a wonderfully bright, sweet flavor perfect for eating fresh off the vine as well. Because they are an indeterminate type of tomato, you will need to provide some support since they can reach up to 5 feet in height. They are another variety of tomato that has exceptional disease-resistance and are relatively easy to care for, which makes them a great option for beginner gardeners.

The 'Mortgage Lifter' has an interesting history. Its name comes from the man who developed it in the 1930s, Marshall Cletis Byles. He sold his creation and paid off his mortgage with the proceeds. This tomato is a large, pinkish-red beefsteak variety that takes approximately 80 days to mature and can grow up to 3 pounds. Another indeterminate (vining) variety, it benefits from trellising. 'Mortgage Lifter' tomatoes are great for beginner gardeners because of their drought tolerance and their ability to adapt to a variety of soil types.

This tomato variety is considered the go-to Italian paste tomato. Its popularity stems from its true rustic, not-to-sweet, less acidic, rich flavor. Similar to the 'Roma' and the 'Amish Paste' tomato, it has a meaty flesh, less seeds, and low water content (perfect for sauce). 'San Marzano' tomatoes reach maturity around 80 days and grow smaller plum-shaped fruit. They are an indeterminate variety and will thrive when staked or trellised. 'San Marzanos' are the perfect hardy variety that is disease-resistant, drought-tolerant, and resistant to cracking.