Tomato: 7 varieties for beginners
7 easiest and most productive tomato varieties
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Tomato is a fruit-vegetable relatively easy to grow. However, there are some varieties easier to grow than others, especially because of their productivity and their increased resistance to diseases or cold.
This is especially true of cherry tomatoes, which are much easier to grow and provide abundant harvests. However, some medium to large tomatoes are also particularly easy to manage in the vegetable patch. Examples include Saint-Pierre and Rose de Berne.
Discover our selection of 7 tomato varieties for beginners, ideal for budding gardeners who are just starting to grow their own vegetables.
→ Découvrez aussi notre fiche conseil sur la tomato pruning and management
Tomato 'Supersweet', a highly productive and vigorous variety
The Supersweet tomato is among the most robust and easiest to grow cherry tomatoes, and shows particularly good resistance to common tomato diseases (such as late blight). An American variety, it produces a very abundant crop of small coral-red tomatoes. Each plant thus bears a true profusion of trusses, made up of around twenty spherical tomatoes measuring between 2 and 3 cm in diameter. Fruits as much appreciated for their shape as for their very sweet flavour.
Growing ‘Supersweet’
Supersweet is therefore easy to grow in a sunny position, in rich, light soil kept cool and moist. It is grown in the vegetable garden outdoors, or under glass. Plants can however reach between 2 and 2.5 m in height, and require therefore good staking. Without support, their yield is such that the stems bend under the weight of their many fruits. Sow Supersweet from February to March in warmth, for planting between April and June, after the last frosts. Harvest then extends through summer from July to October.
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Best tomatoes for stuffingTomato 'Poire jaune', a very rewarding heirloom cherry variety
Tomato Yellow Pearshaped, also called Yellow Pearshaped, is an heirloom variety of cherry type that is both vigorous and very productive, very early and rewarding thanks to its good yield. Originating from Italy, it forms bushy, very compact young plants that are covered with clusters of small yellow pear-shaped fruits. Fruits weigh on average 10 g each, and offer a firm, juicy flesh, subtly tangy. Much loved by children, Yellow Pearshaped is eaten raw as an appetiser where it is usually a hit.
To grow Tomato Yellow Pearshaped
Tomato Yellow Pearshaped young plants have a broad development ranging between 1.20 and 2 m high at ripeness. This is a species that does not need pruning. Its potential height does however require staking from planting (to be trained on a structure). In addition to being easy to grow, Yellow Pearshaped is also very decorative in the vegetable garden. Sow it under heated cover between February and April, for a harvest between the months of June and September.
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Tomato 'Barbaniaka', a robust, early cherry tomato
Native to Hungary, tomato Barbaniaka is a cherry tomato perfect for beginners, as it is both easy to grow, very productive, early and rather disease-resistant. Barbaniaka’s small currant-type fruits measure between 1 and 1.5 cm in diameter. Of a pretty bright red colour, they form long clusters of 10 to 14 miniature tomatoes. Relatively tart, this cherry tomato is enjoyed raw as part of an aperitif alongside sweeter varieties.
Growing tomato ‘Barbaniaka’
Easy to grow, Barbaniaka needs only sun and a mulch at its base to thrive. However, it does require staking from planting due to its rapid growth and a height at ripeness of between 1.80 and 2 m. As an early variety (which fruits early in the season), sow between February and March indoors in warmth (at 20°C). Young plants are transplanted into open ground as soon as risk of frost has passed. Harvest is therefore possible from June through to September.
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Cherry tomatoes: the best varietiesTomato 'Roma', hybrid selected for resistance to fungal diseases
Roma tomato is the result of a hybridization between San Marzano and Pan America. It is a very productive variety resistant to late blight, as well as to fungal diseases that cause a stoppage of sap flow. Roma has thus been selected for resistance to Verticillium and Fusarium fungi. In addition, this hybrid tomato produces panicles of small, oblong scarlet-red fruits weighing between 40 and 80 g. Fleshy fruits, perfect for canning. Roma yields little juice and is ideal for all cooked preparations.
To grow ‘Roma’ tomato
Again, Roma is an easy-to-grow variety provided it receives sufficient sunlight and fresh, rich, light soil. Of determinate growth, young plants show fairly limited development, ranging from 80 to 120 cm tall. Roma tomato is sown between the months of March and April, before being planted out in the garden between April and June, when frosts are no longer a risk. Early variety, harvest runs from June to September.
Tomato 'Saint-Pierre', a large-fruited variety easy to grow
Traditional kitchen-garden variety, tomato Saint-Pierre is arguably the easiest large-fruited heirloom tomato to grow. Saint-Pierre is an early variety (which ripens quickly), but also productive. Its fruits appear in clusters of 4 or 5, and weigh on average 100 to 200 g. With its flavour slightly tangy and its firm flesh, tomato Saint-Pierre, nicely round and red, is perfect for stuffing. Moreover, it is a variety highly resistant to splitting.
Tomato Saint-Pierre © Ferme de Saint-Marthe
Growing tomato ‘Saint-Pierre’
Growing tomato Saint-Pierre is easy from sowing through to harvest. It requires light, cool and fertile soil, plenty of sun, and staking from planting. Indeed, this variety reaches 1.50 m in height. Sow indoors at 20°C between the months of March and April, before planting out in open ground between mid-May and June, once frost is no longer a concern. Harvest between the months of June and September, sometimes until October.
Tomato 'Téton de Vénus', a variety resistant to powdery mildew and late blight
Tomato Téton de Vénus is an heirloom variety that belongs to Andean type. Of Mediterranean origin, it tolerates wet soils and benefits from very good disease resistance, despite its seemingly fragile appearance. In fact, it is not susceptible to powdery mildew or late blight. Tomato Téton de Vénus is recognisable by its clusters of small elongated fruits tipped with a point, which bear a strong resemblance to small peppers. Weighing 70 to 100 g, these fruits have dense, juicy flesh, and contain few seeds, giving a particularly sweet flavour. Another feature: Tomato Téton de Vénus is very well suited to drying.
Tomato ‘Téton de Vénus’ © Ferme de Sainte-Marthe
Growing tomato ‘Téton de Vénus’
Although development of ‘Téton de Vénus’ is relatively modest, ranging from 1.20 to 1.60 m, rapid growth of this tomato requires staking from planting. It is grown in containers, vegetable patch or greenhouse, in full sun, and in a free-draining soil rich in organic matter. Tomato Téton de Vénus is sown under heated cover between March and April, for harvests that run over a long period, from June to September.
Tomato 'Rose de Berne', an old disease-resistant variety
The tomato ‘Rose de Berne’ is one of the old mid-season varieties that adapts particularly well to regions exposed to a cool, humid climate. It is therefore recommended for beginner vegetable gardeners who live in regions with short summers. Rose de Berne also has good disease resistance, notably to late blight. It is also one of the best heirloom tomatoes, with fruits featuring a remarkable pink, fragrant and sweet flesh. Fruits weighing 150 to 250 g, both dense and juicy, are highly prized for their flavour.
To grow tomato ‘Rose de Berne’
Tomato ‘Rose de Berne’ requires a sunny position and a clay-loam soil (rich and light) that stays cool to grow. In these conditions, it reaches a height of 2 m and must therefore be staked or trained as soon as planted. Sow under heated cover from February to May, for a harvest throughout summer, from July to October.
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