By Jennifer Poindexter
Have you tried growing tomatoes in the past but end up battling diseases? Tomatoes are prone to a variety of issues. However, there are some tomato varieties which are known for being resistant to some of the most common ailments they face in the garden.
If you’re interested in giving tomatoes another go this growing season, you’ve come to the right place. I’m going to supply you with different disease resistant tomato varieties to help you plan your garden.
This should give you a solid foundation to build on when growing fresh tomatoes. Here are a few disease resistant tomato varieties to grow this season:
Common Diseases Tomatoes Face
There are a few diseases which are common to many tomatoes. They typically face fusarium wilt, verticillium wilt, mosaic virus, blight, cankers, and root rot.
If your garden is impacted by fusarium wilt, there is no cure. You must either grow things which are resistant to this disease or destroy impacted plants.
The same is true for verticillium wilt. There is no effective treatment. Impacted plants must be destroyed and be mindful not compost sick plants as this can spread the disease wherever the compost is used.
Mosaic virus also has no effective cure. Like the other diseases mentioned, you must destroy impacted plants.
Thankfully, there’s better news when it comes to blight. If plants are impacted by this disease, you should remove infected areas of the plant and spray it with a fungicide.
Bacterial canker is another difficult disease to control. When it hits, it’s best to remove any infected plants and destroy them.
Once the infected plants are removed, you should grow disease-resistant varieties or wait three years to plant in the same growing location.
Lastly, gardeners must contend with root rot when growing tomatoes. This disease usually begins when plants are grown in areas with little sunlight and poor drainage.
This leaves tomatoes in a cold, wet state which leads to the formation of root rot. This disease is hard to battle back from, so it’s best to ensure you plant in adequate growing conditions to deter it.
Now that you know the most common diseases that tomatoes battle, let’s discuss disease-resistant varieties that stand a greater chance against these issues.
Disease Resistant Cherry Tomato Varieties
Cherry tomatoes are smaller options which grow to be about the size of a cherry. These tomatoes are great for snacking or including on your salad. Here are a few disease resistant options:
1. Sun Gold F1
This orange variety of cherry tomato is known for its sweet flavor, ability to produce early, and for its high yields. It’s also an indeterminate variety of tomato.
Sun gold f1 cherry tomatoes are known for being resistant to tomato mosaic virus, tobacco mosaic virus, fusarium wilt, and verticillium wilt.
2. Sweetheart of the Patio
Cherry tomatoes are known for producing large quantities. This variety is no different. If you’d like to keep plenty of red cherry tomatoes around, consider this option.
Not only is the sweetheart of the patio variety a solid producer, but it’s also thought to be resistant to blight. This is great news as its resistance could protect your harvest. This is a semi-determinate option of tomato.
3. Early Cherry
The early cherry variety is thought to be one of the earliest producing tomatoes during the growing season. This plant produces vibrant red cherries that are great for adding a splash of color to your meals.
Not only is this another great producer, but it’s also thought to be resistant to verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt. This is a determinate variety of tomato.
4. Chocolate Sprinkles
This is an indeterminate variety of cherry tomato which produces small, red fruits with rich green streaks which provides a chocolate color to the fruit.
Beyond its unique appearance, this tomato variety is said to be resistant to root knot nematodes, tobacco mosaic virus, tomato mosaic virus, and fusarium wilt.
5. Braveheart F1
This plant produces one-ounce, bright red fruit with a sweet flavor. If you’re a fan of sweet tomatoes, this could be a great variety for you.
Plus, braveheart f1 tomatoes are thought to be resistant to tomato mosaic virus, fusarium wilt, and leaf spot. This is an indeterminate variety of tomato.
Disease Resistant Grape Tomato Varieties
Grape tomatoes are a little larger than cherry tomatoes. They also make a great addition to salads, can be used as a snack, or go well in certain dishes when cooked.
Here are a few disease resistant varieties to choose from:
1. Bella Star
Bellastar is a smaller, elongated tomato. It’s an indeterminate variety that produces vibrant red fruit.
Aside from its gorgeous coloring, this tomato is thought to be resistant to leaf spot, fusarium wilt, and mosaic virus.
2. Carina
Carina tomato plants produce smaller fruits in tight clusters. It’s another red tomato variety which is thought to be a good producer.
This type of tomato is resistant to leaf curl, tomato mosaic virus, verticillium wilt, and fusarium wilt.
3. Crimson Star
Crimson star is one of my favorite smaller tomato varieties. This plant produces small, red tomatoes with a nice snap to them and a sweet flavor.
If you’d like a good salad or snacking tomato, this variety could be for you. It’s thought to be resistant to tomato mosaic virus, fusarium wilt, and leaf spot. This is an indeterminate variety of tomato.
4. Red Candy F1
This tomato is one which definitely deserves some attention. It’s an early producer and continues on throughout most of the growing season.
As the name may suggest, this is a red grape tomato with a sweeter flavor profile. This variety of tomato is thought to be resistant to fusarium wilt.
5. Nova F1
Nova f1 tomatoes are another indeterminate variety which means they’ll produce until frost damages the plant. This variety is also thought to produce earlier in the season.
These plants produce a larger harvest and are thought to be resistant to fusarium wilt and root knot nematodes.
Disease Resistant Heirloom Varieties
Heirloom varieties are a great way to include a little piece of history in your garden each year. If you’d like to grow heirloom tomatoes, here’s a few options:
1. Brandywine
Brandywine tomatoes are an heirloom variety which produce beefsteak size tomatoes and are thought to have more flavor in comparison to other varieties. Plus, brandywine is an indeterminate option.
This plant produces fruit that ranges in color from yellow, red, and even pink. If you’re interested in disease-resistant heirloom tomatoes, this variety could be for you as it’s thought to be resistant to blight.
2. Green Zebra
I don’t know about you, but I love growing a variety of different colored crops in my garden. Green zebra provides a change in color when added to a growing space.
This plant gets its name due to the green color of the fruit with streaks of yellow which run throughout. Green zebra tomatoes are thought to be resistant to leaf spot and blight. This is an indeterminate option as well.
3. Homestead
The homestead tomato was created by the University of Florida in 1950. It’s known for its ability to withstand high temperatures while still producing beautiful, eight ounce, red tomatoes.
If you’re interested in growing this type of tomato, it’s thought to be resistant to stem cankers and fusarium wilt. It’s also considered semi-determinate.
4. Roma
Roma is another favorite of mine to grow as it’s versatile around the kitchen. It’s frequently used to make delicious homemade tomato sauce.
This is a determinate variety of tomato which is thought to be resistant to fusarium wilt, verticillium wilt, stem canker, and blight.
5. Mortgage Lifter
Mortgage lifter tomato plants produce beautiful, pink fruit that average between one and four pounds each. This is an indeterminate variety which produces beefsteak types of tomatoes.
If you’re interested in growing a larger tomato variety, be sure to check into this option. This variety is considered extremely disease resistant by quite a few notable sources, so it should be able to withstand most of what your garden may throw at it.
Disease Resistant Slicing Tomato Varieties
Our last variety of tomato to choose from is the slicing tomato. If you’d like a larger homegrown tomato, here are some disease resistant options:
1. Better Boy F1
Better boy f1 is an indeterminate variety of tomato known for producing larger, red fruits. The tomatoes average between one and two pounds each.
When growing better boy tomatoes, expect them to be able to withstand fusarium wilt, blight, verticillium wilt, stem canker, and leaf spot.
2. Bush Early Girl
Bush early girl tomatoes are great for growing in raised beds, traditional garden plots, or containers. This is a determinate variety which produces fruit around eight ounces each.
When growing bush early girl tomatoes, they should be able to withstand some opposition such as tobacco mosaic virus, fusarium wilt, and verticillium wilt.
3. Celebrity F1
When our family first began gardening for the purpose of preserving our own food, I can’t tell you how many seasoned gardeners recommended growing celebrity tomatoes.
This tomato variety grows to be approximately four feet tall but continues producing until frost. The fruit is red and around eight ounces. These tomatoes are thought to be resistant to leaf spot, tomato mosaic virus, tobacco mosaic virus, stem canker, verticillium wilt, and fusarium wilt.
4. Lemon Boy
Lemon boy tomatoes are hard to miss due to their bright yellow color. This plant produces eight ounce fruit which contains a good mix of sweet and spicy flavors.
If you’re interested in growing this tomato, you’ll be delighted to know this plant is thought to be resistant to fusarium wilt, leaf spot, crown rot, root rot, verticillium wilt, stem canker, and tomato mosaic virus.
5. Wisconsin 55
The Wisconsin 55 is a beautiful red tomato which produces until frost. It is thought to be crack resistant and produces a larger harvest.
Not only is this a high-yielding plant which produces firm but juicy tomatoes, these tomatoes are also thought to be resistant to both leaf spot and blight.
You now have numerous disease resistant tomato options to fill your backyard garden. Hopefully, this will make growing tomatoes more enjoyable and create a better growing experience.
Select the type of tomato you’d like, the disease you’re most interested in avoiding, and plant the tomato that fulfills these needs. Before you know it, it’ll be time to enjoy a fresh harvest of homegrown tomatoes.
Learn More About Disease Resistant Tomato Varieties
https://newswire.caes.uga.edu/story/7938/tomato-types.html
https://www.shawnee.k-state.edu/lawn-garden/Tomato%20Variety%20Selection.pdf
Why are my tomatoes red bit still hard?
What exactly is “red bit”?