This year, I grew 20 different tomato varieties in my Florida garden just to see which ones were the most heat tolerant. I’m going to share with you the top five that did the best, a couple of honorable mentions, and one that I absolutely will never grow in my garden again—and I think it’s probably going to surprise you!
The Beefsteak Tomatoes
Better Boy
First up in the beefsteak category is Better Boy. These tomatoes haven’t finished growing yet, and although they’re rather small for a beefsteak, they’ve produced quite a few fruits. I expect to get a good harvest before the bugs really start attacking them.
Brandy Boy
Brandy Boy is another beefsteak variety that did reasonably well. These tomatoes are more impressive in size, and the plant is packed with fruit from top to bottom. There’s nothing super remarkable about the appearance, but these are classic, large beefsteak tomatoes that should make for some fantastic slices.
The Best Slicer
Kewalo
The best slicer by far was Kewalo, a Hawaiian variety recommended to me by many of you. This tomato has a nice, substantial size and is prolific, with tomatoes growing all the way up the plant. It handles both the heat and humidity here in Florida exceptionally well, which isn’t surprising given its tropical origins. Taste-wise, Kewalo tomatoes have a lovely, balanced flavor, and they’re substantial enough to slice up for sandwiches.
My Favorite Paste Tomato
San Marzano
San Marzano is my favorite paste tomato. I’ve grown this variety before with limited success, but this year it was covered with fruit! I had to pick them off quickly because they ripen so fast. The only downside is that they seem especially prone to bug damage. Most of the tomatoes have worm holes or other insect damage, which seems peculiar since the bugs didn’t bother other nearby plants.
Heart of Samboro
Another interesting paste tomato is Heart of Samboro. These tomatoes tower over their counterparts and can significantly reduce the number of tomatoes needed for sauce-making. However, the plant isn’t very productive overall. I might give it another shot next year and give it a bit more room to see if that improves productivity.
The Best Cherry Tomatoes
Juliet & Chocolate Sprinkle
This year, I grew two cherry tomato varieties: Juliet and Chocolate Sprinkle. Unfortunately, the seeds I received weren’t true to type. The supposed Juliets didn’t have the typical pointed tip and instead resembled the Chocolate Sprinkle tomatoes, which also turned out to be something entirely different. Despite this mix-up, the plants were highly productive, although the flavor was a bit bland.
Large Red Cherry Tomato
My favorite cherry tomato variety remains the Large Red Cherry Tomato. This variety is highly productive, yielding big, tasty cherry tomatoes. This tomato variety is very heat tolerant. For quantity, nothing beats it.
The Tasty Currant Tomatoes
Honeycomb Hybrid
The Honeycomb Hybrid is supposed to be a currant-style tomato but ended up being more of a small cherry tomato. It has a unique orange color and is incredibly productive with long cascading trusses of tomatoes. However, it lacks the intense flavor that currant tomatoes usually have.
Red Currant Tomato
My favorite currant tomato is the Red Currant Tomato. This tiny tomato is packed with outstanding flavor and makes for an excellent addition to salsas. Its taste is far superior to Everglades, another popular heat tolerant variety here in Florida.
Honorable Mention Tomato Varieties
Blue Beauty
I wasn’t sure if Blue Beauty would handle Florida’s heat, humidity, and disease, but it has proven surprisingly resilient. The tomatoes are stunning and disease-resistant, though not as productive as I hoped.
One Variety I’ll Never Grow Again
Mortgage Lifter
Mortgage Lifter has consistently underperformed in my garden. Despite its massive size and lush green foliage, it only produced one tomato this season. I’ve tried everything to get the flowers to pollinate, but nothing has worked. This tomato variety is very well known for being heat tolerant but that was not my experience. This is the second time I’ve grown Mortgage Lifter with disappointing results, so I’m done with it.
Those were the tomato varieties I loved this season, and I’m excited to experiment further. To see my favorite varieties from last season, check out this post. Happy gardening!
I grew a few of the tomatoes you had in last year, with Moneymaker being the best small slicer. One variety that’s a hybrid and very prolific that I grow every year (I’m in East Florida on the Space Coast, just barely 10a) is Ace 55. It hasn’t failed me yet. The taste is good, the shape and color are nice for slicing and the production is excellent.
I’m definitely adding that variety on my list to try!