Tomato 'Big Rainbow'

“Heirloom” is a popular buzzword in the gardening community these days. In particular, heirloom tomatoes have received a lot of attention. This can leave some gardeners asking, “What is an heirloom tomato?” and “What are the best heirloom tomato varieties?” Never fear, a whole world of delicious and unusual tomatoes awaits you once you know the answers to these questions.

What is an Heirloom Tomato?
The strict definition of an heirloom tomato (or heritage tomato in the UK) is a tomato variety that has been open pollinated propagated for more than 50 years, but most people today consider any open pollinated (non-hybrid) tomato as an heirloom tomato.

Heirloom tomatoes can be almost any color imaginable (including white and black), and many varieties have wild shapes, color combinations, and markings. You can get heirloom tomato varieties that are hollow inside, shaped like sausages, as small as your pinky nail, and even multi-lobed so they can be torn apart.

Heirloom tomato varieties come from many different places and new varieties are found every year. Some varieties are handed down from one family generation to the next or grown only in a small geographic region of the world, others were popular varieties many years ago that simply became forgotten, while others are developed by tomato enthusiasts. This means that you can find heirloom tomato varieties that are suited for almost any climate imaginable in the world.

What Are the Best Types of Heirloom Tomatoes?
There is no hard and fast answer to what the best heirloom tomatoes are. This is because an heirloom tomato variety that tastes and grows wonderfully in one area may not do well at all in another area. Heirloom tomatoes typically are bred to do well in very specific areas and climates.

When choosing an heirloom tomato to grow in your garden, it’s best to ask around to see what others in your area enjoy growing. Local Master Gardener programs and your local extension service are great places to find people who will be happy to provide some suggestions. Locally written garden blogs are also a good place to find suggestions.