The winter season is the best time to investigate new tomato varieties to try in the garden. Each year our Central Kansas District Master Gardeners trial several new tomato varieties and compare them to well known/standard varieties.

During 2023 we had favorable temperatures in early summer to allow all our tomatoes to set fruit but we also endured a brutal heat wave in July and August that tested even the toughest varieties. But despite last year’s weather roller coaster, our results do offer some suggestions for local gardeners looking for a new variety to try.

Determinate tomato results

Determinate tomatoes are plants that typically stop growing at 2.5-4 feet tall and set their fruit all at once.

In our 2023 tomato trials a newer variety called Grand Marshall was rated well, in fact it performed slightly better than Celebrity in its overall rating. Our volunteers would like try it again to see if we can achieve the same results in 2024. This would be a variety worth trying for gardeners interested in a new determinate tomato variety. The varieties Red Snapper and Rambler are also newer varieties that our volunteers think are worth a try in local gardens.

Grand Marshall slightly out-yielded Celebrity which is a reliable variety here in Central Kansas. Our volunteers would like to try Grand Marshall again to continue to compare it to Celebrity.

Due to hot summer weather in recent years, Florida 91 and Heatmaster were two other varieties our volunteers grew. These varieties are heat set tomatoes. Both varieties produced well for us in 2023. Unfortunately a number of the Heatmaster tomatoes got sunscald during our brutal August heatwave where we hit 113 degrees. This variety did not have quite as much foliage to protect the fruit from the scorching sun.

Early Girl Bush tomato is another strongly determinate variety that our volunteers grew in raised bed/containers and it also performed very well in 2023.

Indeterminate tomato results

Indeterminate tomatoes are plants that will just keep growing while setting fruit over time. Plants can become very large.

Big Beef Plus slightly outperformed Jetstar in the overall ratings in our trial. Jet Star has long been a reliable variety in Kansas. Ruby Dawn and Tough Boy Gold were two other indeterminate varieties in our trial that are also good producers.

Big Beef Plus yielded just as well as Jetstar in our 2023 trial. Rubee Dawn and Tough Boy Gold also yielded well and are worth a try for gardeners looking to try something new.

Summary

In summary, based on our 2023 tomato trial results, Grand Marshall, Rambler, Red Snapper, (determinate) and Big Beef Plus, Rubee Dawn, and Tough Boy Gold (indeterminate) were some of the newer varieties that stood out as good options to try for local gardeners.

Other new varieties to consider

In 2023 our volunteers also grew Blushingstar and were impressed with it’s yield and flavor. This is a newer indeterminate variety which is a hybrid pink beefstake tomato that has been rated highly for flavor and yield. The large fruits are 2.5 by 4″ and can be used for fresh eating or canning. This variety also is listed as having some resistance/tolerance to late blight and Septoria leaf spot. In our trial the plant did show signs of Septoria leaf spot, but the plant continued to grow and produce despite the disease pressure.

Cherry Tomatoes

If you are looking for a few newer cherry or snacking tomato varieties to try here are 5 varieties that were rated the highest in the 2023 SeedLinked cherry tomato trial:

• Sun Dipper
• Sparky XSL
• Helix
• Cherry Bomb
• Smarty

More recommended tomato varieties for Kansas

If you are looking for more recommended tomato varieties to try here in Central Kansas, this list is a great starting point.

Variety	Vine Size	Fruit Size	Comments
Garden Tomatoes
Amelia	Determinate	Large	Hybrid
Big Beef	Indeterminate	Large	Hybrid
Carolina Gold	Determinate	Large	Hybrid, yellow
Celebrity	Determinate	Medium	Hybrid, high yield
Chef’s Choice Orange	Indeterminate	Very large	Hybrid, good flavor
Crista	Determinate	Large	Hybrid
Dixie Red	Determinate	Large	Hybrid, good flavor
Florida 91	Determinate	Large	Hybrid, sets in heat
Jet Star	Indeterminate	Large	Hybrid, high yield, crack resistant
Mountain Series	Determinate	Med-Large	Several varieties, hybrid
Primo Red	Determinate	Large	Hybrid, large crop early
Scarlet Red	Determinate	Large	Hybrid
Cherry Tomatoes
Chocolate Cherry	Indeterminate	1 inch	Heirloom, purple/maroon
Juliet	Indeterminate	1.5-2 oz	Hybrid, AAS Winner
SunSugar	Indeterminate	½ to ¾ oz	Hybrid, yellow, very sweet
Supersweet 100	Indeterminate	.5 to 1 oz	Hybrid
Sweet Million	Indeterminate	1 inch	Hybrid
Paste/Roma
Margherita	Determinate	8-12 oz	Hybrid
Martino’s Roma	Determinate	2-4 oz	Heirloom
Plum Dandy	Indeterminate	6 oz	Hybrid
Super Italian Paste	Indeterminate	5-6 oz	Heirloom
Heirloom
Amana Orange	Indeterminate	Large	Orange fruit
Black Krim	Indeterminate	Large	Partly black interior
Cherokee Purple	Indeterminate	Large
Green Zebra	Indeterminate	Medium	Striped fruit
Mortgage Lifter	Indeterminate	Large

Heirloom: A variety that is open-pollinated and more than 40 or 50 years old. Seeds will come true to type.
Hybrid: A variety that was developed by crossing two parents and planting the resulting seed. Saved seeds will not come true.
Indeterminate: A plant that will just keep growing while setting fruit over time. Plants can become very large.
Determinate: A plant that typically stops growing at 2.5-4 feet tall and sets fruit all at once.