With 3,800 recognized tomato varieties worldwide (over 10,000 according to experts), it's not that easy to keep track. It's even more surprising that if you're lucky you'll only find at most 3 or 4 different varieties in most supermarkets. How good that you can grow any unusual and rare variety of your choice in your TOM TOMATO or with TOMATO BUDDY in no time, even on your balcony. To make your search a little easier, we have created an overview for you.

Tomatoes are divided based on their size, shape, hardiness, use and growth type . The transitions between the groups are fluid and the tomato varieties usually fall into several categories:

Hardy tomato varieties

(= Celsior, Cerise, De Berao, Matina, Primabella, wild tomatoes)

• are robust
• cope better with rain and moisture
• are resistant to certain pathogens
• are less susceptible to the typical tomato diseases late blight and brown rot

Stick tomatoes

(= De Berao, Golden Queen, Hellfrucht, Green & Red Zebra, Matina, Moneymaker, Sacher/Chocolate Tomato)

• have a long main shoot & larger distance between side shoots
• usually form medium-sized fruits
• must be supported with a climbing aid
• should be cleaned out regularly

Bush/vine tomatoes

(= Balcony Star, Goldnugget, Hoffmanns Rentita, Primabella, Primagold, Snowberry, Tumbling Tom Red & Yellow, Vilma)

• have a short main shoot and form many side shoots
• grow in width
• are compact
• usually do not require any climbing aid

cocktail tomatoes

(= Dolce Vita, Yellow Pear, Gold Nugget, Helsing Junction Bues, Katinka, Tigerella, Super Sweet, Sweet Pear Currant Tropical)

• are smaller varieties with a fruit weight of 20-60g
• are very aromatic (spicy-sweet)
• produce approximately 6-8 panicles per plant
• comes in small and large varieties

Cherry/cherry tomatoes

(= Black Cherry, Heartbreaker's Vita, Lizzano, Ovalino, Philovita, Primavera, Romello, Sunny Gold, Yellow Spring)

• are very small varieties with a fruit weight of up to 20g
• are cherry-like in size
• are round, oval or elongated
• are available in red, yellow, orange, blue and even purple

Roma/San Marzano tomatoes

(= Old Ivory Egg, Orange Banana, Olivade, Ravello, Striped Roman, Ukrainian Purple)

• are elongated, egg-shaped, bottle-shaped or plum-shaped
• have few seeds and a lot of pulp
• are medium-sized fruits
• have a fruit weight of 50-100g

beefsteak tomatoes

(= Brandywine, Marmande, Nonna Antonina, Ochsenherz/Coeur de Boeuf, Saint Pierre, White Beauty)

• are large, heavy fruits
• can weigh up to 1kg
• have a long ripening period (late ripening)
• comes in pink, red, yellow, green, brown and black

Pepper tomatoes

(= Furry Yellow Fog, Licobello, Yellow Stuffer)

• are not a cross between tomatoes and peppers
• but have a pepper-like fruit shape
• are hollow inside
• taste very aromatic

Green tomatoes

(= Furry Yellow Fog, Green Grape, Giant/ Green Zebra, Limetto)

• are harvested when they are green
• Some of them not only have a green peel, but also green pulp
• are rather small varieties

Wild tomatoes

(= Golden Currant, Red Currant Tomato, Red Marble)

• are only about the size of a marble
• are natural species
• have adapted to their habitat through natural selection
• are naturally robust and resilient