I Will Grow Eggplants: Tomato Round-Up 2026

Welcome to the tomato round-up for 2026! It was a decent growing season for tomatoes, better overall than last year. We had consistent rain, shorter periods of high temperatures, and no heat waves to speak of. Overnight temps started to dip below below 10 degrees C at the beginning of September. There seemed to be less BER to contend with this year than last, though Kim's Civil War Oxheart was plagued with it.

This year, I agreed to grow three varieties out for seed to donate back to a Canadian online community seed bank. Javelin (which produced abundantly), Kim's Civil War Oxheart (which, despite my high hopes, struggled), and Dwarf Emerald Giant (a late variety that did not appreciate this summer's cooler temps). I was able to save an abundance of seeds from Javelin, enough from Kim's Civil War Oxheart to restock the seed bank's supply, and, well, the jury's out on Dwarf Emerald Giant. There are a few of the Dwarf Emerald Giants (which did not live up to their name, incidentally) sitting in a box in the plant room. Hopefully, they will ripen in the next week or two.

The stars this year were Romeo, Katja, Amber, Dwarf Audrey's Love, and Zena. The write-offs were Dwarf Emerald Giant, Pink Truffle, and Kim's Civil War Oxheart. Pendulina didn't particularly blow me away, either. Plourde is an honorable mention; it is a late-maturity variety, but the tomatoes are attractive and tasty. Plus, it is a rare Quebec heirloom.

Seed-saving has been underway for a month and sauce-making began in earnest this past week. I don't expect to dehydrate as many tomatoes this year as I typically do, but some of the Fisher's Earliest Pastes will be dried to store.

Descriptions and pictures follow below (click to enlarge).

DETERMINATES & DWARF VARIETIES

Dwarf Audrey’s Love (DWARF, 2-4 oz striped bicolour elongated plum, chocolate with green stripes, great flavour, 3' tall, heavy producer, mid-season: 80 DTM)

I planted 5 or 6 of these this year, all in plastic totes/containers, and they produced as abundantly as last year's did. Toward the end of the season, I picked them as soon as they had a hint of colour; they ripen quickly indoors in boxes. In fact, I find they can quickly become overripe, so I process them to freeze as soon as their colour has deepened.

September 5th

September 6th

Fisher’s Earliest Paste (DET, red, egg-shaped, early, hardy, good flavour. 90+ years of selection by the Fisher family of Montana. RARE.)

Don't be fooled by the name, this is not an early variety. It is worth the wait, though. Lots of tomatoes on the plants and almost no BER. As of September 6th, I had picked ~7 that had ripened, but at that point, the vast majority were still green. I love how hardy this variety is, how blemish-free the fruit is, and how nicely they keep. I never feel there's a rush to process Fisher's Earliest Paste, unlike some other varieties.

September 25th - The remaining tomatoes were harvested and brought indoors to finish ripening this past week.

August 5th

Fisher's E. Paste on the right, Zena's Gift on the left

Scotia (DET, red, open-pollinated, medium fruit, prolific, slicer/canner, Nova Scotia heirloom. Early 60-70 DTM.)

Scotia is an early, productive, dependable variety that is great for canning, slicing up in salads, and for making Green Tomato Chow Chow. Everything looked great until late August, when BER started to show up on some of the tomatoes. Quite a number of them ended up with BER - frustrating, considering they looked abundant and perfect up until late August. I might stick to growing Scotia for Green Tomato Chow Chow. That way, the tomatoes will be picked green and blemish-free, long before BER has a chance to develop.

June 20th - a few tomatoes already!

Picked the first few Scotias on August 1st. (The majority are not anywhere near ripe that early.)

August 1st

Plourde (DET, red, round, 8-12 oz, meaty, excellent flavour. ~1m tall, Dense, compact foliage. 85+ DTM. A rare Quebec heirloom. Grown by the family of Aurelius Plourde of St. Alexandre de Kamouraska since 1925.)

These plants are denser, sturdier, and larger than I expected. As of September 6th, the plants had a number of tomatoes growing, all small-to-medium in size and nowhere near ripening. (The exception were two tomatoes that got BER; those turned red early.) This was one of the latest varieties in the garden this year. My hope was to get a few tomatoes that were mature enough by the time the frost hit to ripen well indoors. I have read Plourde has a wonderful taste; 'old-timey' and a bit acidic.

September 25th - the remaining Plourde tomatoes were harvested and brought indoors to finish ripening yesterday. I had written Plourde off as a variety I would grow again because of their late maturity, but have found that they ripen quite well in boxes and are a beautiful, tasty tomato. Prone to some BER, but it did not wreck havoc. I have been able to save seeds from this variety, having gotten several large, perfect tomatoes from the plants. I think I have changed my mind about Plourde! It might just find it's way onto my grow list again next year.

August 12th

September 5th

September 22nd

EM-Champion (DET, red, blunt hearts, meaty, 3-4’ tall, early-midseason, can grow in large pots. Sprawling/wispy habit. Very productive. Origin: Russian.)

Six of these were planted in deep, plastic recycling containers in the driveway and mulched heavily. They have grown well and have produced plenty of tomatoes. A few developed BER, but not many. This is one of the few determinate varieties that produces a good-sized, meaty heart tomato. I'm thinking I will grow this again next summer.

June 20th

July 30th (netting around plants to protect from deer)

July 30th

August 5th - first few to ripen

Dwarf Emerald Giant (DWARF. A green-when-ripe beefsteak, 8-16 oz, sweet/fruity, balanced flavour. Stout central stem. Ripe tomatoes often have a pink blossom end. Height 3-5' tall. A late season variety (85-90dtm). Developed as part of the Dwarf Tomato Project.

Yikes. What was I thinking? I had in my mind that these tomatoes would be like Emerald Evergreen, a variety I grew many years ago and liked. That kind of tomato on a dwarf plant - what could be better?

That fantasy has not panned out. I received 4 seeds from the seed bank to grow out. Three germinated and were later planted in-ground. It is quite a late variety. I decided to take a chance on it because the Falls have been so warm and lengthy in recent years (not the case this year; already the nights have pretty consistently been below 10 degrees C). The tomatoes on these plants were on the small side and seem like very flat beefsteaks. I'm not sure if that is their typical shape or if they are usually more plump. Several developed BER, including some of the nice ones shown in the photos below. As I was with Plourde, I am simply hoping to get at least one or two healthy, large, mature tomatoes from the Dwarf Emerald Giants to ripen in their box.

August 5th

August 12th

Dwarf Roza Vetrov (DWARF, pink, open-pollinated, small/salad fruit, round pointed fruit, early, good in cooler climates/short seasons. origin: Russian, names translates as “Wind Rose”)

Love Dwarf Roza Vetrov! Early, dependable, productive, and the plants are compact. Thin-skinned, so very easy to process if using in sauce. I picked these at first blush and let them ripen indoors in boxes (which they do quickly). For me, it is up there with Principe Borghese in terms of its dependability and productivity.

September 5th

September 1st

Amber (DET, small golden globes, 1-3 oz, early 65 dtm, compact, can grow in pots, high yields, crack resistant. Productive even in cool/wet seasons. Russian.)

Wow! What a pleasant surprise this variety was. Occasionally, a tomato lives up to the glowing descriptions one reads on the seed businesses' websites. Amber is one of them. Very compact plants produced sweet, fruity, flavourful little globes in abundance. They were, indeed, early; the earliest of all the tomatoes in the garden to ripen this year, and most ripened on the plants. A nice snacking tomato. I think it would be perfect to grow in a child's garden.

July 17th

July 28th - the first one to ripen!

July 30th

August 22nd

Favorie de Bretagne (DET, GWR, green & gold striped variety with deep yellow hues when ripe. Sausage-shaped with a pointy tip, fruits range from 1-3” long. Sweet, fruity, mild flavour. High yields. 2-3 feet tall, compact sprawling habit (about 2 feet across). Can be grown in large pots or hanging baskets. Prone to splitting if over-watered. Developed by Tom Wagner. 75-80 DTM.)

It has been a few years since I grew Favorie de Bretagne. I wanted to replenish my supply of seeds and wanted a no-staking-required tomato this summer. I'd forgotten how very productive this variety is. The only drawbacks are that the fruit can split easily with over-watering and the taste is on the mild side. They have an early-mid season maturity.

Is Favorie de Bretagne my favourite tomato for flavour? Nope. But if one wants a productive, dependable, easy-to-grow variety that looks pretty on a plate, is easy to process, and is a good "back-up sauce padder", this is a nice option.

June 20th

June 30th

June 20th - first 2 ripe!

Pendulina (DET, yellow, small/cherry, round with a slight point, suitable for growing in pots or hanging baskets, can have a ‘tumbling’ growth habit.)

Hmm... Well. The things Pendulina has going for it is that it is compact, has a short 'tumbling' habit, requires no staking, and the tomatoes look cute (small, bright yellow, with a sharp little point on the bottoms). The size ranges from very small (think a 'currant' tomato) to large cherry/saladette. It looks to be fairly productive, too. However, it has proven to be much later to mature than expected (maybe it was just in the wrong spot? Too much shade?) and the flavour, while nice, did not knock my socks off. It would be a great variety for a balcony, front step, patio, etc. and would be another fun choice for a child's garden.

June 20th

July 25th

July 31st

September 6th - The healthiest of the 3 plants

September 6th

SEMI-DETERMINATE VARIETIES

Katja (SEMI-DET, pink beefsteak, larger fruit than most early varieties: 3-5” and 8-16 oz. Good flavour, good slicer variety. Plant sprawls a bit, does well in cool summers. 75 DTM. Origin: Siberia.)

This is my second year growing Katja. Last year, I had two plants. This year, I had five. While I'm not typically a fan of plants that sprawl, I like this tomato enough to put up with the plants on which they grow! Medium-to-large pink beefsteaks (some look absolutely picture-perfect) that are delicious in salads or sandwiches. Thin skins, so they are also easy to process (peel) for sauce. Moderately productive, no BER, and on the early side of 'mid-season'. A keeper!

June 20th

July 22nd

August 12th

August 20th - first one ripe!

Two more... (July 24th)

...and two more! (July 27th)

September 1st

September 6th

INDETERMINATE VARIETIES

Romeo (IND, red, very large roma, 400-900g, most round, some slightly elongated. ~70-75 dtm, sauce/paste variety. Meaty with few seeds. High yields. Requires sturdy support. Disease resistant.)

I received a few Romeo seeds in a swap years ago but didn't try it until this summer. If I had known what a great tomato it would be, I never would have waited! Large, blemish-free, meaty tomatoes that have been excellent for making sauce. They hold up well after being picked, so there is no great rush to process them. I was expecting the shape to be like a horn, similar to Opalka, but most of the tomatoes were round. Some were a bit heart-shaped. One single tomato had the pointed/horn shape I thought might be typical of Romeo. Frankly, I don't care what shape it is, it proved to be well worth growing. Good production, no problems with BER. Even the "small" tomatoes on these plants were a decent size. These are on the "Grow Again" list.

August 30th

September 13th

September 22nd

Kim’s Civil War Oxheart (IND, pink, large oxheart, 250-600g, productive, meaty, few seeds, early-mid season maturity (~70-75dtm. An heirloom from Oregon.)

Oh, dear. I had such high hopes for Kim's CWO. I had wanted to grow it for years. Having finally obtained a few seeds, and knowing it was being grown out for a seed bank, I planted six. More than any other variety this summer.

The trouble started early in the season when a deer ate parts of the young plants. We covered the plants with floating row cover for the rest of the summer to protect the plants from further munching. By mid-July, it was obvious that BER was going to be a significant problem. By the end of the season, I think I likely pulled off and composted as many tomatoes (if not more) as I harvested. The tomatoes harvested were small-to-medium-sized variable hearts.

With deer eating the plants, having to keep the plants covered all summer (and, consequently, it being difficult to 'manage' the plants - i.e., pruning, staking, etc.), wispy/droopy foliage, and the presence of so much BER, I'd pretty much decided not to grow Kim's CWO again. It didn't seem worth the trouble. When I began cutting open the tomatoes to collect seeds, I was astonished to see how few seeds there were in most of the tomatoes. It might be the meatiest variety I've ever grown. Then I tasted one. I uttered an expletive, not because it taste bad but because it was so good. Good enough that now I will have to rethink my decision to write this variety off and never grow it again. *sigh*

July 25th

September 11th

Zena’s Gift (IND, pink, large blunt oxheart, slightly ridged at the top, thin skin. 70-75 dtm.)

This was another case of having received a few seeds years ago in a swap, not trying them until this summer, and being blown away by what a great tomato it turned out to be. It almost didn't make it into my garden; I'd grown it as a back-up in case my Kim's Civil War Oxheart transplants failed. In the end, I decided to squeeze in two Zena's Gift plants, putting them in large pots. I am so glad I did.

The tomatoes were LARGE, many the size of a softball. Most were round and blemish-free, with only the slightest ridging/fluting around the top. A few tomatoes, which grew near the bottoms of the plants, had much deeper ridging, but they were still large. In general, the tomatoes contained few seeds and were quite meaty. A mild, fresh, pleasant flavour. Nice for salads and sandwiches, and some of these went into the sauce pot as well. Another variety added to my "Grow Again" list.

July 18th

July 30th

August 12th

September 1st

September 4th - 1 lb 1.3 oz

September 5th

September 8th

September 11th

Javelin (IND, dark green skin with black/mahogany stripes, an elongated plum with pointed end, 50-100g. Mid-season maturity. ~1.5m tall. Looks similar to the variety “Dwarf Audrey’s Love” but longer and pointier. Origin: Ukraine)

Javelin was one of three varieties I agreed to grow out for a seed bank. It was, by far, the variety that performed the best. Lots of long, pointed, striped tomatoes that grew in trusses. I tended to pick them at first blush and let them finish ripening in boxes, though many ripened completely on the plants. Dark/burgundy, fresh, and juicy. The skin was a bit thick and there were few issues with BER. Very productive. There will be plenty of seeds to send to the seed bank, to donate to the local seed library in town, and to share with friends.

August 2nd

August 5th

August 12th

Aug. 12th - Javelin and an Anaheim pepper

September 7th

Minuit à Montréal (IND, a dark/”black” variety about the size of a tennis ball. Round. Looks similar to the variety, “Black Prince”. A cross between Black Krim x Teton de Venus. ~75 dtm. Origin: Quebec.)

I confess that I chose to grow Minuit à Montréal based purely on it's name. I was enchanted by the description found on Terre Promise (available in English and French) and liked the 'parents' of this variety. It was grown in large pots/containers along the north fence rather than in-ground. The plants produced reasonably well and the tomatoes remind me of Black Prince, a variety I grew many years ago. The tomatoes are attractive and ripen reasonably early. The plants were productive, too, and I don't recall any BER. For a dark tomato, the flavour didn't knock my socks off. A neat variety that I am glad I tried, though, and one I will recommend to folks interested in growing tomatoes that were developed in Canada.

August 8th - first one to ripen

September 4th

September 5th

September 7th

Garnet (IND, a cherry tomato, bronze w/gold highlights. Tomatoes average 1 inch, grow on long trusses. Sweet/rich flavour, very productive. 60-84” tall. Tomatoes ripen uniformly and are crack resistant. ~75 dtm.)

Wow! What a producer! The two Garnet plants were grown in large containers next to the north fence. They grew taller than the fence and several branches grew *through* the fence (too bad the neighbours weren't there all summer, they could have snacked to their hearts' content). I have frozen a bunch, left a bunch out for snacking, there is a bunch in a box, ripening, and there is still plenty left on the plants (that's even with the passing deer eating them, occasionally).

Garnet cherry is a beautiful mahogany/bronze colour and packs a lot of flavour in a little tomato. They have a "bite" and are smokey, rich, and acidic rather than sweet or fruity. These would be amazing in a Greek salad.

August 8th - first ones to ripen

August 30th

August 30th - a few more ripening

September 5th - two Garnet plants

September 5th

September 22nd

Japanese Black Trifele (IND, black/mahogany, pear-shaped, medium-sized fruit, rich flavour, ~80dtm. Despite the name, it’s origin is either Estonian or Russian, depending on the source you read.)

This was my third year growing Japanese Black Trifele. It produced abundant crops of uniform, early, delicious tomatoes last year and the year before. This year, the tomatoes, and amounts produced, were small. They were planted in a spot that was much shadier than expected, so they did not perform well. The tomatoes that did grow had the characteristic pear shape and were almost entirely blemish-free. They were simply a third of the size of the tomatoes I harvested in 2024 and 2025.

Pink Truffle (IND, pink, pear shaped, ~100-110g, mid-season maturity, Russian commercial heirloom)

This was my first year growing Pink Truffle, and sadly, they were a disappointment. I was hoping for, and expecting, a pink version of Japanese Black Trifele. Almost none of the tomatoes on these plants were true-to-type in terms of shape, and few were even the right colour (pink). I obtained these seeds a number of years ago in a seed swap and think they might have crossed with another variety. The amount produced was low to average. I would like to try growing Pink Truffle again, but only if I can obtain seeds from a reputable source so I can be assured that the tomatoes will grow true-to-type.

I Will Grow Eggplants

Saturday, September 26, 2026

Tomato Round-Up 2026

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