My Top 6 Tomato Varieties of 2025

Hey all! Real Farmer Jeff here.

If you’ve been around a while, you know that tomatoes are my favorite crop to grow. In fact, each year I go a little overboard and grow about 30 tomato plants. This is so that I can grow not only my favorite varieties, but also experiment with some new ones that catch my eye.

This year’s garden didn’t disappoint! From juicy slicers for sandwiches to vibrant cherry tomatoes that grew prolifically all season long, each plant brought something special to the mix.

Below are the tomato varieties that stood out most to me from my 2025 growing season, whether for their flavor, productivity, or just pure garden joy. Let’s dive into them!

Also – note that these are not in any particular order.

1. Night Saransk

(Determinate)

Over the years, I’ve been consistently impressed by Eastern European tomato varieties. This season, the Night Saransk especially stood out for its incredible productivity and beauty. The plants were productive, with strong vines that easily supported all the fruit. Though I will say, the seeds can be a bit tricky to find. Here’s a link to where I bought mine.

Why Eastern European tomatoes tend to be so good:

• They were bred in regions with short and unpredictable summers, so they ripen quickly while still developing full flavor.
• Tomatoes were often grown as a family food crop, not for large-scale production. Each household saved seeds from the best fruits to plant the following year. Over time, this created varieties that were flavorful, tough, and well adapted to their local conditions.

2. Old German

(Indeterminate)

Old German, sometimes called Striped German, is one of my top tomato varieties year after year. This year, the plant was unbelievably productive. One single vine produced at least 25 tomatoes! I honestly lost track. Here’s a link to where I bought my Old German seeds.

True to its reputation, Old German delivered those big, beautifully marbled fruits with rich, sweet, almost fruity flavor. It’s one of those heirloom varieties that feels like a reward for the season’s work. Stunning to look at, generous in yield, and absolutely delicious sliced fresh.

Old Germans are seriously incredibly prolific for such a large heirloom. On one plant, I harvested over 25 sizable tomatoes within just two weeks! And each individual fruits easily exceeded 1 pound.

Their firm texture and vibrant flavor make them excellent for slicing, adding to sandwiches, or showcasing in salads.

3. Apricot Zebra

(Indeterminate)

Apricot Zebra tomatoes are as beautiful as they are flavorful, with vibrant orange skin streaked with subtle golden stripes. They have a bright, balanced flavor (sweet with just a hint of tang) and their firm texture makes them perfect for fresh salads or snacking straight off the vine. It surprised me by being the tomato I enjoyed snacking on the most this year. 

Here’s a link to some Apricot Zebra seeds.

Apricot Zebra tomatoes are fleshy and juicy without being watery, offering an intensely sweet and rich flavor that’s almost like a cross between a peach and a tomato. Their vibrant color and delightful taste make them perfect for salads, fresh eating, or snacking straight from the vine.

4. Hamson “DX 52-12”

(Indeterminate)

Being from Utah, I had to try out the Hamson variety, also known as DX 52-12. It’s an Utah classic that truly lives up to its reputation – it was developed at Utah State University for hot and dry growing conditions. Here’s a link to some Hamson seeds.

Hamson tomatoes are known for their bright, tangy, and perfectly balanced old-fashioned tomato flavor. They produce remarkably early for such a large fruit and continue setting tomatoes throughout the season.

Similar to Old German, Hamson tomatoes can grow impressively large, often exceeding a pound each. Their firm, meaty texture makes them excellent for slicing fresh or for canning.

A note for seed availability:
If you can’t find Hamson seeds because they are surprisingly hard to track down, Granny Cantrell’s German Red is a very similar variety with comparable size, flavor, and productivity.

5. Homestead

(Semi-Determinate)

Homestead is one of the most versatile and reliable tomato varieties I’ve ever grown. It thrives in all kinds of conditions – whether in raised beds, containers, or directly in the ground – and consistently produces beautiful, uniform fruit. Here’s a link to some Homestead tomato seeds.

Homestead tomatoes have that classic, balanced flavor that works well for just about anything: slicing for sandwiches, cooking into sauces, or enjoying fresh with a sprinkle of salt. It’s a dependable variety that earns its place in my garden year after year.

Homestead tomatoes are a semi-determinate variety, which, like I mentioned, makes them an excellent choice for grow bags, raised beds, or smaller containers. It’s refreshing to grow a tomato that doesn’t require an enormous trellis yet still produces abundantly.

They have that classic tomato flavor and firm texture that works beautifully in just about any dish – from slicing for sandwiches to canning or cooking into sauces. Homestead plants yield a generous first flush of fruit followed by steady, smaller harvests throughout the season.

If I could only grow one tomato variety, this might be it – it’s that reliable and versatile.

6. Super Sweet 100

(Indeterminate)

Every year, Super Sweet 100 continues to be one of the most productive and dependable cherry tomatoes in my garden. I was recommended Sweet Million and many other varieties, but their production hasn’t compared to Super Sweet 100 for me. Here’s a link to some Super Sweet 100 tomato seeds.

Super Sweet 100 is a prolific cherry tomato variety known for its heavy clusters of fruit that continue producing from early summer all the way through fall. When allowed to fully ripen on the vine, the tomatoes develop an exceptionally sweet flavor with a perfect balance of sugar and acidity.

The plants themselves are vigorous and resilient, showing strong resistance to common tomato diseases and excellent tolerance to heat. These bite-sized tomatoes are ideal for snacking, tossing into salads, or garnishing dishes straight from the garden.

I’m already excited to branch out even more next year. I would love to hear which tomato varieties have stood out in your gardens! Do you think the perfect tomato variety exists, and if so what variety is it? Let me know in the comments below!