Our Favorite Tomato Varieties: Hybrids

With over 7,000 varieties, picking the right tomato to grow can seem overwhelming. If you want your tomato to have it all — flavor, disease resistance, texture and more – try modern, hybrid tomatoes.

The term hybrid means tomatoes are bred from two different varieties to get the best traits from each parent. Kind of like you!

Hybrid tomatoes are bred for traits such as long shelf life, disease resistance, high yield and even for their looks. After WWI, hybridization made tomatoes easier to grow, sell and transport to restaurants and grocery stores across the county.

These hybrid varieties can be just as tasty as heirlooms. Especially when fed organically with plenty of Tomato-tone during the growing season. 

The Best Hybrid Tomatoes to Grow

Better Boy Tomato

Better Boy – A Guinness Book of World Records champion, yielding nearly 350 pounds of tomatoes from a single plant over one season, Better Boy really is better! This disease-resistant, flavorful and easy-to-grow tomato is a classic with the perfect balance of acid and sugar.

• Disease Resistance: F, V, N, T
• Growth Type: Indeterminate
• Time to Maturity: 70-75 Days
• Taste and Texture: Beefsteak
• Light: Full Sun
• Plant Size: 5-8’
• Spacing: 36”
• Staking: Yes – cage or stake

Early girl tomato. Photo courtesy of Mika Matsuzaki

Early girl – If you want tomatoes ASAP, this is the plant for you. This disease-resistant and flavorful plant is a favorite of many gardeners. Its little sister, Bush Early Girl, is perfect for growing in containers.

• Disease Resistance: F, V
• Growth Type: Indeterminate
• Time to Maturity: 50 days
• Taste and Texture: Meaty with a great aroma
• Light: Full sun
• Plant Size: 6-8’
• Spacing: 36”
• Staking: Yes – cage or stake

Juliet Tomato

Juliet – Referred to as a mini roma because of its shape, Juliets are sweet, crack-resistant tomatoes. Long vines continue setting fruit all summer long and can withstand hot temps.

Keep in mind that if you grow hybrids, you’ll have to buy new seeds each year. Seeds from a hybrid tomato are not as strong as their parents.