The 2025 Summer of 1000 Tomatoes

About 8 years ago, I started dreaming of the summer I would harvest 1000 tomatoes from my urban container garden. In 2019, I hit the mid 600s. 2020 and 2021 were not noteworthy. 2022 was noteworthy in the worst possible way when, from 10 plants, I got a total of 4 tomatoes. 2023 wasn’t bad, 632 tomatoes total. 2024 gave us 126 but in my defense, that was the year my husband was finishing chemo right around the time I should have been planning the garden and, if not for my mom bringing me some starts from her greenhouse, there would not have been a garden at all.

Now another summer is rapidly approaching and I am doing more gardening than ever before. We are already getting most of our veg from our own backyard

and I anticipate harvesting the first of the tomatoes in a few weeks. Because I’m sure you’re every bit as excited about this as I am, here is everything you ever wanted to know about the 15 kinds of tomatoes I’m growing this year.

My plants came from 3 sources; started from seed in my mom’s greenhouse, Grocery Outlet, and new to my gardening world this year, started from seed in my countertop hydroponic garden that has quickly become one of my favorite things ever.

In the area along the fence that I dubbed Tomato Row back when I thought it could hold all the tomatoes I would ever want to grow, we have

CLASSIC BEEFSTEAK (mom’s greenhouse)

The name pretty much says it all.

WOODSTOCK (my hydroponic)

New this year from Johnny’s Seeds, green exterior when ripe with a psychedelic swirling pink & yellow interior. I am stupid excited about these.

TASMANIAN CHOCOLATE (my hydroponic)

A smallish burgundy slicer particularly well-suited for container gardening.

LARGE BARRED BOAR (mom’s greenhouse)

A slightly flattened slicer, red-brown with green stripes, pretty reliable producer.

PAUL ROBESON (mom’s greenhouse)

Dark reddish-brown with a slightly smoky flavor.

EMMYLOU (mom’s greenhouse)

A bright red, slightly firmer tomato that’s great for things like pico de gallo where you want nice firm chunks of tomato.

PERON (mom’s greenhouse)

A sturdy thicker-skinned cooking & canning tomato

GREEN ZEBRA (this particular plant is from Grocery Outlet because I was starting them in the hydroponic but wasn’t sure they would be successful so when I saw a plant available I grabbed it and then mine sprouted so I gave those away and kept the store-bought one. I visited one of my starts at my mom’s house the other day and it’s insanely large and healthy and I’m so proud of it.)

A smallish slicer, green with yellow stripes when ripe, tastes like a tomato and a lime had a baby and is one of my favorite varieties.

In my determination to grown more than ever this year, I was able to break out of the “trash/recycle bins must be next to the gate because they always have been” mindset that has been taking up valuable garden real estate for too long. Those bins are now in the darkest most shaded area of the yard where they belong. In their place are

SOLAR FLARE (mom’s greenhouse)

Red with gorgeous yellow stripes, slightly sweet, very meaty.

WOOD’S FAMOUS BRIMMER (mom’s greenhouse)

An heirloom slicer that is rumored to make the world’s best BLTs.

KELLOGG’S BREAKFAST (mom’s greenhouse)

Large sweet orange beefsteak that really are perfect for breakfast if you’d rather eat a tomato than have a glass of orange juice which I almost always would rather.

PINK JAZZ (mom’s greenhouse)

A large pink slicer with yellow stripes, rumored to have a sort of peach flavor. I tried growing these once before with no luck, but Garden Peach being another of my all-time favorites, I’m really hoping this rumor proves true.

And on the other side of the yard, sandwiched between the squash and peppers, are the smaller pots for cherry tomatoes, which this year are

SUN SUGAR (Grocery Outlet)

There are two pots of these this year because historically, half of them haven’t made it into the house as I eat them like candy right off the plant while I’m working in the garden. And while I’m actually not even a little bit sorry, I feel like maybe my husband might want more of them. They taste like a Rainier cherry and a tomato had a baby. It’s magical.

INDIGO KUMQUAT (my hydroponic)

Another newcomer to my tomato life that I’m stupid excited about. Yellow-orange cherry tomatoes with purple tops, and a flavor that’s described as “very sweet with a surprising tart kick of acidity”.

CHOCOLATE SPRINKLES (mom’s greenhouse)

Dark reddish-brown with subtle green stripes, as sweet as they are pretty. This plant is currently still in the greenhouse until I see a bit more root development, but its grownup pot is ready and waiting.

So this year’s Tomatopalooza is a mix of old favorites and intriguing newcomers. There are some I haven’t grown in years, some I’ve had from other people’s harvests but never grown myself, and in the case of the Woodstock, one brand new to the entire tomato world.

It feels good to be excited about the garden again. Maybe this will finally be the summer of 1000 tomatoes.

THE COUNT

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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