Growing Coastal Tomatoes

This brochure identifies a number of tomato cultivars well suited to our coastal environment. Short season varieties will mature between 50—60 days; mid-season varieties 75 days and 85 days for later varieties from transplants. Direct seeded plantings take about 25 days longer to mature. ’¹

Listed below are cultivars, number of days to maturity and growth habit of the plant. (Determinate, Indeterminate, Semi-Determinate). We recommend OSU Publication EC 1333 for detailed information on maturity times, growth habits, propagation and more.

¹: Oregon State University Extension Service, Publication EC1333, Revised September, 2014.

Growth Habits

Growing tomatoes on the Oregon Coast is tough to do; summers are cool and damp and an early frost can leave gardeners with many tomatoes still green on the vine and not ready to harvest. Growing tomatoes in a raised bed, cloche, or green house gives coastal gardeners a fighting chance to harvest ripened tomatoes before the fall weather closes in.

Determinate varieties of tomatoes, also called bush tomatoes, are varieties that are bred to grow to a compact height of approximately 4 feet.

They stop growing when fruit sets on the terminal or top bud, ripen all their crop at or near the same time usually over a 2 week period, and then die.

They may require a limited amount of caging and staking for support, should NOT be pruned or suckered as it severely reduces the crop, and will perform relatively well in a container; minimum size of 5-6 gallon. Examples are: Rutgers, Roma, and Celebrity which are called a semi-determinate.

Indeterminate varieties of tomatoes are also called vining tomatoes. They will grow and produce fruit until killed by frost and can reach heights of up to 10 feet, although 6 feet is considered the norm. They will bloom, set new fruit and then ripen fruit all at the same time throughout the growing season.

Indeterminate tomatoes require substantial caging or staking for support. Pruning and the removal of suckers are practiced by many. The need for it and advisability of doing it varies from region to region. You’ll need to experiment and see which works best for you. Because of the need for substantial support and the size of the plants, indeterminate varieties are not usually recommended as container plants.

Indeterminate

Determinate

Stupice 52 days
Black Cherry 64 days
Sungold 65 days
Eva Purple Ball 70 days
Black Prince 70 days
Plum Lemon 72 Days
Paul Robeson 74 days
Green Zebra 75 days
Yellow Pear 75 days
Sebastopol 75 days
Riesentraube 80 days
Principe Borghese 80 days
Hezhou 80 days
Brandywine 80 days
Speckled Roman 85 days

Siletz 52 days
Legend 68 days
Silvery Fir Tree 58 days
Oregon Spring 60 days
Alaska 63 days
Thai Pink Egg 75 days

Cultivars

Sungold Cherry: 65 days, Hybrid, Indeterminate, Early-season. Produces abundant clusters of deep orange cherry tomatoes that explode with tangy sweetness.

Riesentraube Cherry: 80 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, Mid-season. Reisentraube is a generous producer, with big clusters of 20-40 1”, pointy-ended, tasty red fruit.

Sebastopol Cherry: 75 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, Mid-season. A cherry with lots of potential for our coastal climate. A large cherry tomato, it produces 3/4” deep red. It is well-suited for cooler, coastal regions.

Yellow Pear Cherry: 75 days, Indeterminate, Mid-season. It produces an abundance of small 1-2” pear-shaped fruits that are a deep yellow color. Mild tasting and low in acid.

Principe Borghese Cherry: 80 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, Mid-season. Principe Borghese produces generous clusters of small 1-2” plum-shaped red fruits.

Thai Pink Egg Cherry: 75 days, Determinate, Mid-season. Abundant production of dark pink egg-shaped fruits. The 1-2” fruits burst with candy sweet flavor, and they resist cracking, even in heavy rain seasons.

Plum Lemon Cherry: 72 Days, Heirloom, and Indeterminate, Mid-season. Lemon produces 3” long tomatoes with a pointy end that resemble lemons. Sweet and mild yet full of flavor.

Stupice: 52 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, Extra-early season. It is a cold-tolerant tomato that bears an abundant crop of small 2-3” fruits over a long season. Grows very well on the Central Coast.

Oregon Spring: 60 days, Sort of Determinate, Early season. The classic tomato for Oregon! Has a strong tolerance of cool summers. Small 2-3” fruits are produced on bushy plants that can still grow pretty big.

Legend: 68 days, Determinate, Early-season. Producing a nice compact, bushy, determinate plant that fruits early in the season, the 3-4 inch round fruit is red and flavorful. Bred to be resistant to late blight fungus.

Alaska: 63 days, Heirloom, Semi-determinate, Early-season. Medium-sized, bushy plants produce a good yield of round, bright red ‘salad’ tomatoes- larger than a cherry-type, smaller than a beefsteak. Tolerates wind, great for the Coast.

Siletz: 52 days, Determinate, Extra early-season. This tomato produces an abundance of 8 oz. red fruits loaded with old-time flavor.

Silvery Fir Tree: 58 days, Determinate, Early season. It grows into a compact, determinate plant- 24” tall at most. Recommended for containers and hanging baskets. Heavy cropping, 3” roundish, red and tasty.

Paul Robeson: 74 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, Mid-season. It’s slightly flattened round fruits grow up to 4 inches. A deep burgundy red with dark-green shoulders – when ripe, the flesh is dark red and delicious.

Black Cherry: 64 days, Indeterminate, Early-season. This tall, vigorous plant produces abundant crops of 1” deep mahogany brown fruits.

Green Zebra: 75 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, Mid-season. The 2” round fruits ripen to a yellow-green gold with dark green stripes. The flesh is lime green, the flavor is tangy and delicious.

Eva Purple Ball: 70 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, Mid-season. Produces round, 2-3” fruit that are a gorgeous dark pink color.

Brandywine: 80 days, Indeterminate, Mid-season. This large, potato-leaf tomato plant produces beautiful reddish pink fruits that average 12 ounces, but have been known to grow up to 2 pounds.

Black Prince: 70 days, Heirloom, Indeterminate, Mid-season. This popular deep mahogany-red 2” round tomato bursts with flavor and juice. Well-behaved vine, it is a good producer here on the coast.

Speckled Roma: 85 days Indeterminate, Mid-season. Produces an abundance of 3-5″ oblong fruits that are nice and meaty, full of flavor but not a lot of seeds. Crazy yellow striping pattern that develops on the red skin as they ripen.