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Master List of Roma and Paste Tomato Varieties for the Home Garden

Master List of Roma and Paste Tomato Varieties for the Home Garden

Tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, marinara, sauce Bolognese, whatever you called it tomato sauces from homegrown tomatoes is the best!  And you can easily freeze or can it to have in the middle of winter! The best tomatoes for home-canning sauces and tomato paste are the paste tomatoes, often known as Roma tomatoes. They are the best for sauces because the have extra meaty, thick walls, and much less water and fewer seeds.  As you can see from the photo comparing various types of tomatoes (paste, Beefsteak, LemonBoy, Better Boy), they have a distinctive shape.

Whether you live in the suburbs, the city, a farm, stead, a farm, townhouse, condo or apartment... you can grow some paste tomatoes!.

Below is our master tomato sauce list, certainly the most complete on the internet (if I've missed any - tell me)and send photos of your tomatoes!

And this page explains how to easily, inexpensively grow your own tomato plants from seed, for about 50 cents per plant,

So scroll down to find your perfect homegrown tomatoes for this year's garden!

Where to buy the seeds

Click the name of the tomato in the Variety name column - if it is blue, that's a link to an online seller of the seeds. You can get more information, see photos, etc. I look for the best prices at the most reliable sellers and sources I can find, like Amazon, Burpee, etc. I use this list every year myself! And, in many cases, the se online prices are as good or better than local stores.

Plant growth

• Determinates bear a crop all at once and stop.
• Indeterminates keep growing and producing until frost

Days to Harvest

This is a general estimate under best conditions of how many days after your transplant the seedlings into the garden or contain until you harvest the first tomato.

Tomato size

We've broken it down into the general size categories:

• Small - less than 7 ounces, usually a cherry or pear tomato for salads - Size of a marble up to a ping pong ball
• Medium - Usually a slicer or an early tomato 8 to 11 ounces, golf ball to tennis ball size
• Large - 11 to 15 ounces, almost a pound, tennis ball to almost baseball size
• Very large - over 1 lb, could be the size of a softball

Disease Resistance

See the table at the end of the table. If your area gets frequent rains and it is hot and humid, you definitely need the disease resistant varieties.

Related Pages

• How to Grow Tomatoes in Your Yard or Patio - Everything you need to know
• Master list of all tomato varieties
• Master list of disease-resistant tomato varieties
• Starting tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, broccoli, lettuce and other vegetables from seed at 1/10 the price at Home Depot, Lowes, Wal-Mart or the nursery
• Tomato plant diseases - symptoms and what to do

 

Master List of Paste / Roma Tomato Varieties Click here to print a PDF version
Variety name  (click for more info and to purchase seeds)	Type	Color	Heirloom or Hybrid	Days to Harvest	Tomato size <7 oz Small 8 - 11 Oz Medium 12 - 15 large >15 Very large	Plant growth Determinate or Indeterminate.	Disease Resistance - See abbrv key following this table	Description and notes
Amish Paste	Paste	Red	Heirloom	80	Medium	Indeterminate		Excellent paste tomato
Big Mama Hybrid	Paste	Red	Hybrid	80	Large	Indeterminate		Huge paste tomato with disease resistance Burpee Big Mama Hybrid
Cuore di Albenga	Paste	Red	Heirloom	85	Medium	Indeterminate	moderately disease resistant.	Italian heirloom , ribbed pear-shaped fruit,
De Barao	Paste	Paste	Open-Pollinated	60	Small	Indeterminate		(Also called Debarao). 3-4 oz., oval , for  snacking, sauces and salads.
Fresh Salsa Hybrid	Paste	Red	Hybrid	65-75	Medium	Determinate
Heirloom Marriage Marzinera	Paste	Red	Hybrid	75	Small	Indeterminate	F1	Combination of San Marzano and Cream Sausage  2–3 oz oval paste tomatoes
La Roma III	Paste	Red	Hybrid	76	Medium	Determinate	F1, V, N, St/L, A	Classic Roma type paste tomato, 5-8 oz, Excellent for canning, pastes, and sauces.
Little Napoli	Paste	Red		60-65	Medium	Determinate
Marzinera	Paste	Red	Hybrid	70-75	Medium	Indeterminate		Excellent saucing tomatoes. Hybrid of San Marzano and Cream Sausage. 2 - 3 ounce tomatoes ripen early.
Opalka	Paste	Red	Open-Pollinated, Heirloom	82	Large	Indeterminate		Red, 3” by 6” plum tomato.
Pomodoro Squisito	Paste	Red	Hybrid	72	Medium	Indeterminate	HR: F1, ToMV, V, IR: TYLCV	San Marzano hybrid
Pozzano	Paste	Red	Hybrid	72	Small	Indeterminate	HR: F2/V/ToMV	San Marzano for  greenhouse.4-6 oz tomatoes.
Roma	Paste	Red	Heirloom	76	Small	Determinate	Moderate disease resistance	Red, pear-shaped fruits that are nice and meaty, with very few seeds. Well-known paste-type tomato, perfect for sauces, pastes and ketchup.
Roma VF	Paste	Red	Hybrid	76	Small	Determinate	F1, V, N, A, LB	Improved Roma, with better disease resistance. fruits that are nice and meaty, with very few seeds. Well-known paste-type tomato, perfect for sauces, pastes and ketchup.
San Marzano	Paste	Red	Heirloom	65-70	Medium	Indeterminate
San Marzano Gigante	Paste	Red	Open-Pollinated	70	Small	Determinate		Italian tomato aka Gran Merito.  2-4 oz
Striped Roman	Paste	Red	Open-Pollinated	80	Small	Indeterminate		These are long, roma-shaped
Sunrise Sauce	Paste	Pale red	Hybrid	60	Small	Determinate	F1, V	Paste / Roma  3–4 oz. fruit
SuperSauce	Paste	Red	Hybrid	70	Very Large	Indeterminate
Ten Fingers of Naples	Paste	Red	Open-Pollinated, Heirloom	75	Medium	Determinate		Paste-type, elongated, pointed, 5"-6" fruits, up to 3 oz, heirloom from Naples, Italy. .
Viva Italia	Paste	Red	Open-Pollinated	75	Small	Indeterminate	F2, V, N, A, B	3-4 oz  red Roma tomatoes. Great for paste, sauce, salsa, tomato soup, and ketchup; and for canning and freezing.

 

How to save money and grow better tomatoes

Start you own tomatoes from seed!  This year the Bonnie plants at Home Depot, Lowes and Wal-Mart are selling for around $5 PER PLANT. That is INSANE! With my method you can grow your own for around 50- cents per plant!

You can also choose tastier and more disease resistant varieties.  IT is SO easy - when you know these tips and tricks. See this page

 

Tomato disease abbreviations

Disease Resistance Abbreviations
SC	Alternaria Stem Canker
EB	Early Blight (Alternaria solani)
AB	Early Blight (Alternaria solani)
CR	Crack Resistance
F1	Fusarium Wilt Race 1
F2	Fusarium Wilt Races 1 and 2
F3	Fusarium Wilt Races 0, 1, and 2
HR	High Resistance
MR	Medium Resistance
LB	Late Blight (Phytophthora infestans)
LM	Leaf Mold
N	Nematodes
St/L	Stemphylium (Gray Leaf Spot)
TMV	Tobacco Mosaic Virus
ToANV	Tomato Apex Necrotic Virus
ToMV	Tomato Mosaic Virus (Strains 0, 1, and 2)
TSWV	Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
TYLCV	Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus
V	Verticillium Wilt

 

Tomato disease descriptions and what to do

See this page for Tomato diseases, their symptoms and what to do

 

References and more information

1. Tomato Diseases and Disorders in the Home Garden from Penn State Extension
2. Growing Tomatoes in the Home Garden Rutgers Cooperative Extension 
3. Growing Tomatoes Univ. of Maryland Extension 
4. Organic Gardening from the NC Extension Gardener Handbook 
5. Vegetable Gardening: a Beginner’s Guide NCSU AG-12 
6. Growing Tomatoes in Containers by Penn State Extension 
7. Excluding and Repelling Problem Wildlife from the Garden U of Mass, Amherst 
8. Epsom Salts: Miracle, Myth, or Marketing? WSU Extension PDF
9. Soil Temperature Maps and interactive tools by location 
10. Watering the Vegetable Garden from Clemson 
11. Nematode Assay Forms and Information 

Prepping tomatoes

• How to quickly and easily remove tomato skins

Canning tomatoes (in water bath canners )

• How to can tomatoes using a water bath canner - W
• Diced, chopped or crushed tomatoes - W
• Bruschetta - W
• Tomato sauce - W
• Tomato paste - W
• Barbecue sauce (BBQ sauce) - W
• Chili sauce from your own tomatoes and peppers - W
• Diced, chopped or crushed tomatoes - W
• Tomato Preserves- W
• Tomato salsa - W
• Spaghetti sauce - without meat - W, P
• Spiced Green tomatoes- W
• Pickled Green Tomatoes - W - another pickled green tomato recipe, this one sweet
• Ketchup.. or if you prefer... How to make catsup - W, P
• NEW! SUPER-EASY homemade ketchup recipe - W
• Salsa from your unripe, GREEN tomatoes! - W
• Tomatillo salsa - W
• How to make roasted tomatoes, boiling water bath canner version - W

Canning Tomatoes in Pressure canners

• Canned tomatoes using a Pressure Canner - P
• NEW!Baked  Beans With Tomato or Molasses Sauce - P
• Canning your own chili con carne (with meat) - P
• How to make roasted tomatoes, pressure canner version - P
• Spaghetti sauce - with meat  - P
• Stewed tomatoes - P
• Tomato soup or tomato-basil soup - P
• Tomato sauce - P
• Tomato juice - P
• Tomato juice, like V8 - P

Freezing Tomatoes

• How to freeze tomatoes from you garden or the farm; for that fresh taste this winter!
• Space-saving prepping and freezing extra tomatoes from your garden to can later

Drying tomatoes

• NEW! How to make Sun-Dried Tomatoes
• Food drying basics and principles
• How to dry your own herbs
• Food Dehydrators - models, specs and pricing information