What are the best types of tomatoes for the Pacific Northwest climate?
In Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades (Steve Solomon, 2000, pp.241,242), the author notes that any tomato advertised in a seed catalog as needing more than 72 days for maturity will not likely reach a ripe old (tasty) age in our region. Solomon suggests purchasing seed only from regional companies like Territorial Seed Co. or West Coast Seeds. The varieties he recommends are
1. some that ripen early in the Willamette Valley (bred by Jim Baggett) = Oregon 11, Oregon Spring, Santiam, and Gold Nugget
2. slicers = Fantastic Hybrid, Pic Red, Early Cascade, and Kootenai
3. cherry = most are prolific here, but Solomon prefer’s Jim Baggett’s Gold Nugget
Here is a link to an article by Chris Smith in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (01-19-2006) that introduces some new tomatoes and other vegetables for 2006.
Seattle Tilth has an article by Kirsten DeLara (2011) called “Grow Great Tomatoes in Seattle” which includes a list of the author’s favorite varieties for our area. Also check Seattle Tilth’s annual list of tomatoes available at their sales, and their reports on tomato tasting results.
Mother Earth News published an article on the best Pacific Northwest varieties in February/March 2010.