Best Tomatoes for Cold Climates:
Which Varieties to Grow in Short Seasons
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Updated 12.21.23
It used to be that growing tomatoes for cold climates meant spending time in the greenhouse.
Not so anymore, thanks to creative breeders and a few special gardening techniques that are helpful anywhere summers are a bit cool.
The best tomatoes for cold climates are short- to mid-season tomatoes. That’s to say, they set fruit in cooler temperatures – and in many cases, their fruits reach maturity in the shortest number of days possible.
Check out these tomatoes that have a reputation for growing well in colder climates.
(Resistance code definitions listed below)
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Hybrid Tomatoes for Cold Climates
Hybrid, determinate, 70 days, red, globe (8-12 ounces), resistance: VFFNTA
Golden Nugget Tomato
Hybrid, determinate, 60 days, yellow, cherry (1 inch), resistance:V
Developed by the Oregon State University. Among the first cherry tomatoes of the season to produce.
Husky Gold Tomato
Hybrid, indeterminate, 70 days, golden, globe (7 ounces), resistance: VFA
1993 All-America Selections Award Winner
Orange Pixie Tomato
Hybrid, determinate, 52 days, yellow-orange, large cherry (1 ¾ inches)
Sets well in cool temperatures
Oregon Spring Tomato
Hybrid, determinate, 58-60 days, red, globe (5 ounces)
Developed by Oregon State University for short-season gardens
Siletz Tomato
Hybrid, determinate, 52 days, red, globe (10-12 ounces)
Developed by Dr. James Baggett at Oregon State University for short-season gardens
Heirloom Tomatoes for Cold Climates
Bush Beefsteak Tomato
Heirloom, determinate, 62 days, deep red, beefsteak (8 ounces)
Galina’s (Galina) Tomato
Heirloom, indeterminate, 75 days, yellow-orange, cherry (1 inch)
Originally from Siberia
Glacier Tomato
Heirloom, determinate, 55 days, red, small globe (2-3 ounces)
Sets fruit well in cold weather. American.
Gregori’s Altai Tomato
Heirloom, indeterminate, 67 days, pink-red, beefsteak (8-12 ounces)
Seeds originated in the Altai mountain region near Siberia’s Chinese border
Grushovka Tomato
Heirloom, determinate, 65 days, pink, egg-shaped (3 inches long)
Originated in Siberia. Excellent variety for canning.
Kimberly Tomato
OP (open-pollinated), indeterminate, 54-58 days, red, cherry (golf ball-sized, 1-2 ounces)
Developed in the 1980s by John de Rocque of Kimberly, BC, Canada. Fruit sets well in both cool and warmer growing regions. Good container tomato.
Legend Tomato
OP (open-pollinated), determinate, 68 days, red, beefsteak (14-16 ounces), resistance: late blight
Developed by Oregon State University. Sets fruit well in both cool and warm temperatures. Strong resistance to late blight.
Manitoba Tomato
OP (open-pollinated), determinate, 58 days, red, globe (6 ounces), resistance: VF
Developed by Morden Experimental Farm in Manitoba for southern Canadian and northern US gardeners.
New Yorker Tomato
OP (open-pollinated), determinate, 66 days, scarlet, beefsteak (6 ounces), resistance: VA
Sets fruit well in cool temperatures
Polar Baby Tomato
OP (open-pollinated), determinate, 60 days, red, globe (2-4 ounces)
Developed in Alaska for cold weather gardens
Polar Beauty Tomato
OP (open-pollinated), determinate, 63 days, red, globe (2-4 ounces)
Developed in Alaska for cold weather gardens
Polar Star Tomato
OP (open-pollinated), determinate, 65 days, red, globe (3-4 ounces)
Blossom ends exhibit a star pattern. Developed in Alaska for cold weather gardens
Sasha’s Altai Tomato
Heirloom, 60 days, bright red, globe (4-6 ounces)
From Siberia. Selected by Organic Garden Magazine as one of the 10 best early-producing tomatoes in the world
Siberia Tomato
Heirloom, determinate, 50 days, bright red, small-fruited (up to 5 ounces)
Excellent cool weather variety that can set fruit at low temperatures. Tomato lore has it that Siberia was smuggled out of Russia in 1975.
Silvery Fir Tree Tomato
Heirloom, determinate, 55-60 days, orange/red, small-fruited (up to 3” across)
Fern-like foliage gives this heirloom from Russia the ability to be grown even as an ornamental
Stupice Tomato
Heirloom, indeterminate, 55 days, red, small slicing tomatoes (2-3 inches)
Extremely early, cold-tolerant variety from Czechoslovakia
Sugar Baby
Heirloom, determinate, 54 days, orange, large cherry (1-2 ounces)
Taste more like melon than tomato
Disease Resistance Codes
V Verticillium Wilt
F Fusarium Wilt
FF Fusarium, races 1 and 2
FFF Fusarium, races 1, 2, and 3
N Nematodes
A Alternaria
T Tobacco Mosaic Virus
St Stemphylium (Gray Leaf Spot)
TSWV Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
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