vegetable varieties for 2025

plant key

This year, in the vegetable world, we’re focusing on tomatoes & peppers. Look for some some fun new & returning varieties.

• Open-pollinated, unless otherwise noted with “F-1 hybrid.”
• Days to maturity are from transplant. (This means start counting when you put the plant in the ground. Take these numbers with a grain of salt; there are a lot of variables to take into consideration.)
• Varieties may fluctuate year to year

Size pot available:
3.5” = 3.5” square biodegradable pot (18 / tray) - $4.75 each

Peppers - Hot

Capsicum annuum, unless otherwise noted

Aleppo
80 - 90 days. 3.5”
From True Love Seeds: “Fruity and bright red pepper with medium heat. Used as an essential dried spice in many Turkish, Levantine, and Mediterranean cuisines. Its robust flavor has been described as reminiscent of sundried tomatoes and with a hint of cumin.” Originating in Aleppo, Syria, and listed on the Slow Food Ark of Taste. Last year is the first year we grew this one, and found its abundant fruits plenty hot, and used them as the base for a fermented hot sauce.

Anaheim
78 days. 3.5”
Also known as California Chile and Chile Verde. This is the variety for chile rellenos. 7” long, tapered fruits that turn from dark green to red. 900 - 2500 Scovilles.

Ancho/Poblano, ‘Baron’
F-1 hybrid. 65 days green/85 days red. 3.5”
Relatively mild, this pepper is known as “poblano” when green and then “ancho” when dried. Perfect for roasting, chile powder and the classic mole pepper. Large, glossy dark green 3-lobed and horn-shaped fruits. 2000 Scovilles.

Cayenne, ‘Red Rocket’
75 days. 3.5”
An early maturing cayenne with thin walls well-suited to drying and making ristras. Even dry, the flesh is tender, perfect for cooking. Medium heat.

Habanero (Capsicum chinense)
90 days. 3.5”
A Scotch Bonnet type of pepper with extreme heat. Little lantern-looking fruits that turn from dark green to bright orange... let that be your warning sign! 200,000 - 325,000 Scovilles.

Hot Portugal
Description coming soon

Hungarian Hot Wax
68 days. 3.5”
Beautiful, smooth long tapered fruits that you can pick at three stages - yellow, orange and red - for a colorful assortment. Perfect for pickling. Originated in 1941 in Hungary. 5000 - 10,000 Scovilles.

Jalapeno, ‘Early Jalapeno’
75 days. 3.5”
Classic jalapeno heat and shape - blunt fruits 3” x 1” that develop a brown “netting” as fruit ripens from green to red. From Jalapa in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. 4000 - 6500 Scovilles.

Lemon Drop (Aji Limon) (Capsicum baccatum)
100 days. 3.5”
Bringing this one back by request. This Peruvian seasoning pepper produces clusters of lots of bright yellow elongated fruit 2-3” in length. With thin walls, the fruit have a citrusy heat. 15,000 - 30,000 Scovilles.

Padron
60 days. 3.5”
A Spanish frying pepper, typically harvested when small & green, before it gets very hot. Traditionally sauteed in olive oil with a little sea salt, and then eaten whole as a tapas dish. Every once in awhile you’ll hit a really hot one though, supposedly 1 in 20, but I think it’s definitely more than that some years! When I was studying farming in central California, people were obsessed with these. Some booths at the farmers market would have nothing but padrons.

Serrano
On the backburner due to low sales. Let me know if you’d like to see it back!
73 days. 3.5”
With a fruity flavor and a bit more heat than a jalapeno. Very prolific, with bright red fruits 3” x 1/2”; perfect for making salsa or hot sauce. 6000 - 17,000 Scovilles.

Shishito
60 days green/80 days red. 3.5”
A thin-walled Japanese frying pepper. The fruit are wrinkled and 3 - 3.5” long. Traditionally used green, they are very mild with a compelling pungent flavor that is brought out when roasted, grilled or sauteed.

Peppers - Sweet

Capsicum annuum, unless otherwise noted
Note: all peppers start out as green. If you want a green pepper, just pick it before it colors.

Aji Dulce (Capsicum chinense)
90 - 100 days. 3.5”
I first encountered this Caribbean seasoning pepper in Philadelphia, where I learned how indispensable it was to the Puerto Rican community for making sofrito. I think it makes a great garnish or addition to relish trays, with its bright habanero scent, but none of the heat.

Carmen
F-1 hybrid. 60 days green/80 days red. 3.5”
This is the red pepper I grow for myself. A perfectly sweet Italian frying pepper, its tapered ‘Corno di Toro’ or ‘bull’s horn’ shape makes it easy to work with. Great fresh or roasted. Fruit are a uniform 6” long and 2.5” wide.

Gilboa
F-1 hybrid. 66 days. 3.5”
An early-ripening blocky and thick-walled orange bell pepper.

Golden Star
F-1 hybrid. 72 days. 3.5”
A Cal-Wonder-type blocky bell pepper that can handle cooler summers. 4-lobed, 4” fruits have thick walls and ripen to yellow.

King of the North
70 days. 3.5”
A sweet red bell that’s especially good for shorter and cooler summers. With a blocky & uniform shape, it’s suited to eating fresh or using for stuffing.

Purple Beauty
74 days. 3.5”
On the backburner due to low sales. Let me know if you’d like to see it back!
Blocky 3” x 3” fruits turn to a true purple before heading to red. While purple, green inside and with the flavor of a green pepper. Use for crudites, as it also turns green when cooked.

Red Knight
F-1 hybrid. 57 days green/77 days red. 3.5”
An improved “King Arthur” type red bell pepper. With big, blocky and early fruits, this disease resistant, compact plant is ideal for home gardeners.

Red Lunchbox
75 days. 3.5”
The cutest thing in your garden. “Snack-sized” bells, small and sweet, and perfect for - you guessed it - the lunchbox. Kid-approved!

Round of Hungary
55 days green/ 75 days red. 3.5”
A beautiful deep maroon red sweet pepper with a distinctive shape. The fruits are ribbed and flattened and reach 2.5” x 3.5”. With thick walls and a sweet delicious flavor, you’ll be tempted to eat these raw out of hand, but they’re also great in salads and for stuffing.

Sweet Banana, ‘Goddess’
F-1 hybrid. 63 days yellow/83 days red. 3.5”
Great for pickling, this sweet banana pepper measures 8-9” long. Its pretty fruits are smooth and thick-walled with a mild flavor.

Physalis

Just a fancy word for the tomato relatives that grow a papery husk.

Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry
72 days. 3.5”
Also called “husk cherries,” this variety has great, nutty flavor. Listed on the Slow Food Ark of Taste. Wait until the berries turn from green to golden yellow.

Toma Verde Tomatillo
60 days. 3.5”
What you want for a real salsa verde. Harvest the green fruits when golf-ball sized and the papery husks start to split.

Tomatoes

Indeterminate - Climbing, vining types. Should be staked, trellised or caged. The fruit ripens gradually over an extended period of time and the plants keep growing until killed by frost. You might consider pruning.

Determinate - Bush types. Some may be grown without support. The fruit comes on all at once and then the plant is done. No pruning necessary.

For more on how to plant your tomatoes, here's a quick how-to I wrote.

Cherry Tomatoes

Black Cherry
Indeterminate. 75 days. 3.5”
Yum. A purple/black tomato in miniature. Complex, plummy flavor. Let ripen until dark with a rose-pink undertone.

Brad’s Atomic Grape
Description coming soon

Chadwick Cherry
Indeterminate. 80 days. 3.5”
aka “Camp Joy.” I’ve chosen this as “my” red cherry because it was developed by the great Alan Chadwick who started the farm & garden program at UC Santa Cruz where I studied for a season. But it’s also an all-around great cherry tomato with large round fruits, high yields and good disease resistance.

Cherry Roma
Description coming soon

Chocolate Cherry
Indeterminate. 70 days. 3.5”
I searched this one out by request. Some vegetables just get good names! These “chocolate-y” wine-colored cherries are 1 inch in size, on super productive plants.

Currant Sweet Pea
Description coming soon

Gardener’s Sweetheart
Description coming soon

Honeydrop
Indeterminate. 62 days. 3.5”
Created in the never-ending search for an open-pollinated Sungold or Sunsugar that matches up. This lovely blushing honey-colored cherry has a light and sweet flavor and is less prone to cracking than Sungold.

Juliet
Description coming soon

Sungold
F-1 hybrid. 57 days. 3.5”
It’s not summer without Sungolds. I’m a sucker for these super sweet, bright orange, perfectly round cherries. They’re early - often the first in my garden to ripen, signaling the start of tomato season!

Super Sweet 100
F-1 hybrid. 78 days. 3.5”
If you want an easy, popular and productive red cherry tomato, this one’s a no-brainer. Fruits are 1” and round, plants have some disease resistance.

Tropical Sunset
Description coming soon

Yellow Pear
Indeterminate. 70 days. 3.5”
A popular favorite. A bit of a tart, tangy flavor and its distinctive shape set this one apart.

Red Tomatoes

Big Beef
F-1 hybrid. Indeterminate. 70 days. 3.5”
I’ve noticed guys tend to go for the big red tomatoes with “beef” in the name, so here ya’ go, bro. 10-12 oz globe-shaped fruits with varied disease resistance.

Bobcat
F-1 hybrid. Determinate. 68 days. 3.5”
By request - another determinate option. An early, classic red slicing tomato with firm, meaty texture. Reaches 10 oz in size and tolerant to fusarium wilt, gray leaf spot and verticillium wilt.

Fantastic
F-1 hybrid. 70 - 75 days. 3.5”
A crack-resistant and high-yielding vining tomato that will do better if staked. While the fruits are medium-sied (3 - 5”), they’re meaty and rich in beefsteak flavor.

Hungarian Heart
Description coming soon

Italian Heirloom
Indeterminate. 75 days. 3.5”
An outstanding classic red tomato from Seed Savers Exchange. Productive plants producing round one pounders.

Jet Star
F-1 hybrid. Compact Indeterminate. 72 days. 3.5”
A high yielding producer of classically pretty 7-8” round red tomatoes. A great choice for a reliable and early tomato. Resistant to fusarium and verticillium wilts.

Mortgage Lifter
Indeterminate. 85 days. 3.5”
By popular request. A Kentucky heirloom, this is the Halladay’s strain from Seed Savers Exchange. Pink/red 1-2 lb beefsteak tomatoes that will make you so rich you pay off your mortgage. Let me know how that goes. A Slow Food Ark of Taste variety.

Red Zebra
Description coming soon

Rosso Sicilian
Determinate. 70-90 days. 3.5”
We call this one “the grandma tomato” because of childhood memories, but we found the seed with Seed Savers Exchange. Ribbed or “costoluta” bright red fruits are hollow, so that you might stuff them like a bell pepper. A bit of a diva, the fancy fruits can be difficult to pick and the thin skin bruises easily, but she’s a beauty!

Rutgers
Indeterminate. 75 days. 3.5”
If you’ve spent time on the East Coast, you’ve heard of the fabled “Jersey Tomato,” and this is it. Bred in 1934 by Rutgers University with Campbell’s Soup for the fledgling canning industry, these 6-8 oz fruits are bright red throughout with hearty, old-fashioned flavor that’s good for slicing or canning.

Silvery Fir Tree
Determinate. 60 days. 3.5”
For those of you looking for a “patio” tomato or wanting to grow in a container, try ‘Silvery Fir Tree.’ This is a traditional Russian variety with compact 24” plants. It produces lots of slightly flattened 3-4” fruits against striking lacy silvery-gray leaves. From Seed Savers Exchange.

Pink Tomatoes

Pink Brandywine
Indeterminate. 82 days. 3.5”
The heirloom tomato. Great heirloom flavor comes with heirloom fussiness. Are you up to the challenge? This Slow Food Ark of Taste variety is a beefsteak that averages about a pound each, but can reach up to 2 lbs. Rich classic tomato flavor.

German Pink
Indeterminate. 85 days. 3.5”
A Slow Food Ark of Taste variety via Seed Savers Exchange, where it was one of two Bavarian heirlooms from the co-founder’s own family. Meaty beefsteak fruit with few seeds reach 1 -2 lbs and grow on potato leaf plants.

Rose
Indeterminate. 78 days. 3.5”
On the backburner due to low sales. Let me know if you’d like to see it back!
Taste test: Brandywine vs Rose? This one’s a bit smoother but I’ll leave the call on flavor up to you. Fruits are 10 oz on up.

Yellow/Orange Tomatoes

Gold Medal
Indeterminate. 90 days. 3.5”
Yellow-orange blushed with red. A great low acid bi-colored slicer, and big!

Kellogg’s Breakfast
Indeterminate. 85 days. 3.5”
An orange beefsteak heirloom hailing from West Virginia. A great way to start the day, I’m sure.

Pineapple
Indeterminate. 85 days. 3.5”
I love striped tomatoes. Marbled yellow and red, inside and out, this one can get pretty huge. Low acid and fruity flavor. This and a jar of mayonnaise, and I’m set.

Purple (or "Black") Tomatoes

Black Krim
Indeterminate. 80 days. 3.5”
A purple-green “black” tomato with famous flavor. As FEDCO Seeds so delicately puts it, “If you wait until they are fully purple, you will not be able to get them from garden to table intact and they will disintegrate like a hunk of road-kill.” Consider that your challenge.

Cherokee Purple
Indeterminate. 77 days. 3.5”
Like Brandywine, another of the heirloom must-haves. A shorter-vined plant, this Tennessee heirloom is said to have originated with the Cherokee people. Oblate fruit reach 10-13 oz with purple skin, green shoulders and brick red flesh. Fruits are delicate and may sunburn easily, so go easy on the pruning. A Slow Food Ark of Taste variety.

Green Tomatoes

Aunt Ruby’s German Green
Indeterminate. 85 days. 3.5”
Don’t be scared of the ripe-when-green color. This is the first tomato I grab for a simple sandwich, when the tomato flavor is shining through. It’s fun to hand out samples at farmers markets and shock people with red tomato sensibilities. This beefsteak can get pretty huge. Wait for a pink-yellow tinge on the blossom end, but don’t let it get too soft on the vine! A Slow Food Ark of Taste variety.

Green Zebra
Indeterminate. 75 days. 3.5”
This was the first heirloom tomato I fell in love with, for obvious reasons, at the tender age of 19 at my first farming job. Blushing yellow with neon green stripes when ripe. A 4-5 oz salad sized tomato with a tangy rich flavor.

Paste or Plum Tomatoes

Amish Paste
Indeterminate. 85 days. 3.5”
A classic choice for sauces, salsas and canning. Larger than Roma (8 oz) and more oxheart-shaped, another flavorful, bright red option. A Slow Food Ark of Taste variety.

Roma VF
Determinate. 65 days. 3.5”
With great productivity and disease resistance in an open-pollinated variety! Deep red, 4 oz fruits.