By Vanessa Richins
When many people think of tomatoes, they think red, or perhaps green.
However, there’s a whole rainbow of colors available to the tomato lover.
If you have room for 9 tomato plants, you can have your own rainbow tomato garden. I’ve tried to include a selection of different sizes and seasons.
Red
For red, I’ve chosen an intriguing mid-season cherry/paste tomato. Named ‘Britain’s Breakfast’, you’ll be sure to have lots of little red tomatoes for snacking, salads and more.
Pink
Being dark pink isn’t distinctive enough for the mid-season ‘Pink Accordion’. It also lives up to its name by having many “ruffles”, like an accordion. It’s suggested as a stuffing tomato.
Orange
If you want to make your own tomato sauces (yum!), you should plant a paste tomato. ‘Orange Roma’ is an early season tomato that will add a distinctive color to any dish.
Yellow
The name ‘Banana Legs’ has always made me laugh. These mid-season yellow tomatoes are shaped more like their hot pepper cousins.
Green
‘Green Giant’, a late-season variety, will provide you with some of the best tasting green tomatoes you’ve ever had.
Blue
This one was new to me – TomatoFest has an heirloom that they call ‘Blue Fruit’. They describe it as more of a purple-grey, but it definitely appears to have a blue hue.
Purple/Black
Cherry tomatoes don’t have to be cherry-colored. Choose ‘Black Cherry’ to experience an early-season tasty treat.
White
Don’t worry – you won’t have any encounters with sharks if you plant ‘Great White’, a late-season beefsteak tomato.
Bi-color
There are several color combinations that can appear in tomatoes – red/orange, red/yellow, green/yellow, and more.
My personal favorite is Old German, a late-season heirloom that is a mixture of red and yellow. They’re large and very sweet.