Early tomato varieties
Seventeen varieties in this catalogue ripen in 62 days or fewer from transplant, and the list makes a point that is easy to miss: earliness usually costs size. Eleven of the seventeen weigh under 40 g, and six are dwarf or micro dwarf. The exceptions are three slicers, Siletz, Oregon Spring and Early Girl, at 110 to 220 g, all ripe within 59 days. The physics is straightforward, since a small fruit needs less time and less photosynthate to fill and colour, which is why the earliest varieties on any seed rack are almost always cherries. If you garden in a short season, this page is where to start, and those three slicers are the entries that let you have a sandwich tomato as well.
- Varieties
- 17
- Days to harvest (from transplant)
- 52–62
- Fruit weight
- 0–8 oz (5–220 g)
- Growth habit
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7 Indeterminate
4 Determinate
3 Micro dwarf
3 Dwarf
All 17 early tomato varieties
How to choose
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Accept the trade or work around it. If you need a large tomato in a short season, Siletz, Oregon Spring and Early Girl are the varieties here that deliver one; beyond them, the alternative is starting a mid-season variety earlier indoors. There is no 60-day beefsteak in this catalogue.
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Early does not mean short-lived. Ten of these seventeen are indeterminate or dwarf and will keep producing until frost, so an early variety gives you a longer harvest window rather than merely a sooner one. In a 100-day season that difference is several extra weeks of picking, not several extra days.
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A good part of this list is container-capable. Aztek, Orange Hat and Red Robin are micro dwarfs, and Little Bing, Tiny Tim and Husky Cherry Red are dwarfs, which means a cold-climate gardener can combine early ripening with a pot that can be moved somewhere warm. That combination is the practical answer to a short season with unreliable spring weather.
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Days are counted from transplant, not from sowing. A 55-day variety still needs six to eight weeks indoors first, so the real calendar from seed to first tomato is closer to fourteen weeks. Planning from the wrong end of that number is the most common reason an early variety disappoints.
Compare side by side
| Color | Uses | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aztek | 55 (estimated) | ~1 oz (15–20 g) | Micro dwarf | 4 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) | Snacking | |
| Early Girl | 59 | 4–6 oz (110–170 g) (estimated) | Indeterminate | 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Slicing, Fresh & salads | |
| Five Star Grape | 62 | ~1 oz (15–25 g) (estimated) | Indeterminate | 4 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Snacking, Roasting | |
| Glacier | 55 | 1–3 oz (40–80 g) | Determinate | 4 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Snacking | |
| Gold Nugget | 58 | ~1 oz (15–30 g) | Determinate | 4 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Snacking | |
| Husky Cherry Red | 60 | ~1 oz (15–30 g) | Dwarf | 4 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Snacking | |
| Juliet | 60 | 1–2 oz (28–57 g) | Indeterminate | 4 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Snacking, Fresh & salads, Roasting | |
| Little Bing | 60 | 0–1 oz (10–18 g) (estimated) | Dwarf | 4 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Snacking | |
| Orange Hat | 60 (estimated) | <1 oz (5–10 g) (estimated) | Micro dwarf | 4 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Snacking | |
| Oregon Spring | 58 | 5–8 oz (140–220 g) | Determinate | 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Slicing | |
| Red Robin | 55 (estimated) | 0–1 oz (10–18 g) (estimated) | Micro dwarf | 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) | Snacking | |
| Siletz | 52 | 5–8 oz (140–220 g) | Determinate | 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Slicing | |
| Stupice | 55 | 1–3 oz (30–85 g) | Indeterminate | 3 (estimated) / 4 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Snacking, Slicing | |
| Sun Sugar | 62 | 0–1 oz (12–18 g) (estimated) | Indeterminate | 5 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 4 (estimated) | Snacking, Fresh & salads | |
| Sungold | 57 | ~1 oz (15–20 g) | Indeterminate | 5 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 4 (estimated) | Snacking, Fresh & salads | |
| Sweet Hearts | 60 (estimated) | ~1 oz (15–25 g) (estimated) | Indeterminate | 5 (estimated) / 2 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Snacking, Roasting | |
| Tiny Tim | 60 (estimated) | 0–1 oz (12–20 g) (estimated) | Dwarf | 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) / 3 (estimated) | Fresh & salads, Snacking |
Values marked like this (estimated) are estimates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the earliest tomato variety?
Siletz at 52 days from transplant, then Aztek, Red Robin, Stupice and Glacier at 55. All figures on this site count from transplant rather than from sowing.
Why are early tomatoes always small?
Because a small fruit takes less time and fewer resources to fill and ripen. The relationship is physical rather than a breeding choice, which is why eleven of the seventeen early varieties here are under 40 g and there is no early beefsteak in this catalogue.
Is there an early large tomato?
Siletz and Oregon Spring at 140 to 220 g, and Early Girl at 110 to 170 g, are the closest things, all slicing-sized and all ripe within 59 days. Siletz and Oregon Spring are determinate, so their crop comes in a short window. Beyond that, the answer in a short season is starting a mid-season variety earlier indoors.
Do early tomatoes stop producing sooner?
Not usually. Ten of the seventeen here are indeterminate or dwarf and keep setting fruit until cold stops them. Early refers to when the first fruit ripens, not to when the plant finishes.
How early can I actually pick tomatoes?
Count backwards properly: 55 days from transplant plus six to eight weeks of indoor growing plus the time from your last frost date. For most temperate gardens that puts the first ripe fruit in early to mid July at the very earliest.