The tomatoes selected for this honor have been researched and field tested in order to find tomato varieties that do well in our region. The tomatoes are tested and judged on color, production, texture, size, and flavor characteristics to determine a variety that would be appealing to the home gardener. The trials are also held to ensure that there will be a good seed supply to continue to grow commercial fresh market tomatoes that are suitable for our area.
Whenever spring rolls around there is always a lot of interest in the current year’s winner. What also happens is that no matter how hard we try to balance the scales, the interest sometimes outweighs the supply. We bring in tomatoes early for the spring/summer season and they tend to get scooped up fast by gardeners who know you have to get ‘em while we got ‘em! The good news is today I am sharing all the past tomatoes that have held The Rodeo Tomato title.
If you can’t find this year’s variety (2023 selection is Thunderbird), you can choose another from this list and feel confident that you are getting a tomato that has a good chance of performing wonderfully for you. The rodeo has been giving tomatoes a title since 2000, so you have about 22 great Rodeo Tomatoes (give or take a few discontinued varieties) to choose from. Most likely, Rainbow Gardens will have quite a few of these in stock. Remember that when planting tomatoes late in the season, try to find the largest tomato plant you can find. No matter which type of tomato you choose, your goal is to have fruit set before the heat sets in and halts production.
Rodeo Tomatoes Through The Years
- 2000: Dwf Cherry Surprise, Hoffman Cherry Surprise
- 2001: Sunpride
- 2002: Abundant Cherry Surprise
- 2003: Jackpot
- 2004: Amelia
- 2005: Amelia (yes 2 years in a row)
- 2006: Solar Fire
- 2007: Top Gun
- 2008: Christa
- 2009: Dwf Cherry Surprise (aka. BHN 968)
- 2010: Phoenix
- 2011: Tycoon
- 2012: BHN 602
- 2013: Tygress
- 2014: ValleyCat
- 2015: BobCat
- 2016: Red Deuce
- 2017: HM 1823
- 2018: Sunbrite
- 2019: HM 8849 Harris Moran
- 2020: Red Snapper
- 2021: Ruby Crush
- 2022: STM 2255 Hybrid
- 2023: Thunderbird
~The Happy Gardener, Lisa Mulroy
where can i purchase a few plants and/or seeds for the valley cat. i am in arlington tx
Hi Lawrence,
We are a small, local business in San Antonio. I would try your local nurseries for sure to see if they have them, or a google search might lead you to seeds. We do not ship seeds or plants at this time. Probably opt for plants if you find them at local nurseries as it will be pretty late to start tomato seeds in Texas