My recent trek to the Landis Valley Herb & Garden Faire rewarded me with a half dozen heirloom tomato seedlings to add to the collection of tomato transplants that I grew from seed. The biggest surprise was that many of the heirlooms purchased were varieties that I had never even heard of.

After planting about fifty tomato seeds that were given the opportunity to germinate, grow, and compete in my annual tomato seedling competition, I’m now down to twelve strong and healthy tomato plants that have earned their spots out in the garden. I selected a dozen interesting tomato varieties, most of them heirlooms, to grow from seed this season. It wasn’t easy to choose among the candidates as there are hundreds of unique heirlooms to select from.

It’s not too late to start a few tomato plants indoors for transplanting out into the garden after the soil warms and the danger of frost has passed later this spring. I just wanted to share a few of my favorite gourmet and heirloom tomato varieties.