The following varieties should do well on their own roots. Some claim nematode resistance (N) and that seems to be a primary factor in achieving late season/fall production.
Nematodes can decimate a tomato’s root system. Photo By Bruce Leander
Celebrity N, Champion (Champion II seems to be the main variation of this variety left, fruits are a bit smaller but it is N resistant. Regular Champion may be too virus susceptible), Better Boy N, Viva Italia N, Tomande N, Juliet (small, saladette type), Momotaro, Early Goliath N, Tycoon, Fourth of July (Campari size). Cherry types= Sungold, Tomaccio, , Sweet 100, Sweet Million N, Sweet Chelsea N, BHN 968 N.
Juliet is always a great choice for the fall garden. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.
This second list of varieties may produce fine early in the season, especially on new soils and on soils where nematode susceptible plants haven’t been grown for several years but they can really produce much better crops when grafted on nematode resistant rootstock. Even varieties on the previous list that don’t claim nematode resistance may need to be grown as grafts on nematode resistant rootstock to improve productivity. (Johnny’s Seeds does offer special rootstock varieties but the home gardener may want to go with cheaper and easier to find seed like Celebrity for their initial grafting experiments—see Johnny’s website for tomato grafting instructions. Rotating to non susceptible crops like sweet corn, planting cereal rye as a fall cover crop (use a line trimmer and dig in-in the spring), dry tilling in the late summer (nematodes need moisture to survive) and solarizing the soil=work the soil up, dampen and cover with a single layer of clear, UV resistant plastic for at least 60 days during the July-September time period to reduce nematode populations.
Black Krim is a very tasty addition to the fall garden. This photo is the copyrighted property of William D Adams and cannot be published without written permission from William D Adams.
Black Sea Man, Black from Tula, Black Krim, Moskvich, Flamme, Cherokee Purple, Marianna’s Peace (a favorite in 2012), J D’s Central Texas Early Black, Persimmon, Purple Calabash, Kosovo, German Johnson, Green Zebra and Talladega Hybrid. All of these varieties from both lists have excellent flavor and texture
