It's time to think about vegetable gardens. So which tomato plants should you try this year?

It soon will be time to plant vegetable gardens, and that means we start thinking about tomatoes.

Tomatoes are one of Americans' favorite garden vegetables. They are easy to grow in raised beds or containers and since a single plant can produce eight to 10 pounds of fruit, one or two plants are all many families need.

Tomatoes are also a low-calorie food and good sources of vitamin C. The taste and texture of homegrown tomatoes surpasses any tomato available at the grocery store.

The selection of tomato varieties is probably a leading reason so many people grow tomatoes. Everyone has a favorite. Some like big, red tomatoes for burgers while others like the mild flavor of yellow tomatoes.

If you include heirloom tomatoes, there are likely more varieties of tomatoes available to the home gardener than any other vegetable.

Selecting a variety to grow can be fun but also a little intimidating. Other than size, shape and color of the fruit, one consideration is whether the tomato variety is determinate or indeterminate.

Determinate tomato plants are often referred to as low growing. These plants grow to 3 or 4 feet tall, flower and set fruit at the terminal growing point and side shoots, and do not grow any taller. The advantage of determinate tomatoes is that they generally set fruit in less time, usually 4 to 5 weeks, however all the tomatoes also ripen near the same time. This is a good thing if you are planning to can tomatoes; otherwise you can handle the mass of tomatoes by staggering your planting dates to extend the harvest season.

Indeterminate tomato plants continue to grow throughout the season, sometimes reaching 5 or 6 feet tall with proper staking. They set and produce fruit from summer to fall. Most heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate and many would argue that the most flavorful varieties are this type. One disadvantage is that some indeterminate varieties mature later.

Another characteristic to consider is disease resistance. This is especially important if you have experienced disease problems with tomatoes in the past. Many varieties can be found with resistance to Verticillium Wilt (V), Fusarium Wilt (F), or Root-Knot Nematodes (N).  A plant label with VFN after the name means it has resistance to all three. Some varieties are also resistant to Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) and some exhibit drought (D) tolerance.

Tomatoes will benefit from proper fertilization. Test your soil to ensure the ph is within range and levels of phosphorus and potassium are adequate. Side-dressing some nitrogen at planting will also ensure healthy plants.  Be careful not to over apply nitrogen as the plant will tend to delay fruiting.

Some crowd favorite varieties that have good disease resistance include Beefmaster, Better boy, Celebrity, and Early Girl − all indeterminate.  Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, and Black Krim are a few favorite heirloom, determinate varieties.

Don’t limit yourself to just these suggestions, however. Venture out and try a couple of new ones this year; what is the worst that can happen?

P. Andrew Rideout is the UK Extension Agent for Horticulture and can be reached at pandrewrideout@uky.edu.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Which tomatoes should I plant this year in my garden?