Here are the top tomato and pepper varieties to grow in Colorado gardens, per CSU study
The most popular vegetable planted by American gardeners isn't even close.
Tomatoes — though technically fruit — far surpass any other vegetable in gardens with 86% of vegetable gardeners planting the red fruit, according to the National Gardening Association.
Sweet peppers, cucumbers, beans and carrots round out the top five.
With such popularity, master gardener Jon Weiss led the Colorado State University Extension Master Gardeners in Larimer County variety trials over the past five years to determine which tomato and sweet pepper varieties perform best in Northern Colorado’s short growing season.
See the full trial results here.
The below varieties are available to the public. Check with local nurseries or online garden supply retailers for availability.
Need spring lawn and garden care tips? Check out our guide on pruning, planting, aerating, fertilizing and more in Colorado
Top tomatoes to plant in your Colorado garden
Tomatoes selected were early and mid-season varieties. They were judged on earliest to produce fruit, average number of fruits per plant, weight of fruit and flavor.
Earliest maturing: New Girl hybrid and Patio Choice yellow hybrid. Patio Choice can be grown in confined spaces and in containers.
Highest yield: New Girl and Patio Choice yellow
Best flavor: New Girl
Primo bell pepper plants for your Colorado garden
Earliest maturing: Ace
Highest yield: Olympus
Largest: Olympus and King Aurthur
Best flavor: Just Sweet, with King Arthur a distant second. Cajun Belle also ranked high and brought the spicy heat.
Why you might want to add these top tomato and pepper selections
New Girl: Produces an abundance of 4- to 6-ounce fruit in as early as 60 days from transplant. Said to have better disease resistance than Early Girl. Indeterminate (fruit produced continuously through frost). Provide a cage or enough space for it to sprawl. Give it lots of compost, but water sparingly after established. Mulch well instead, according to distributors.
Patio Choice yellow: Determinate (sets fruit at one time) plants set 100-plus 1-inch flavorful fruit. Days to maturity is 45 days from transplant. You can grow these 18-inch tall compact plants on the balcony or deck in containers. Great resistance to common diseases, according to distributors.
Ace bell pepper: High yields of medium-size peppers. Green maturity in 50 days, red maturity in 70 days. Widely adapted but performs particularly well in cool climates where bell peppers are difficult to grow successfully, according to distributors.
Olympus bell pepper: Green maturity in 65 days, red maturity in 85 days. Widely adaptable temperatures. Peppers are sweetest when red. Good disease resistance, according to distributors.
Just Sweet bell pepper: Super sweet flavor. 65 days to maturity. Best flavor when it turns from green to orange, according to distributors.
Here's when you can start planting your vegetable garden in Fort Collins
Here are the probabilities of Fort Collins' last spring frost and freeze:
Frost (32 degrees): 90% until April 23, 50% until May 4 and 10% until May 16, which is why a general rule of thumb is to wait to plant tender plants around Mother's Day (May 12 this year).
Freeze (28 degrees): 90% until April 5, 50% until April 19 and 10% until May 2.
Here is when to plant vegetables in your garden:
Mid- to late March: Hardier vegetables such as onions, peas, radishes, carrots, lettuce and spinach.
Early May: Semi-hardy vegetables such as beets, carrots, cauliflower, parsley, potatoes and Swiss chard.
Mid- to late May: Tender vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, squash, pumpkin and watermelon.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Top tomatoes and peppers to grow in Colorado gardens, per CSU study
