This year’s tomato seedling sale will feature eleven new varieties, including nine that are new to the event and two heirlooms returning from previous years. Twenty-five varieties from last year will also be available.
Three of the featured varieties—’Rosebud’, ‘Rosedale’, and ‘Texwine’—were developed by Bill Jeffers in Indiana. Jeffers focuses on breeding tomatoes that are vigorous, heat-tolerant, and disease-resistant. He collaborates with growers in other regions of the United States, particularly in areas with intense heat, to refine his crosses. All three varieties are open-pollinated, which allows gardeners to save seeds that will breed true unless cross-pollination occurs. Developing a stable open-pollinated variety typically takes seven or eight generations.
For example, ‘Texwine’ originated from a cross between ‘Brandywine’ and ‘Neves Azorean Red’. Susan Anderson in Texas advanced these lines, resulting in a tomato described as having “true old-fashioned tomato taste,” “strong, well-balanced,” and sweet and fruity flavors. Its flavor is said to improve in hot, dry weather.
‘Rosedale’ and ‘Rosebud’ are sister varieties derived from crossing ‘Cherokee Purple’ with ‘Summerpink F1’. Jeffers aimed to enhance the shape of Cherokee tomatoes by introducing traits from Summerpink F1. Donald Hudgens of Missouri discovered a potato-leaf pink beefsteak among the offspring, which became known as ‘Missouri Pink’. Jeffers later selected a potato-leaf purple beefsteak with green shoulders and named it Rosedale “to honor a small town in the Mississippi delta near where I grew up.” The regular-leaf plant was named Rosebud. Both are semi-determinate types.
To accelerate development of open-pollinated tomatoes, breeders may grow extra generations in greenhouses or warmer climates. In past decades, seed exchanges between Australia and the United States enabled collaboration on dwarf tomato breeding projects. Patrina Nuske-Small of New South Wales and Craig LeHoullier of North Carolina initiated the Dwarf Tomato Project (DTP) in 2005 after being inspired by an early 20th-century catalog listing for ‘New Big Dwarf’. The project has since released over one hundred compact dwarf varieties through global volunteer participation.
Two DTP selections are included this year: ‘Dwarf Golden Tipsy’, a yellow beefsteak noted for its heat tolerance and strong flavor; and ‘Tasmanian Chocolate’, a purple tomato with rich taste. Both reach about three to four feet tall but require staking due to fruit weight. Their dense foliage may need trimming for airflow later in the season. These smaller plants can be grown in containers—larger containers may increase yield.
Returning heirloom beefsteaks include ‘Rose’, a pink variety, and ‘Kellogg’s Breakfast’, an orange type.
Other recommended varieties include ‘Nova F1’, a sweet orange grape tomato; ‘Principe Borghese’, an Italian heirloom suitable for sun-drying or use fresh; and ‘Celebrity Plus F1’, a red tomato on compact vines that may need shading during extreme heat to prevent sunscald.
‘Fire Plum F1’ is highlighted as an especially prolific paste tomato capable of producing hundreds of fruits per season.
The full list of available varieties can be found on the Spring 2026 UC Master Gardeners of Yolo Plant Sale chart by color and size.
The spring sale will take place April 4th and 11th from 9am to 1pm. Additional information about California natives, drought-tolerant perennials, pollinator-friendly annuals, as well as lists for both ornamental plants and tomatoes can be accessed online.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), which supports events like this sale, works statewide sharing science-based practices that benefit communities across California through research facilities located throughout all counties (official website). The organization operates nine Research and Extension Centers serving as living laboratories across diverse ecosystems (official website), maintains offices statewide (official website), applies University of California expertise (official website), builds collaborations for effective farming approaches (official website), delivers science-informed knowledge (official website), supports environmental conservation efforts including wildfire protection (official website), provides creative resources for nutrition education (official website), and has been active for more than a century (official website). Glenda Humiston serves as vice president of UC ANR (official website). UC ANR is affiliated with the University of California system (official website).
Tanya Kucak has also written an article titled “Tomato Leaf Shapes and Sunscald” to help gardeners choose suitable varieties.