Our tomato and pepper seed picks have been chosen for the growing season. Last summer was our first summer at the new homestead so I purchased seedlings for my peppers and tomatoes as I did not have time to start seeds. My tomato and pepper seed picks are ones that are favorites and a few new varieties I want to trial to see if we like them.

Growing your garden from seeds is so rewarding as you can get a much wider variety of plants than you can find at your big box retailers. Growing from seed allows complete control over the health of seedlings which allows me to ensure they have adequate water and fertilizer. You can also save money by starting your garden from seeds.

Peppers

Sweet Peppers

California Wonder Bell Pepper – I have grown California Wonder Bell Pepper varieties several times and they produce a pepper that’s perfect for stuffed bell peppers or slicing for fajitas. It’s a dependable old timey heirloom variety.

King Arthur Bell Pepper – This is a new variety for me and was recommended by the Lazy Dog Farm in Georgia. They said this variety produces a blocky pepper and is very prolific.

Gypsy Pepper – This hybrid sweet pepper variety is one I grow every year. The peppers are light green in color then ripen to orange and red. These are great to slice to add to salads or stuff with pimento cheese for a snack. It’s also resistant to Tobacco Mosaic Virus.

Pepper Golden Greek Pepperoncini – I have never grown pepperoncini peppers before so I’m trialing this variety to see if we enjoy them. I hope to pickle these to enjoy with pizza this year.

Spicy Peppers

Numex Big Jim Pepper – The Numex Big Jim is described as a large chile that will be 10 – 12″ long. My husband also flocks to HEB during green chile season and loves getting the hatch big chilies for roasting.

Poblano Pepper – This will be my second year to grow poblano. These chilies can be dried and then they become known as ancho chiles. I use the fresh chilies for chiles rellenos.

Colossus Jalapeno Pepper – The Colossus Jalapeno makes for large jalapenos that are perfect for stuffing and wrapping in bacon for jalapeno poppers. This another favorite pepper variety I grow every year.

Jalafuego – The Jalafuego variety is very similar to the Colossus variety and one I also grow year after year. It’s disease resistant and perfect for making jalapeno poppers or adding to salsa.

Shishito Chile Pepper – The shishito peppers have become very popular in lately and we love sautéing these peppers for appetizers. Most of the peppers are not spicy, however, occasionally the plant will produce a pepper with a little kick.

Tomatoes

Kellogg’s Breakfast – This is a new variety for me this year as I have heard gardeners recommend this variety several times.

Big Zac Tomato – The Big Zac variety can produce 4 – 6 pound fruits. This will be my first time growing this variety as well.

Small Red Cherry Tomato – This is a standard cherry tomato variety that produces loads of tomatoes on compact bush type plants. They’re indeterminate so I’m looking forward to salads all summer with these tasty little cherry tomatoes.

Jelly Bean Red & Yellow Blend – Purchased from Botanical Interests, but they no longer seem to be available. This is my third year in a row growing this variety. This indeterminate variety needs a lot of support as they plants get very large, but they produce a prolific amount of tomatoes.

Black Krim Pole Tomato – I chose this variety as it is sets fruit well in the heat and does well under adverse growing conditions. I am anxious to see if it holds up well in our south Texas heat.

Cherokee Purple Pole Tomato – The Cherokee Purple Tomato is a classic heirloom variety with loads of flavor. I admit I’m growing this variety to add a little color to my garden.

Brandywine Red & Yellow Blend – This is a new variety for me. I purchased this seed pack since it offered both the red and yellow varieties in the same packet. This is an indeterminate pole variety and the fruits should be 1 – 2 pounds each.

San Marzano Pole Roma – The San Marzano variety is the gold standard for Italians for paste tomatoes suitable for canning. I have grown other varieties of roma tomatoes before, but never the San Marzano variety.

Supremo Bush Roma – The Supremo Bush Roma was chose because it sets fruit well in the heat and is very disease resistant. It is resistant to Fusarium wilt (1-3), Verticillium wilt, root knot, bacterial speck, and spotted wilt. The disease resistance and heat tolerance should allow this tomato variety to succeed in our zone 9a garden this year.

So there’s our list of 2022 tomato and pepper seed picks for our zone 9a garden. I hope all of these grow extremely well for us, but I’m sure I will have my favorites. I’ll keep y’all posted on the progress this season!