Gardeners looking for new tomatoes to grow around Decorah have three locally selected varieties to put on their research lists. Visitors at Seed Savers Exchange’s Heritage Farm near Decorah sampled 22 varieties during a free Aug. 22, 2026, tasting and chose separate favorites for slicing, cooking and snacking.
The tasting did not produce one overall winner. Instead, participants matched each preferred tomato with a familiar garden or kitchen use, giving home growers a more practical way to compare the results. A tomato chosen for fresh slices may not be the same variety a gardener wants for sauce or for eating straight from the garden.
The three varieties visitors favored
- For slicing: Bookie
- For cooking: Rizzi Softball Plum
- For snacking: Chocolate Cherry
Bookie received the most support from visitors who wanted a tomato for fresh slices. Rizzi Softball Plum led the cooking category, making it a variety to investigate for sauces and other cooked dishes. Chocolate Cherry was the favorite among participants who preferred eating tomatoes directly from the garden.
The category results offer Decorah-area gardeners a focused local reference, but they are not a guarantee that any one variety will perform best in every garden. Growing conditions, recipes and individual taste can affect both how tomatoes grow and how they taste.
What the tasting offers home growers
By narrowing 22 entries to three names connected to everyday uses, the event created a more targeted starting point than a single overall ranking would have provided. The gathering also introduced participants to varieties they might not otherwise have considered.
Seed Savers Exchange provided follow-up information for people interested in the selected tomatoes. Participants were directed to research Bookie and Rizzi Softball Plum, while Chocolate Cherry seeds were listed for purchase through the organization.
That means gardeners planning a future crop can begin with Bookie for slicing, Rizzi Softball Plum for cooking and Chocolate Cherry for snacking, then decide which choices fit their own growing conditions, recipes and preferences.
A seed-preservation event near Decorah
The free gathering was open to tomato lovers of all ages and formed part of Seed Savers Exchange’s broader seed-preservation work at Heritage Farm near Decorah. Visitors sampled, compared and voted while learning more about the organization’s work with seeds and plant varieties.
Decorah Bank & Trust Co., Mountain Rose Herbs and Streamworks supported the tasting. Seed Savers Exchange also thanked the participants who sampled the tomatoes, shared their opinions and voted.