Gardeners near Decorah have three locally selected tomato varieties to consider for a future planting after visitors to Seed Savers Exchange’s Heritage Farm sampled and ranked 22 entries during a free tasting on Aug. 22, 2026.

The event did not produce one overall winner. Instead, participants selected a favorite for each of three common kitchen uses, giving home growers a practical starting point based on how they expect to use their harvest.

The three crowd favorites

  • For slicing: Bookie
  • For cooking: Rizzi Softball Plum
  • For snacking: Chocolate Cherry

Bookie received the most support from participants looking for a tomato to eat in 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 visitors who preferred eating tomatoes directly from the garden.

What the results mean for Decorah-area growers

The category-based results connect each variety with a particular kitchen use rather than presenting one tomato as the best choice for every purpose. A gardener planning to make sauces may want different qualities from someone looking for tomatoes to eat immediately as a snack.

The results are not a guarantee that any of the three varieties will perform best in every Decorah-area garden. Growing conditions, recipes and personal preferences can affect which tomato is the right fit. The tasting nevertheless introduced visitors to varieties they may not have encountered before and created a short list for gardeners beginning their research.

Seed Savers Exchange offers additional information for growers interested in the selected varieties. Bookie and Rizzi Softball Plum were directed there for further research, while Chocolate Cherry seeds were listed for purchase through Seed Savers Exchange.

A tasting tied to seed preservation

The free event 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. Decorah Bank & Trust Co., Mountain Rose Herbs and Streamworks supported the tasting.

For gardeners planning a future crop, the locally chosen shortlist is straightforward: Bookie for slicing, Rizzi Softball Plum for cooking and Chocolate Cherry for snacking. Seed Savers Exchange thanked the participants who sampled the tomatoes, shared their opinions and voted.