Gardeners near Decorah have three locally selected tomato varieties to consider for next year’s planting after visitors at 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 uses: slicing, cooking and snacking. That category-based approach gives home growers a more practical starting point, depending on how they plan to use their harvest.

The three crowd favorites

  • Slicing: Bookie
  • Cooking: Rizzi Softball Plum
  • Snacking: Chocolate Cherry

Bookie received the top support from participants looking for tomatoes to eat in fresh slices. Rizzi Softball Plum led the cooking category, making it the 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 tasting’s format connected each variety with a specific kitchen use rather than asking participants to name a single tomato suited to every purpose. A gardener planning sauces may want different qualities from someone seeking tomatoes for immediate snacking, while household preferences and personal taste can also affect the choice.

The results are not a guarantee that any one variety will perform best in every Decorah-area garden. Growing conditions, recipes and individual preferences can influence which tomato is the best 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’s Exchange offers additional information for growers interested in the winning 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 simple: 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.