Bonny Best
Heirloom tomato · Solanum lycopersicum · introduced 1908
- Breeding
- Heirloom
- Growth habit
- Indeterminate
- Days to maturity
- 70-75 days
- Fruit
- red, medium
- Weight
- 5-7 oz
- Bred by
- -
Origin & history
Selected by George W. Middleton from Chalk's Early Jewel and introduced in 1908, Bonny Best became the canning tomato of the early 20th century and a parent of countless later varieties. Uniform scarlet globes ripen together enough for putting up a batch at once.
Measurements
| Measurement | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Days to maturity | 70-75 days | Consensus range across the cited sources, which include both independent references and commercial catalogs. |
| Fruit weight | 5-7 oz | Typical range for the cultivar, as a consensus across the cited sources. Not a measured mean from any single crop: fruit weight varies with season, spacing and where on the plant the fruit set. |
Traits
Disease resistance
No documented disease resistance, typical of heirlooms and older open-pollinated varieties. See tomato diseases for the cultural playbook that fills the gap.
Related varieties
- heirloom
Paragon
75-80 days · Indeterminate
- heirloom
Abraham Lincoln
77-87 days · Indeterminate
- heirloom
Ailsa Craig
70-80 days · Indeterminate
- open-pollinated
Box Car Willie
78-82 days · Indeterminate
- heirloom
Chalk's Early Jewel
70-75 days · Indeterminate
- heirloom
Costoluto Fiorentino
75-85 days · Indeterminate
Explore all tomato varieties · compare any two · when to plant it where you are
Sources & References
Evidence: 2 sources, all commercial catalogs. No independent reference documents this variety yet.
- Victory Seeds variety histories · Victory Seed Company, Seed Catalog
- Seed Savers Exchange catalog & variety histories · Seed Savers Exchange, Community Collection