how to grow and care for beefsteak tomato varieties. Prized as one of the biggest and meatiest tomatoes you can grow, this category of tomatoes produces fruits that are regularly 6 inches in diameter and up to 2 pounds.

The plants are remarkably vigorous and productive, requiring a sturdy trellis to support their vining growth.

If you are craving a garden-fresh tomato salad, juicy burger, or flavorful BLT sandwich, here is everything you need to know about growing an abundance of beefsteak tomatoes.
What is a Beefsteak Tomato?

‘Beefsteak’ is a popular tomato cultivar known for its massive, meaty fruits weighing up to 2 pounds. These tomatoes have a delicious, dense texture, smaller seed cavities, and more juicy flesh than other types. ‘Beefsteaks’ are used for both slicing and canning tomatoes. They are popular on summer sandwiches, burgers, and Caprese salads.

The plants are notably vigorous and very easy to grow. They are popular in home gardens because of the eager, fast-growing vines and lack of availability in grocery stores. These giant tomatoes aren’t usually found in supermarkets because the plants are not suited to commercialized, mechanized farming. This makes ‘Beefsteak’ particularly special for home gardeners!

However, the term beefsteak now includes a wide category of tomatoes that are similar in how they grow and develop. Many people refer to all similar tomato varieties as beefsteak varieties, so it’s become a categorical term as well as a singular cultivar. Many varieties of beefsteak tomatoes have been bred using ‘Beefsteak’ as a parent plant.

Similar giant varieties include ‘Big Beef,’ ‘Brandywine,’ ‘Big Boy,’ ‘Cherokee Purple,’ ‘Bucking Bronco,’ ‘Black Krim,’ and ‘Mortgage Lifters.’

How Did Beefsteak Tomatoes Get Their Name?
The name ‘Beefsteak’ reportedly first appeared in an 1869 seed catalog that compared the thick slices of a specialty tomato to a steak. They said the fruits were as “solid and meaty as a beefsteak,” encouraging American gardeners to buy the seeds by storm.

What is Special About ‘Beefsteak’ Tomatoes?
The most notable thing about ‘Beefsteak’ tomatoes is their size, thick texture, and superior flavor. These tomatoes are not often available in stores, making them even more coveted among gardeners. This delightful slicing tomato is multi-functional in the kitchen and easy to grow. The unusual ribbed shape, few seeds, and meaty texture stand out amongst other tomatoes.

The small seed cavities also make this cultivar unique because they create an extra dense texture and rich flavor that isn’t as watery as some large heirloom types. They are perfect for slicing on sandwiches because they won’t make your bread soggy.

History and Cultivation
All tomatoes come from the wild ancestor Solanum pimpinellifolium, native to South America. It’s hard to believe that blueberry-sized wild fruits could be related to a tomato as huge as ‘Beefsteak.’ Still, centuries of breeding have refined this nightshade species into over 10,000 varieties of modern tomatoes.

As one of the earliest domesticated crops, indigenous farmers began cultivating tomatoes about 7,000 years ago. Mesoamerican people crossed plants and saved seeds to yield the fruits we know today. Genetic research reveals that we can thank meristematic tissues (clusters of stem cells) for the ability of tomato fruits to reach such massive sizes.

Scientists believe that mammoth ‘Beefsteak’ tomatoes originated in the Andes. When conquistador Hernan Cortez discovered these tomatoes in Andean gardens in the early 16th century, he promptly brought them back to Spain. The plant later spread to Italy and became a staple in regional cuisines.

Europeans were initially skeptical of tomato plants due to their close relation to deadly nightshades like Atropa belladonna. It was rumored that upper-class Europeans died from eating tomatoes. But later evidence revealed they ate from pewter dinnerware with high amounts of lead.

By the 1700s, tomatoes had reached American gardens via European colonists. Mexican and Central American growers continued to cultivate and breed the plant.

Even back then, this variety was considered a freak of nature with its 1-2 pound fruits. Plant breeders promptly began studying how to enhance productivity, disease resistance, and ability to share traits with other tomato cultivars.

Is ‘Beefsteak’ Tomato GMO?
Contrary to some garden myths, ‘Beefsteak’ tomatoes are not genetically modified (GMO). The unusually large size of ‘Beefsteaks’ can be attributed to hybridization and selection over time.

Traditional plant breeding works like this:

A gardener discovers a plant with unusually large fruit.
They harvest the tomatoes and save their seeds.
They replant the seeds from the largest fruits.
When the second generation matures, they hand-pollinate the flowers to cross the largest varieties together.
They harvest the largest fruits and repeat the process.
As you can see, this non-GMO process is much like dog breeding. Farmers, gardeners, and breeders constantly select the traits they want (in this case, the biggest, most flavorful fruits) and continuously save seeds from those plants to perpetuate the desirable traits.

Propagation
This variety is most commonly grown from seed because the seeds are affordable and widely available. You can also find seedlings at local garden stores and nurseries to transplant into your garden.

Seed
Tomato plants are best started indoors in the spring, about 5-6 weeks before your expected last frost. Don’t start seeds too early; your plants may wind up rootbound, leggy, and flowering in their pots, reducing early production. Direct sowing is not recommended because tender young plants are sensitive to cool temperatures. Avoid exposing tomato seedlings to temperatures below 45°F.

To start indoors, you only need a small propagation greenhouse, a sunny south-facing window, or grow lights. It’s very important that seeds receive a lot of light to encourage strong stem and root development. Ambient temperatures around 70°F are ideal.

First, gather your materials:

A ‘Beefsteak’ seed packet from a reputable source
Seed-starting pots with drainage holes (6-packs or 4” pots are great)
Seed-starter mix (well-drained with lots of compost and perlite)
Germination heating mat (optional)
Bright light
To sow ‘Beefsteak’ seeds, fill your trays with the fluffy soil mix. Don’t press down the soil or compact it into the pot. The plants enjoy a loamy, aerated medium.

Make a small “dibble” in the center of the cell tray and sow seeds ¼” deep. Lightly cover them with soil or a perlite blend, and avoid burying seeds too deeply. Like all tomatoes, this cultivar germinates best in warm soils between 75 and 90°F. Placing a heating mat beneath the trays will speed up germination and create a more even stand.

Seeds germinate in 5 to 10 days and require continuous warmth throughout their lifetime. If you notice the seedlings start to stretch upward with less leaf development, they aren’t getting enough light. Consider moving to a brighter location or lowering the grow lights closer to the tray surfaces.

Keep seedlings consistently moist but never soggy. Gently irrigate with a spray-nozzle hose or watering can until water pours out of the drainage hole. Alternatively, you can bottom-water by placing the cells in a shallow water tray and allowing the young plants to suck up moisture from the roots.

Seedlings
If you want to save yourself the time and effort of germinating seeds, look for an established ‘Beefsteak’ plant at your local garden store or farm.

Be sure to select tomato seedlings that are:

Bushy and thick with healthy foliage
Vibrant green, without yellow or brown spots on the leaves
Not yet flowering or fruiting in the pot
Not rootbound (the roots should not be weaving around in the shape of the pot)
Free from pests and diseases
Not too leggy (they should not have long, spindly stems)
While it may seem tempting to purchase a large tomato start that is already flowering or fruiting, it is best to avoid these seedlings.

They are often stress-flowering due to being rootbound in a pot for too long. Plants with flowers and tomatoes have trouble transitioning into the garden and may not produce as abundantly. They are more likely to suffer from transplant shock and stunting.

Planting
The best time to plant ‘Beefsteaks’ outside is 1-3 weeks after the last spring frost. The weather should be thoroughly settled, and nighttime temperatures consistently above 45°F. In extra-cold climates, you may use a row cover or a cold frame to protect young tomato transplants from unpredictable spring weather.
How to Grow
These mammoth-sized tomatoes are easy to grow and require very similar conditions to other types of tomatoes. Be sure they have a sturdy trellis to support the heavy weight of the massive fruits.
Maintenance

‘Beefsteaks’ aren’t particularly high-maintenance but require regular pruning and trellising to reach their fullest potential. It’s recommended to prune off suckers once or twice a week. Suckers are the side shoots from a central tomato stem and can form new vines. They are called suckers because they “suck” the energy from the plant, which can reduce fruit development.

Depending on your trellis system, you may choose one or two “leader” vines and prune off all side-shoot vines. This encourages the plant to funnel its efforts into growing fat, juicy tomatoes. Use sharp, sanitized pruners to cut suckers right in the “elbow” where they connect with the main stem. Take them to your compost pile so they don’t become a reservoir for disease.

When trellising, be careful not to bend or snap the vines. You can use twine or plastic trellis clips to hold young vines and train them to climb where you want them to go. These plants tend to be very pliable and easy to manipulate. You can grow a ‘Beefsteak’ up a fence, over an archway, or even winding around a single pole. Whatever method you choose, keep the vines up off the ground and ensure that there is plenty of support for the stems and fruits.