Although too small to serve melted on a burger or sandwich, cherry tomatoes are perfect for a quick snack fresh off the vine, in carbohydrates or accompanying celebration ends. Not grown as much commercially as grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes have thinner skin that tends to soften more during shipping. This ought to be strong incentive to grow your own at home, especially succulent varieties such as “Super Sweet 100” and “Sungold,” if you’ve got the space for all these gangly plants.
Plant Size
The prolific “Super Sweet 100” may reach 8 to 12 feet, with long clusters of small tomatoes and a tendency to ramble. “Sungold,” another indeterminate vine tomato, typically grows to 8 feet. Both have to be staked or otherwise encouraged. Since they’re likely to outdo conventional tomato cages, better choices may be a tough stake of at least 8 feet, driven into the ground when the plants are seedlings, or even a wire-mesh arch assembled above the plants. As the tomato vine grows, periodically tie it into the stake and prune it to eliminate suckers that sprout in the joints between the main stem and lateral branches. Should you want the arch, cut a section of wire mesh that will be 5 or 6 feet tall when decorated over a young plant, forming a tunnel. When the plant reaches the top, draw stems through the mesh and let them trail down the exterior, with no ties required.
“Super Sweet 100” Characteristics
Created to enhance the disease resistance of this home garden favored “Sweet 100,” while keeping its terrific flavor, the indeterminate cherry tomato bears Plenty of 1-inch 1-ounce crimson fruits. The variety takes 65 days to first fruiting but proceeds to bear until the first frost. Very vigorous and productive, “Super Sweet 100” fruit was found to contain an unusually higher concentration of vitamin C. The hybrid resists strains of fusarium and verticillium wilts, dreaded soilborne fungal diseases. Its name is sometimes written with a “VF” after, to indicate that this protection.
“Sungold” Characteristics
The 1-inch golden-orange fruit of “Sungold” ripens fast, in only 60 days. A favorite option for all climates because it creates in cold or warm conditions, “Sungold” bears from early spring to late fall. Notable for its very sweet flavor, this cultivar stays business more than other cherry tomato varieties. Once fruit production begins, the abundant tomatoes will be ready to harvest twice per week. Cooking Light magazine explains “Sungold’s” flavor as a balance of citrusy tartness and sweetness, together with different hints of grape and floral flavors.
Growing Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes need 6 or more hours of direct sunlight daily. Water them early in the afternoon twice weekly as seedlings, increasing to every day during the summer. Preferably, this can be done with drip or soaker hoses. Mulching helps conserve the moisture around the plants. Cherry tomatoes like regular feeding following the fruit sets, but also much too early can result in lush foliage and few tomatoes. To thwart birds considering snacking in your own cherry tomatoes, then install plastic owls from the backyard or cover the plants with netting. The fruit may be harvested whenever they show their adult shade, as ripening will last after picking. The closer to vine-ripened you can get, however, the better the taste. Do not shop ripe cherry tomatoes in the fridge, as flavor and texture will deteriorate. They may be kept at room temperature for a couple of days.