I get asked all the time, which cherry tomatoes are the best ones to grow? I also get the question, why do I grow a ton of cherry tomatoes? Every person will have their own reasons for growing a certain type or variety. For me, its all about flavor! Here are the Top 10 Cherry Tomato varieties to grow in your garden!
Determinate or Indeterminate
One of the main things you need to decide on or keep in mind when choosing tomato varieties is whether the variety is Determinate or Indeterminate. Which one is better for you?
In short determinate plants require less space, less maintenance and can be good for someone with time or space restrictions. Determinate varieties are great for container gardening. Determinate varieties grow and set all of their fruit at the same time then die. Don’t plant a lot of them together unless you plan on making sauces, because they will all fruit together.
Indeterminate varieties grow and fruit throughout the whole season which makes them perfect for a continuous supply of tomatoes for the table. They do require a lot more space and care.
Heirloom or Hybrid
If you want to grow something Traditional then you may look into one or more of the Heirloom varieties (essentially the original strains). There are some tremendous plants here and they taste better than the hybrid strains but they can be more susceptible to diseases and a little finicky.
Hybrid varieties have essentially been cross-bred to enhance certain traits (such as disease resistance) and can be a good starting variety for the novice gardener. I actually recommend growing hybrid varieties as well as heirloom ones.
Added Benefits
There are other added benefits of growing cherry tomatoes in your garden. They produce earlier than the larger tomatoes so you have fresh tomatoes sooner. Cherry tomato varieties also perform better in hot weather. We live in Zone 8-a where we have some incredibly hot temperatures during our summers. The cherry tomatoes seem to push through summer and continue to set new flowers and fruit.
Top 10 Cherry Tomato varieties to grow in your garden
Black Cherry
Indeterminate Heirloom. Beautiful black cherries look like large, dusky purple-brown grapes; they have that rich flavor that makes black tomatoes famous. Black Cherry has a complex flavor and an incredible sweetness. Large vines produce tons of tomatoes; very unique and delicious
Sun Sugar
Indeterminate Hybrid. The ultimate cherry tomato, very sweet, yet capturing tangy true tomato flavor. The deep golden-yellow, 1/2 ounce fruits are very crack resistant which is quite remarkable considering their very thin skin. Vigorous, indeterminate plants set fruit early and in huge quantities.
Rapunzel
Indeterminate Hyrbid. Early maturing plant produces crazy yields of ¾ to 1 oz bright red cherry tomatoes. They are sweet, juicy, and very flavorful. Perfect for fresh eating right off the vine, in salads, or vegetable trays. Grows in clusters up to 40. Excellent choice for home gardens.
Husky Cherry Red
Dwarf Indeterminate Hybrid. Season-long production of outstanding fruits, 1″ in size and featuring excellent flavor. A member of the Husky Series, whose dwarf indeterminate habit and quality production makes it perfect for small spaces and containers.
Sun Gold
Indeterminate Hybrid. A positively delicious, bite-size, golden beauty overflowing with an abundance of fruits with a juicy flesh that holds its oh-so-sweet, fresh-from-the-vine flavor. Very early, and a heavy cropper both outdoors and in greenhouses. Large cascading trusses are covered in fruits that remain ripe and ready for picking over long periods of time.
Blueberries Cherry
Indeterminate. Here’s a small cherry variety developed by Wild Boar Farms. Very dark purple color, which means it’s super-rich in anthocyanins. Unripe, the fruits are a glowing amethyst purple. At maturity they turn deep red where the fruit was shaded; the areas that received intense sunshine are a purple so deep it’s almost black! The flavor is intensely fruity, and sugar-sweet! Plants are very productive, yielding all season in elongated clusters that look so beautiful.
Sweet Million
Indeterminate. Amazing flavor in high yields of super-sweet cherry tomatoes that have excellent, hybrid disease resistance. Long trusses of smooth, dark red, 1 to 1-1/2″ fruits are produced on large vigorous plants. Matures nice and early and continues producing until frost.
Black Vernissage
Indeterminate Heirloom. Here is a lovely “Black” tomato that is loaded with flavor as well as production. This 2 oz. tomato, along with its other Vernissage cousins is sure to make a big splash in the garden as well as the kitchen. They are perfect for rich tasting sauces.
Yellow Pear
Indeterminate Heirloom. Very sweet, 1 1/2″ yellow, pear-shaped fruit have a mild flavor, and are great for fresh eating or for making tomato preserves. Very productive plants are easy to grow. One of the first tomatoes I grew when I first started gardening.
As you can see from my choices I like these varieties mostly for their taste but also for their appearance and other unique characteristics that they possess.
I encourage you to try each one of these Top 10 Cherry Tomato varieties to grow in your garden to see which ones are perfect for you.
What cherry tomato varieties would make your Top 10 Cherry Tomato varieties to grow in your garden list?
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