Started April 1

Black Cherry

Size: Staked they can easily grow up to 12 feet and branch out 2-3 feet.

Location: full sun

Matures in: 65 days

Native to: Developed in Florida by Vince Sapp.

Why did I Choose it? I’d never grown a black tomato variety before and wanted to try it.

Uses? They were our favorite to eat right off of the vine while working out in the garden. We’re not big salad people but they’re excellent drizzled in balsamic and olive oil with buffalo mozzarella or bocconcini. I used them in salsa and roasted tomato sauces. I also preserved them in chutney and Portuguese Tomato Jelly. They were amazing in Balsamic Cherry Tomato Caramelized Onion Conserve.

Specifics: All of the sweet complex flavor of a black tomato in a cherry variety. Prolific indeterminate plants produce loads of fruit that are easy to pick with no cracking. Easy to grow and naturally disease resistant.

Personal Notes: We really loved these tomatoes, they were definitely the best flavor and producer out of the 3 cherry tomato varieties we grew. We did find that if you didn’t pick frequently the fruit would sometimes crack and drop off the vine. Because of how tasty they were that rarely happened but the chickens didn’t mind getting the fallen fruit.

And these vines grow tall! We used cattle panels folded in half to make an a frame support and they made it all the way to the top and would have continued. They also produced right up until frost and the green tomatoes we picked ripened nicely in the house. They were the latest to start ripening of the different varieties but once they started they produced a ton of tomatoes.

We would definitely grow these again!

Galina’s Yellow Cherry

Size: They are said to be indeterminate but we found they stopped growing up at around 3 or 4 feet. Their sideways spread was around 2 feet.

Location: Full sun

Matures in: 57 days

Native to: Siberia, this variety was brought back North America from a 1989 trip to the Soviet Union

Why did I Choose it? We wanted to try and yellow tomato this one seemed to be easy, delicious and good with cold temperatures.

Uses? We used this in all the same ways we used the Black Cherry. It made a more acidic instead of sweet Tomato jam. Also the salsa we made with them was brighter in flavor. Wasn’t my favorite for rich tomato sauces or conserves.

Specifics: Heavy clusters on plant produce until frost. Flavor is very sweet but balanced with the right amount of acidity. Doesn’t drop from the vine when ripe.

Personal Notes: We liked the acidity of these tomatoes in salsa and tomato jam that we used in Asian dishes in place of plum sauce. The plants were very productive but much shorter than we expected. They also have a habit of sending out tons of suckers and vineing everywhere which can get quite messy. They took a lot of pruning to keep them tidy. They also did not produce until frost. They were our earliest tomato to ripen, we started picking them 2 weeks before the others, but they seemed to stop only after a couple months of production. They also got powdery mildew really badly and that might have affected their output.

We wouldn’t grow these again. It looks like Hawthorn no longer carries them.

Gardener’s Delight Cherry

Size: I read they were more of a bush so we trellised them accordingly but i think they would have grown quite tall if we had let them. They got about 5 feet tall they way we had them and spread out as much as we let them.

Location: Full sun

Matures in: 68 days

Native to: German heirloom, breeder Paul Tellhelm introduced to the gardening world in 1950

Why did I Choose it? Seemed like a solid red cherry tomato choice.

Uses? We used in all of the same ways as the other two. It did have great red tomato flavor, but seemed a little lackluster after the Black Cherry.

Specifics: Productive plant with crack resistant fruit. Great flavor. They say it is a bush and can be grown in a container but I would suggest a big container and be prepared to prune hard.

Personal Notes: Gardener’s Delight was our second tomato to ripen and produced a lot of very tasty fruit up until frost. It had a very spready habit and had to be woven in and out of the support to keep it upright. After tasting black tomatoes I’m not entirely certain I can ever go back. Red tomatoes just aren’t exciting enough.

We might grow again, if we wanted red tomatoes.

Tomatoes in general

Companion Plants:

Rosemary and basil enhance flavor.

Amaranth repels insects.

Borage improves growth and flavor, as well as repelling tomato worms.

Bee balm, chives, dill, mint and parsley improve the health and flavor, but, mature dill will inhibit growth.

Garlic repels red spider mites and a spray made of water and garlic will control late blight.

Stinging nettle grown nearby will improve the taste.

Sow thistle aids growth.

Other good companions are gooseberries, beets, celery, marjoram, asparagus, parsnips, turnips, onions,

Avoid: 

Brassicas stunt growth, as does mature dill.

Corn, eggplants, peppers and potatoes are susceptible to the same pests.

Fennel and walnut will inhibit growth.

Along my travels in tomato land I came accross the Japanese Tomato Ring.

I never ended up trying it, but if you do, please let me know how it turns out.

Next up Eggplant