cherry tomato suggestions
 

Hi all. I am looking a cherry tomato variety that is high in sugar, and juicy, with a normal to high level of acid, that has a concentrated fruit set. I live in Zone 4B. Any suggestions?

The only determinate cherry variety available locally is Tiny Tim, but I have never grown or tasted them. Do they meet my criteria?

I am prepared to order seeds if necessary.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Tiny Tim is a determinate and space-saving variety originally bred to survive in a windowsill in ND. I grew it in a hanging basket on the deck this year and it achieved about 15" tall. Red Robin is even smaller.
Niether will drown you in tomatoes; if you're interested in being able to pick a quart of cherries at a time, they won't satisfy. I enjoyed grabbing one or two on the way past, as did my bride, though.

Flavor is good, but the skins are a bit thick.

As a snack, picked from the plant and enjoyed, you won't really notice.

In the past I've grown a few determinate cherries and was dissapointed. Taste was generally so-so. Names like "Patio Something" "Bush Cherry" or "Balcony Something".

This year, Dwarf Johnson Cherry in a 5 gallon bucket grew to about 30", and 36" in the soil. It requires a cage or to be restrained in some way, but isn't going to dominate the way most cherries do. It delivered loads of 1" pink, fairly sweet cherries.

It will definitely reappear in my garden.

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Depending on how much room you have, full-sized IND plant is your best bet. In general, hybrids have more sweetness and fewer faults like splitting and disease susceptibility. The Tokita Sun series is very, very good. Artisan (Fred Hempel) also has some great cherries -- you might PM him here for his recommendations. If space is an issue, then Husky Cherry Red is still quite popular. Lots of folks also like full-sized Black Cherry OP, although I think Artisan's Madera and Sunchocola are better. Lots of choices!

I grew Tiny Tim once and thought it tasted acidic. I much prefer Red Robin or Birdie Jaune for growing on a windowsill in one-gallon pots, but as eyolf says, you won't get a ton of fruit from these little guys. However, if you want a sweet tomato to grow in a smallish pot, I would recommend Maglia Rosa from Artisan Seeds. I grow it in a 3-gallon pot, but others grow it in a hanging basket. It does need staking as it gets about 3' high for me, but will produce tomatoes all season long.

Linda

Hi Ukelele01,
My suggestions:
Gardener's Delight (Sugar Lump) which, though it is a large indeterminate, has superior flavor and is very sweet.
Sweet Baby Girl F1, a compact indeterminate with sweet red fruit.
SunSugar F1, orange indeterminate (not small plant), really tasty and sweet.

[QUOTE=Greatgardens;765756]...The Tokita Sun series is very, very good. Artisan (Fred Hempel) also has some great cherries -- you might PM him here for his recommendations.[/QUOTE]

Agree with GG, the Tokita Sun series is superb. Lots to choose from: Suncherry Extra Sweet F1 FT, Suncherry Pure F1 (TSX-103), Suncherry RB F1 FT, Sunchocola F1, Suncitron F1, Sundolce F1, Sungarnet F1, Sungold F1, Sungrape F1, Sungreen 4029 F1, Sungreen Improved F1, Sunlemon F1, Sunorange F1, Sunpeach F1.
- Sungreen 4029 F1 is much earlier than Sungreen Improved F1
- Sungarnet F1 is much earlier than Sunchocola F1
Broadest seed selection is from Osborne.

Growing a half dozen, or more, SunGold plants will get that concentrated fruit set, that lasts the whole harvest season.;)

Thanks for your replies everyone.

So it sounds like patio tomatoes are a no go if I am looking for lots of cherry toms with a concentrated fruit set. That is good to know.

Guess I will just have to plant multiple indeterminates.

Cheers folks!

[QUOTE=ukulele01;765748]Hi all. I am looking a cherry tomato variety that is high in sugar, and juicy, with a normal to high level of acid, that has a concentrated fruit set. I live in Zone 4B. Any suggestions?

The only determinate cherry variety available locally is Tiny Tim, but I have never grown or tasted them. Do they meet my criteria?

I am prepared to order seeds if necessary.

Thanks in advance for your help.[/QUOTE]

[URL="https://store.growartisan.com/product/maglia-rosa-cherry-tomato"]Maglia Rosa[/URL] is a bush with concentrated fruitset and good production. We are working on other varieties with similar bushy habits that set lots of fruit early.

The microdwarfs are really not that sweet, none of those I tried, also not really meant for production, more for small pots on the windowsill.
Not sure what is available there, but Lizzano F1 is an early productive determinate cherry (plant is not small, it has good vigor) with plenty of good qualities. Sweet Olive F1 is a determinate grape tomato. Maglia Rosa fits also but the skins are tougher than average, it is however cheaper and easily available.

I forgot one that deserves mention -- Patio Choice Yellow F1 (AAS). It is about 2 ft tall growing in a 12" hanging basket and 3 ft in an EarthBox, caged. PCY produces a lot of tomatoes. Unlike micro-dwarfs, they definitely are sweet. They are not as sweet as full IND varieties, but very tasty (IMO).