Cherry Tomato Varieties

Yesterday I mentioned some of the benefits of growing cherry tomato plants; today I thought I’d share some of the interesting, colorful, and tasty varieties of cherry tomatoes that are available to the home gardener.

Most people associate cherry tomatoes with the somewhat edible specimens found in the plastic containers at your local grocer. For the backyard gardener there’s a wealth of variety, diversity, and unique flavors available when it comes to growing different varieties of cherry tomatoes.

Grow Your Choice of Distinctive Cherry Tomatoes

There’s an assortment of colors, sizes, shapes, and flavors, but if you want to enjoy them you’ll have to grow them yourself because you probably won’t find these babies for sale in any grocery store:

• Sungold – One of my favorites for flavor, this is a hybrid cherry tomato with an attractive yellow-orange color that produces loads of delicious fruits.
• Camp Joy – Heirloom cherry tomato that offers more of a true tomato flavor, you’ll have to search around to locate seed for this rare variety.
• Riesentraube – Its name translates as “giant bunches of grapes,” you’ll be hard pressed to find a cherry tomato that can out produce this variety.
• Chadwick’s Cherry – Another small fruited heirloom with a big reputation for flavor and quality. Developed by the famous gardener, Alan Chadwick.
• Yellow Pear – Yellow pear shaped fruits are borne in large clusters. The shape and color really set this one apart as a delicious and unusual cherry tomato.
• Red Pear – Just like Yellow Pear except adorned with red pear shaped fruit. Not as common as yellow pear, but the two would make a good combination in the kitchen.
• Black Cherry – I’m trying this one for the first time this summer. Described as a dusky purple tomato with an incredible smoky flavor. I can’t wait to pair this one with Sungold.
• Blondkopfchen – German heirloom, this is another golden-yellow cherry tomato that offers huge yields of sweet tasting fruits.
• Green Grape – Spicy flavored tomatoes, yellow-green skin with green flesh even when the fruits are fully ripened. I’m working to find room for this one in my garden.

Other Miniature Tomatoes from the Garden

There are also a few other options for the home gardener looking for unique and unusual tomatoes to plant in the backyard garden. There’s a group of plum sized fruits that are larger than cherry tomatoes but still much smaller than the typical standard sized tomato.

Currant tomatoes are seldom seen growing in backyard gardens but offer intense flavors from tiny, marble to pea sized fruits. And finally there are the tomatillos that grow inside a papery husk and are popular for salsas and Mexican cuisine.

Sounds like my tomato patch will be growing a little larger. Make room for a cherry tomato or two in your garden this summer and you’ll enjoy the tasty fruits that come in a range of unusual shapes, colors, and flavors all on very productive and easy to care for tomato vines.