Cherry, pear, and grape tomatoes bring a rainbow to your table.
From Country Living
When the gardening season is in full swing, there is nothing we enjoy more than planting a new crop of cherry tomatoes. The easiest of all tomatoes to grow, cherry tomatoes come in a rainbow of colors and a pleasing variety of shapes. In addition to the round red classics, such as 'Sweet 100' and 'Sweet Cluster Hybrid,' there are bite-size pear and grape kinds, all available in yellow, green, pink, maroon, white, and bicolors.
Tomato Growing Tips
All tomatoes are heat-loving perennials usually grown as summer annuals. Although large beefsteaks can be fussy about climate, the many cultivars of cherry tomatoes are far less so. Seedlings of cherry tomatoes are available from your local nursery or by mail order in spring, or order seeds from specialty seed companies and start your own. For mealtime variety, grow at least three different colors of tomatoes. Look for cultivars such as 'Sun Gold,' 'Yellow Pear,' 'Black Plum,' 'Black Cherry,' 'Green Grape,' and 'Isis Candy,' an orange-and-red bicolor.
Getting Started
To start tomatoes, sow the seeds 1/4-inch deep in good potting-soil mix six to eight weeks before your last frost. Keep the containers in a warm place at 70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit until germination occurs, then move them into full sun near a south-facing window or, better yet, under grow lights. When all danger of frost is past and the plants are about six inches high, harden them off, then transplant them into a full-sun area of the garden. They should be spaced two or three feet apart in a well-drained soil amended with a good amount of organic matter.
What Helps Tomatoes Grow?
Set the transplants deep — the soil should come up to the first set of new leaves. Most gardeners like to stake or trellis cherry tomatoes, as the plants sprawl, making it hard to pick the fruit. At transplant time, and again when the fruits are beginning to set, fertilize with fishmeal, chicken manure, or a premixed low-nitrogen, high-phosphorus organic fertilizer formulated for tomatoes. A form of calcium is often needed to prevent blossom-end rot. Tomatoes grow best when planted in soil with a pH between 6 and 7; add lime every few years if you garden in an acid-soil area.
How Do I Get My Tomato Plants to Produce Fruits?
Keep your tomato plants evenly watered; deep but fairly infrequent waterings are best. Mulch with a two-inch layer of compost after the soil has warmed thoroughly. A few pests afflict cherry tomatoes, including cutworms when young transplants are set out, and whiteflies later in the season; nematodes are a problem primarily in warm, sandy soils. A number of diseases are fairly common to tomatoes, in particular fusarium and verticillium wilt, but simple controls help keep them in check, including planting resistant cultivars, rotating the crops, and good garden hygiene. Harvest cherry tomatoes as they ripen. Color and a slight "give" to the fruit are the best guides to ripeness.
Cooking Hints
- As with any tomatoes, store cherry tomatoes at room temperature, or in the refrigerator when fully ripe.
- Try a cherry-tomato tart made with colorful new cultivars arranged in geometric patterns across the top of the crisp-crusted pie. For a delightful hors d'oeuvre, combine chopped cherry tomatoes with fresh tarragon and slivers of Parmesan cheese; spoon atop thick rectangles of country bread and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil.
- Roast cherry tomatoes to add rustic dimension and greater depth of flavor to a dish. Use them as the base for a sauce, or to toss with your favorite pasta.
- For a pretty golden salsa, combine 'Sun Gold' cherry tomatoes with minced green jalapeño peppers and cilantro leaves.
