Plant Care Library

Group/Class:  Cherry/Grape

Brand:  Proven WInners

Description:

Producing ample amounts of sweet cherry tomatoes, this upright, disease resistant variety is perfect for containers and sunny gardens; sweet and delicious, perfect for snacking, vegetable trays, roasting and pickling; fruit ripens in cooler conditions

Edible Qualities

Homegrown Cherry Tomato is an annual vegetable plant that is typically grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces small red round tomatoes (which are technically 'berries') with red flesh which are usually ready for picking from early to late summer. This is an indeterminate variety, which means it produces fruit throughout the growing season. The tomatoes have a sweet taste.

The tomatoes are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking
• Baking
• Pickling

Planting & Growing

Homegrown Cherry Tomato will grow to be about 6 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. Because of its vigorous growth habit, it may require staking or supplemental support. This fast-growing vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.

This plant can be integrated into a landscape or flower garden by creative gardeners, but is usually grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in winter to protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Homegrown Cherry Tomato is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor containers and hanging baskets. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.