Favorite Cherry Tomato 2023

[Josetom]

Aka: Options to replace Sungold?

I have grown Sungold, were good but after all the rave reviews I expected more.. Maybe it what's my soil or climate..

I have tried: Super Sweet 100, Black Cherry, White Cherry, Green Grape.. No variety was an absolute keeper for me

This year the goal it's to grow: Dwarf Eagle Smiley (according to Craig very similar to Sungold), Maglia Rosa, Blush (the Artisan series has many fans) and KARMA Purple Multiflora..

Any favorite of yours? I see many people fan of Juliet

[Mark_Thompson]

Juliet is a monster producer, good disease resistance and doesn’t crack, but it’s nowhere close to Sungold for taste.

[karstopography]

My Sungold have been mostly less than spectacular this year, I don’t know why, plenty are splitting even though I am running a dry operation. Black Cherry has been the best for fresh eating. Rosella has been good. Coyote is just weird. Some are fantastic and some are pretty terrible. There’s a tiny harvest window to get it right. The fruit themselves are next to impossible to harvest without tearing the skin. The plant is a problem as it has taken over the space of the others. Pink tiger has been okay fresh, but the skin is thick, thick. Now, grasshoppers have totally gone berserk for pink tiger. Juliet I put in 7 weeks after the others. My only complaint with Juliet is the fruit fall off the vine with an almost comical lack of disturbance.

Next season, I will shift my cherry/grape tomatoes growing efforts to reflect an increasing desire for dried tomatoes. Principe Borghese will be the anchoring cherry/small paste type. It isn’t bad fresh, works well for cooking and dries better than anything else I’ve tried thus far. I might keep Black Cherry as it is big enough to dry well and tasty fresh or in sauces. The rest will get dropped in 2024.

[Josetom]

My Sungold have been mostly less than spectacular this year, I don’t know why, plenty are splitting even though I am running a dry operation. Black Cherry has been the best for fresh eating. Rosella has been good. Coyote is just weird. Some are fantastic and some are pretty terrible. There’s a tiny harvest window to get it right. The fruit themselves are next to impossible to harvest without tearing the skin. The plant is a problem as it has taken over the space of the others. Pink tiger has been okay fresh, but the skin is thick, thick. Now, grasshoppers have totally gone berserk for pink tiger. Juliet I put in 7 weeks after the others. My only complaint with Juliet is the fruit fall off the vine with an almost comical lack of disturbance.

Next season, I will shift my cherry/grape tomatoes growing efforts to reflect an increasing desire for dried tomatoes. Principe Borghese will be the anchoring cherry/small paste type. It isn’t bad fresh, works well for cooking and dries better than anything else I’ve tried thus far. I might keep Black Cherry as it is big enough to dry well and tasty fresh or in sauces. The rest will get dropped in 2024.

I was very interested in growing Coyote next to my Mexico Midget, so I can have 2 different color currants, but I have been told that the flavor it's off or an acquired taste, so I'm having my doubts now..

I never ate dry cherrys! I need to try one day, you seem to love it more than fresh

[slugworth]

sungold i bought with blossoms and just a few green ones here and there now,pitiful.
the other blossoms dried up.
Sweet million plants are the same size as when I bought them early May.

[karstopography]

My Sungold have been mostly less than spectacular this year, I don’t know why, plenty are splitting even though I am running a dry operation. Black Cherry has been the best for fresh eating. Rosella has been good. Coyote is just weird. Some are fantastic and some are pretty terrible. There’s a tiny harvest window to get it right. The fruit themselves are next to impossible to harvest without tearing the skin. The plant is a problem as it has taken over the space of the others. Pink tiger has been okay fresh, but the skin is thick, thick. Now, grasshoppers have totally gone berserk for pink tiger. Juliet I put in 7 weeks after the others. My only complaint with Juliet is the fruit fall off the vine with an almost comical lack of disturbance.

Next season, I will shift my cherry/grape tomatoes growing efforts to reflect an increasing desire for dried tomatoes. Principe Borghese will be the anchoring cherry/small paste type. It isn’t bad fresh, works well for cooking and dries better than anything else I’ve tried thus far. I might keep Black Cherry as it is big enough to dry well and tasty fresh or in sauces. The rest will get dropped in 2024.

I was very interested in growing Coyote next to my Mexico Midget, so I can have 2 different color currants, but I have been told that the flavor it's off or an acquired taste, so I'm having my doubts now..

I never ate dry cherrys! I need to try one day, you seem to love it more than fresh

Coyote has a unique flavor. There’s a prominent vanilla extract element in the flavor profile at peak ripeness. There are other flavors different to consider. I’d like it a lot more if the plant it was about 1/10 the size it actually is. It grows like an invasive weed in my climate. I believe your doubts are well founded.

[Seven Bends]

What are you looking for in a cherry tomato? You've grown several of the varieties that are commonly listed as the best, so it would be helpful to know what you did and didn't like about those, or what you're hoping for instead. Didn't like the taste? Too sweet, not sweet enough, too fruity, too bland, too tart, want them to taste more like old-fashioned tomatoes? Poor production? Not the right size? Too crunchy, too mushy, too juicy, too many seeds? Want thinner skins, thicker skins, less splitting, longer shelf life? Fancier/prettier/more unusual appearance? Etc.

Some of the ones I've liked that aren't on your list: Dikovinka, Rosella, Garnet, Super Snow White, and Braveheart. I'm trying Pink Princess, Der Kleine Doctor, and Fruit Punch for the first time this year and expect to try Honeydrop (Honey Drop), Medovaya Kaplya, and Japanese Pink Cherry next year.

I'm a huge fan of Sungold and grow two plants of it every year. Maybe try Sun Sugar if you haven't already. I prefer Sungold, but some people like Sun Sugar better.

[Wildcat82]

My Sungold have been mostly less than spectacular this year, I don’t know why, plenty are splitting even though I am running a dry operation. Black Cherry has been the best for fresh eating. Rosella has been good. Coyote is just weird. Some are fantastic and some are pretty terrible. There’s a tiny harvest window to get it right. The fruit themselves are next to impossible to harvest without tearing the skin. The plant is a problem as it has taken over the space of the others. Pink tiger has been okay fresh, but the skin is thick, thick. Now, grasshoppers have totally gone berserk for pink tiger. Juliet I put in 7 weeks after the others. My only complaint with Juliet is the fruit fall off the vine with an almost comical lack of disturbance.

Next season, I will shift my cherry/grape tomatoes growing efforts to reflect an increasing desire for dried tomatoes. Principe Borghese will be the anchoring cherry/small paste type. It isn’t bad fresh, works well for cooking and dries better than anything else I’ve tried thus far. I might keep Black Cherry as it is big enough to dry well and tasty fresh or in sauces. The rest will get dropped in 2024.

I was very interested in growing Coyote next to my Mexico Midget, so I can have 2 different color currants, but I have been told that the flavor it's off or an acquired taste, so I'm having my doubts now..

I never ate dry cherrys! I need to try one day, you seem to love it more than fresh

To me, Coyote has an odd, slightly bitter taste with very little tanginess. I really love the flavor of Sun Gold but the fruits are always really tiny for me. Super Sweet 100/Sweet Million are super tiny as well. In my garden, Black Cherry is the best flavored just about every year and Blush has been pretty good as well. Porter is another good one for hot climates. If your willing to move up to slightly bigger tomatoes, Super Sioux and Porter Improved are very good.

[Josetom]

What are you looking for in a cherry tomato? You've grown several of the varieties that are commonly listed as the best, so it would be helpful to know what you did and didn't like about those, or what you're hoping for instead. Didn't like the taste? Too sweet, not sweet enough, too fruity, too bland, too tart, want them to taste more like old-fashioned tomatoes? Poor production? Not the right size? Too crunchy, too mushy, too juicy, too many seeds? Want thinner skins, thicker skins, less splitting, longer shelf life? Fancier/prettier/more unusual appearance? Etc.

Some of the ones I've liked that aren't on your list: Dikovinka, Rosella, Garnet, Super Snow White, and Braveheart. I'm trying Pink Princess, Der Kleine Doctor, and Fruit Punch for the first time this year and expect to try Honeydrop (Honey Drop), Medovaya Kaplya, and Japanese Pink Cherry next year.

I'm a huge fan of Sungold and grow two plants of it every year. Maybe try Sun Sugar if you haven't already. I prefer Sungold, but some people like Sun Sugar better.

Not enough sweet, not enough unique flavor to justify all the effort in growing it.. my wife always teases me "Looks different, but it takes just like a tomato" haha well, she noticed a difference in SunGold and Super Sweet 100 though..

I'm adding super snow white to my grow list..

@Wildcat82 thanks for the suggestion! I will read about those:)

[Ozarker]

I’m growing Dwarf Eagle Smileys for the first time year. They’re not ripe, so I haven’t been able to try one yet, but I can say that they’re very enthusiastic about setting fruit.

[jmsieglaff]

I'm growing Santiam Sunrise which is said to be like Sungold in some ways. I've got them growing side-by-side this year.

I am also growing Dwarf Eagle Smiley. It is my baby, I grew it out over many years and selected my favorite plant along the way. I like to think of it as a big tomato taste in a cherry tomato. I'd describe it at intensely flavored sweet, rich, nice amount of acid, and just a hint of fruitiness. Once it was stable, Craig sent to Victory Seeds, who was the first to sell it. It is the first named release from the Teensy family from the Dwarf Tomato Project. I'm very excited to hear how it does for people across the globe!

[maxjohnson]

I have grown Blush and Maglia Rosa, and this is the third year so far that I have stopped growing Blush and only grow Maglia Rosa. Maglia seems to be more productive and taste better too, possibly resist disease better. At least it is my experience.

I'm also trying to get a hold of seeds for Spencer. My favorite cherry at the moment is Rapunzel F1, I'm hoping Spencer could be a open pollinated alternative.

I am starting seeds for 5 different popular hybrid cherry variety and few other open pollinated which I intend to do a comparison just for fun. A bit late starting tomato seeds for my climate but should be okay for cherries, will make a thread when the time come. Although I don't foresee growing too many hybrids anymore in the futures. Seeds cost for hybrids are ridonkulous now. I'm not paying $9 + shipping for 10 seeds.

[PlainJane]

I liked both Hoosier Outlaw Black and Green Doctors Frosted.
GDF is prolific and surprisingly sweet. Fruit do not tend to crack like Sungold does for me, but foliage health was rough towards the end. Health-wise Sungold is always the first to get blight or septoria.
Hoosier Outlaw Black Cherry is still producing, no cracking, and the flavor is not so much sweet as rich. Stayed decently healthy and will be back next year.

[wxcrawler]

I have always had better luck with Sun Sugar vs. Sun Gold. They are very similar, but Sun Sugar cracks less with similar soft skin. I am always in search of a great cherry tomato, so I've tried many. The most consistently good cherries I've had are Sun Sugar, Green Doctors Frosted, Iva's Red Berry, KARMA Apricot, KARMA Miracle, and Black Cherry. I like cherries that are full of flavor, and these have been the most consistent in my garden over the years. All of the KARMAs are good. Like most of us, I've had other cherries that are good one year, but not the next. These I've listed have been my most consistent.

With all that being said, I had another FANTASTIC cherry from Karen Olivier (@NorthernGardener) called Ruby Slippers this Spring. It's new, and this is my first year growing it, so I don't know about consistency. But it was my best cherry by a long shot this year.


Lee

[Labradors]

MaxJohnson, have you tried eating Blush in the heat of the summer? I find it tastes its best then. Not that I find anything wrong with Maglia Rosa, which is one of my favourites .

New favourites last year were Prairie Fire and Pink Princess. Sunrise Bumblebee was excellent too.

I'm re-growing KARMA Pink and Rosella Cherry this season as I really enjoyed both when I grew them before.

[MissTee]

@Josetom — think you’re going to have to try a bunch yourself and find what works for you. I had pretty high expectations of some positively reviewed varieties, but many of those are not my favourites. Perhaps my taste buds or growing conditions are a bit different than most.

Based mainly on taste, but then sometimes production issues or extreme splitting.

Excellent, will grow again:
Ambrosia Gold
Amy’s Apricot
Candy Sweet Icicle
Chocolate Pear
Iva’s Red Berry
Rosella
Tel Aviv Train
Sunshine Yellow
Sweet Aperitif

Good - May grow again if I run out of new options:
Brad’s Atomic Grape
Ditmarsher
Green Doctors
Medovaya Kaplya
Rebel Alliance
Snow White
Santium Sunrise
Sun Gold
Sunrise Bumblebee

Average, unlikely to grow again since there are so many new ones to try:
Black Cherry
Chocolate Cherry
Blush
Gru Vee
Isis Candy
Karma Pink
Karma Purple MF
Karma Miracle
Maglia Rosa
Pink Bumblebee
Purple Bumblebee
Sweet Gold
Sweet Million

Meh, will never grow again:
Black Vernissage
Butter Apple
Galina’s Yellow
Gold Nugget
Sweetie Cherry
Yellow Pear

Am trialling White Currant and a bunch of other small ones like Matt’s WC and Mexico Midget to compare this year. Plus about 10 more new ones.

[Josetom]

@Josetom — think you’re going to have to try a bunch yourself and find what works for you. I had pretty high expectations of some positively reviewed varieties, but many of those are not my favourites. Perhaps my taste buds or growing conditions are a bit different than most.

Based mainly on taste, but then sometimes production issues or extreme splitting.

Excellent, will grow again:
Ambrosia Gold
Amy’s Apricot
Candy Sweet Icicle
Chocolate Pear
Iva’s Red Berry
Rosella
Tel Aviv Train
Sunshine Yellow
Sweet Aperitif

Good - May grow again if I run out of new options:
Brad’s Atomic Grape
Ditmarsher
Green Doctors
Medovaya Kaplya
Rebel Alliance
Snow White
Santium Sunrise
Sun Gold
Sunrise Bumblebee

Average, unlikely to grow again since there are so many new ones to try:
Black Cherry
Chocolate Cherry
Blush
Gru Vee
Isis Candy
Karma Pink
Karma Purple MF
Karma Miracle
Maglia Rosa
Pink Bumblebee
Purple Bumblebee
Sweet Gold
Sweet Million

Meh, will never grow again:
Black Vernissage
Butter Apple
Galina’s Yellow
Gold Nugget
Sweetie Cherry
Yellow Pear

Am trialling White Currant and a bunch of other small ones like Matt’s WC and Mexico Midget to compare this year. Plus about 10 more new ones.

I looooooooove the list, thank you so much

[MissTee]

No problem. But I'm in Canada and you're in Paraguay. So your results will differ.

[jmsieglaff]

Rosella is in its 4th consecutive year for me. It is one of the best to my palate, not to mention healthy and extremely productive.

[Toomanymatoes]

@Josetom — think you’re going to have to try a bunch yourself and find what works for you. I had pretty high expectations of some positively reviewed varieties, but many of those are not my favourites. Perhaps my taste buds or growing conditions are a bit different than most.

Based mainly on taste, but then sometimes production issues or extreme splitting.

Excellent, will grow again:
Ambrosia Gold
Amy’s Apricot
Candy Sweet Icicle
Chocolate Pear
Iva’s Red Berry
Rosella
Tel Aviv Train
Sunshine Yellow
Sweet Aperitif

Good - May grow again if I run out of new options:
Brad’s Atomic Grape
Ditmarsher
Green Doctors
Medovaya Kaplya
Rebel Alliance
Snow White
Santium Sunrise
Sun Gold
Sunrise Bumblebee

Average, unlikely to grow again since there are so many new ones to try:
Black Cherry
Chocolate Cherry
Blush
Gru Vee
Isis Candy
Karma Pink
Karma Purple MF
Karma Miracle
Maglia Rosa
Pink Bumblebee
Purple Bumblebee
Sweet Gold
Sweet Million

Meh, will never grow again:
Black Vernissage
Butter Apple
Galina’s Yellow
Gold Nugget
Sweetie Cherry
Yellow Pear

Am trialling White Currant and a bunch of other small ones like Matt’s WC and Mexico Midget to compare this year. Plus about 10 more new ones.

Well, now I know what cherry tomatoes I am going to try next season .

My favorites so far have been Gardener's Sweetheart (I love oxhearts and it is basically a cherry version) and Green Doctor's Frosted. Sweet Aperitif was quite good too.