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Cherry Tomato

Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme

VegetableContainer-friendlyBeginner Easy

Prolific, forgiving, and sweet — cherry tomatoes are the gateway crop for new gardeners. Give them sun, steady water, and support, and a single indeterminate plant can hand you hundreds of fruit until frost.

Growing conditions

Light
Full sun — at least 6–8 hours of direct light a day; more sun means more fruit
Water
Medium
Soil
Deep, fertile, well-drained loam rich in organic matter; raised beds or amended garden soil work well · pH 6.2–6.8 (slightly acidic)
When to sow
Sow indoors 6–8 weeks before your average last spring frost. Transplant outdoors only after all danger of frost has passed and the soil has warmed — usually 1–2 weeks after the last frost.
Spacing
45–90 cm (18–36 in) between plants; 90–120 cm (36–48 in) between rows
Days to maturity
55–75 days from transplant (Sungold ~57–65, Supersweet 100 ~65, Black Cherry ~75)
Hardiness
Grown as an annual in USDA zones 2–11; can overwinter as a perennial only in frost-free zones 10–11

How to grow it

  1. 1

    Start and harden off your seedlings

    Sow seed 0.6 cm (1/4 in) deep indoors 6–8 weeks before your last frost and keep the mix at 24–29°C (75–85°F) so seeds quickly. Give seedlings bright overhead light so stems stay stocky rather than leggy. About a week before planting out, off the plants by setting them outdoors for gradually longer stretches each day.

  2. 2

    Transplant into warm, sunny soil

    Wait until frost is past and the soil has warmed to at least 15–16°C (60°F). Pick the sunniest spot you have and work into the bed first. Space plants 45–90 cm (18–36 in) apart so air moves freely between them, which keeps leaf diseases down.

  3. 3

    Stake or cage right away

    Nearly all cherry tomatoes are indeterminate, meaning the vines keep growing, flowering, and fruiting until frost and can reach 1.2–2.4 m (4–8 ft). , cage, or trellis each plant at planting time so you do not damage roots later. Use cages with at least 15 cm (6 in) openings so you can reach in to harvest.

  4. 4

    Mulch and water deeply and evenly

    Once the soil has warmed, around each plant to hold moisture and block weeds. Then deep water about 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) per week, soaking the root zone rather than sprinkling lightly. Steady, even moisture is the single most important habit — swings between bone-dry and soggy cause blossom end rot and split fruit.

  5. 5

    Feed at the right time

    Tomatoes are heavy feeders. Mix a balanced or into the bed before planting, then side-dress with nitrogen once the first fruits have set, placing it 10–15 cm (4–6 in) away from the stem so you don't burn the roots. Repeat lightly through the season to keep vines productive.

  6. 6

    Prune suckers (lightly) to keep airflow

    Suckers are the shoots that grow in the 'V' where a leaf meets the main stem. On vigorous indeterminate cherry types, out a few of the lowest suckers and any leaves touching the soil to improve airflow and slow disease — but don't over- cherry tomatoes, since heavy pruning costs you fruit. Determinate patio types like Tumbler need no suckering at all.

  7. 7

    Harvest often and keep vines clean

    Pick fruit as soon as it colors up fully; frequent harvesting tells the plant to keep setting more. Remove any diseased or yellowing lower leaves through the season and clear all plant debris at the end of the year to break disease cycles.

Gardener's notes

  • Heat, not bugs, is the usual reason fruit stops setting: when days top ~32°C (90°F) or nights stay above ~21°C (70°F), blossoms drop. Plant early and use light afternoon shade in hot zones to keep production going.
  • Don't over- cherry tomatoes. Unlike large slicing types, heavy suckering cuts your harvest — remove only the lowest suckers and ground-touching leaves for airflow.
  • Skip the calcium '' for blossom end rot. It's a watering problem, not a soil-calcium one; consistent moisture and fix it far more reliably than additives.

Varieties worth knowing

Sungold F1
Indeterminate. Exceptionally sweet, tangerine-orange fruit; very early (~57–65 days) and disease-tolerant. The most popular home cherry tomato — prone to cracking if watering is uneven.
Supersweet 100 F1
Indeterminate. Long trusses of small red fruit on tall vines; high yields right up to frost. High vitamin C; needs sturdy support.
Black Cherry
Indeterminate, open-pollinated heirloom (~75 days). Round, purple-brown fruit with rich, complex flavor; you can save its seed true-to-type.
Matt's Wild Cherry
Indeterminate heirloom with tiny, intensely sweet red fruit and outstanding disease resistance; vigorous and sprawling.
Tumbling Tom / Tumbler
A compact, cascading determinate type bred for hanging baskets and small containers — a good pick for patios and balconies.

Common problems & fixes

Blossom end rot
Sign: A sunken, leathery dark brown-black patch on the bottom (blossom end) of the fruit, usually on the earliest tomatoes.
Fix: This is a localized calcium shortage in the fruit, almost always caused by uneven watering — not by a lack of calcium in your soil. Keep soil moisture steady with deep, regular watering and mulch; adding calcium or spraying it on rarely helps and is largely a myth. Affected fruit won't recover, so remove it.
Early blight
Sign: Dark brown spots with concentric 'target' rings on older, lower leaves; yellowing and leaf drop that creeps up the plant.
Fix: Mulch to stop soil from splashing onto leaves, water at the base, space plants for airflow, remove infected leaves, and rotate where you plant tomatoes each year. Choose resistant varieties when you can.
Septoria leaf spot
Sign: Many small round spots with dark borders and tan-gray centers on lower leaves, spreading upward in wet weather.
Fix: Same cultural controls as early blight: avoid overhead watering, improve airflow, remove affected foliage, mulch, and rotate crops. Clean up debris thoroughly in fall.
Tomato hornworm
Sign: Large green caterpillars (up to 10 cm / 4 in) that strip leaves overnight and leave dark droppings; whole stems can be defoliated fast.
Fix: Handpick them — they're easy to spot at dusk. If you see white rice-like cocoons on a hornworm's back, leave it: those are parasitic wasps that will kill the pest and protect future plants.
Fruit cracking
Sign: Rings or radial splits in ripening fruit, especially after a dry spell followed by heavy rain or watering.
Fix: Keep watering even and mulch to buffer moisture swings; pick fruit promptly as it ripens. Crack-resistant varieties like Sungold still split if soil moisture swings hard.

Companions

Grows well with
BasilMarigoldCarrotsLettuceOnions / chivesNasturtium
Keep apart from
Potatoes (shared blight and beetles)Other nightshades (peppers, eggplant in the same spot year after year)Fennel (inhibits tomato growth)Brassicas — cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower (heavy feeders that compete)Corn (shared earworm/fruitworm)Near black walnut trees (juglone is toxic to tomatoes)

Harvest & storage

Harvest
Cherry tomatoes ripen about 55–75 days after transplanting and keep coming until frost. Pick when fruit is fully colored, firm, and slightly soft — twist gently or snip with the stem cap on. Harvest every 1–3 days; frequent picking pushes the plant to set more. Before a frost, gather all mature green fruit and ripen it indoors.
Storage
Store ripe cherry tomatoes at cool room temperature (not the fridge) for several days — refrigeration below about 10°C (50°F) makes them mealy and dulls flavor. Refrigerate only fully ripe fruit you can't use in time, and let it return to room temperature before eating. Surplus freezes well whole for cooking, or can be slow-roasted and frozen.

Sources

This guide is curated from authoritative horticulture references — primarily US university Extension services, the USDA, and the RHS.