10 secrets to growing delicious cherry tomatoes
July 1, 2022 14 Comments
The cherry tomato or cherry tomato or mini tomato is one of the most favorite vegetables that we grow every summer to enjoy them fresh and delicious in salads and meals.
Cherry tomatoes are small-fruited tomato varieties that are harvested either in bunches or individually each fruit. They have great nutritional and nutritional value, like all tomatoes, as they contain many vitamins and antioxidants.
Tomato cultivation has a lot in common with tomato cultivation, however it is much easier, gives a rich production and is more resistant to diseases and insects.
It is ideal for novice gardeners, as well as for small children who love to cut and taste the red, yellow, orange and black fruits depending on the variety.
So let’s see in detail which varieties of cherry tomatoes we can grow, what care is needed to grow cherry tomatoes, as well as useful tips to enjoy the most delicious cherry tomatoes from our garden.
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1. What are the most famous tomato varieties?
There are many varieties of tomatoes to grow that are basically separated according to the shape of the fruit, the color of the fruit and of course the taste.
- Varieties according to the shape of the fruit : A basic division in the varieties of tomatoes is the «cherry» type tomatoes with small spherical fruits that usually have a slightly acidic taste and red color as well as the «acorn» type tomatoes that have elongated fruits in the shape of an acorn and more sweet taste, which we find in red but also in other colors.
- Tomato varieties according to the color of the fruit : Red tomato varieties are the most common ones planted in the garden and on the balcony. For the most demanding friends of gastronomy, yellow cherry tomatoes stand out in recent years, a very productive and resistant variety with a special sweet taste. Also interesting varieties of tomatoes are the green tomatoes with a relatively sour taste, as well as the black (purple-purple) tomatoes that have a very distinct aroma reminiscent of an old traditional tomato variety.
- Traditional varieties of tomatoes : A very popular variety of tomatoes is the traditional local variety of Santorini, which is grown dry in the Aegean islands. Although it has a thick skin, it has a unique aromatic taste, delicious flesh and it dries wonderfully.
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2. What conditions does tomato cultivation need?
Cherry trees love the sun and need plenty of exposure to sunshine to produce a large production of tasty and juicy fruit. They can also be cultivated in semi-dark places, however they will give us smaller yields.
Cherry trees grow in a variety of soil types, as long as they have good drainage, and produce best when grown in loose, fertile soils.
To improve the soil before planting, we incorporate enough organic matter into each pit, in the form of compost or well-digested manure, as well as organic fertilizer rich in potassium.
Potassium, what it offers as a fertilizer to plants and crops
3. When do we plant the cherry tomatoes and at what distances?
The right time to plant cherry tomatoes is in the middle of spring to give us production in the summer. If we plant them in early summer, we will have a late harvest of tomatoes in the fall.
It is worth noting that cherry tomatoes are more resistant than large-fruited tomato varieties, both in terms of high summer temperatures, as well as the first frosts of winter.
Suitable planting distances for tomatoes are: one meter between plants and two meters between planting lines. It is very important to avoid dense plantings as this way the plant has better growth, less disease attacks and better production.
4. How do we plant cherry tomatoes in a pot?
To plant cherry tomatoes in pots on the balcony, we supply relatively large pots with a depth of 30-40 cm and a width of 40 cm and a special potting soil for vegetables containing peat, manure, compost and perlite.
We place the pot with the cherry tomatoes in a sunny position on the balcony, in places with a south or west orientation that receives enough sunlight and is protected from strong winds.
Tips for growing cherry tomatoes in a pot
5. How often do cherry trees need watering?
Cherry trees need regular watering to give us rich and prolonged fruiting, while they show problematic growth when they suffer from a lack of water.
We definitely water every two days during the hot summer season when we have high temperatures and every three days during the spring and autumn seasons.
During the flowering period of the tomatoes, we avoid excessive watering because it can cause the flowers to drop and reduced production.
Also, watering tomatoes daily can cause root rot from Fusarium wilt, a disease that makes the plants wilt and look stunted.
8 secrets for watering vegetables in the garden and in pots
6. How often do we add fertilizer to the tomato crop?
Cherry tomatoes need nutrients and fertilizer to produce well. To fertilize the tomatoes, we add a complete organic fertilizer every month, fortified with potassium to have tasty and juicy fruits.
It should be noted that unlike large-fruited tomatoes that often turn black on the bottom due to a lack of calcium, cherry tomatoes rarely show the specific dry top phenomenon.
7. What diseases and insects affect tomato cultivation?
Tomatoes, although more resistant, are affected by the same fungal diseases that affect the tomato crop. These diseases include downy mildew, tomato powdery mildew and alternaria.
To deal with the diseases that attack cherry trees, dust with sulfur and thiochalcine or spray with wetting (water-soluble) copper and sulfur.
Alternatively, at a preventive treatment level, we can use an improvised preparation that we make by dissolving a teaspoon of baking soda in 2 liters of water to spray the foliage and fruit of the tomato plants.
How we use sulfur in plants (+video)
The tomato crop is attacked by mealybugs, stinkbugs and mealybugs, as well as the tetranych.
To deal with insects we spray with biological insecticides such as potassium salts and natural pyrethrin that we get from agricultural stores.
Alternatively, in cases of mild infestation, we can spray by dissolving 1 tablespoon of grated green soap in a liter of water.
10 natural and organic insecticides for plants and crops
The tomato crop is not particularly affected by the tomato weevil, the insect that causes great damage to the foliage and fruits in tomato crops.
8. Do cherry trees need support to grow?
Most tomato varieties are climbing and grow to a height of 1.5-2 meters. It is therefore necessary to support the cherry trees with various materials such as plastic rods, natural reeds or bamboo reeds.
Another construction we can use is a stainless steel mesh in the shape of a cylinder, which helps them grow better and not have problems with air, as well as with the increased weight of the tomatoes.
For proper support, we tie the tomato shoots with elastic rope on the supports carefully, so as not to injure or break them.
Another technique for supporting tomato plants used in greenhouses is to tie the plants with a special twine that will be tied in turn on an elongated wire placed horizontally along the plants at a height of 2 meters.
Support and support of plants
9. Does tomato cultivation need pruning?
Tomato cultivation needs pruning in order to have a better production. Pruning tomato involves pruning when the plant reaches a great height, removing side shoots that do not bear fruit and removing leaves that are close to the ground of the plant for better aeration and reduced disease attack.
At the same time, because cherry tomatoes usually produce many fruits that cannot grow and ripen satisfactorily, a small thinning of the plant’s fruits, shortly after fruit set, helps significantly so that our cherry tomatoes acquire a larger size and have a sweeter taste .
10. And one last secret for growing tomatoes
Because cherry tomatoes are so easily propagated by seed, we can let a few cherry tomatoes ripen on the plant and fall into the garden in late winter. From their seeds, new plants will grow the following year and give us a good production of tomatoes.
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