Red Cherry Tomato

Latin Name: Lycopersicum esculentum

🌱 Days to Sprout: 7-28

😋 Plant food: after true leaves 

✂️ Thin to: 1 plant per yCube

🍅 Days to Maturity: 60

💡 Light Zone: Maximum

📏 Plant Size: <1 ft

💚 Care Level: Advanced

Tomatoes are native to the Americas. When European explorers first brought tomatoes home, people mistakenly believed they were poisonous, and public displays of eating tomatoes became a daring feat. Then, tomatoes moved around the European continent and became widely popular in the Mediterranean region. Heirloom growers developed the first dwarf tomato varieties through an intercontinental project, with some varieties eventually earning a spot for production in space!

Cherry tomatoes offer multiple cycles of flowering and fruiting, and they may continue to surprise you with fresh tomatoes for several months! Tomatoes are a good source of insoluble fiber, low in calories, and high in the antioxidants lycopene and beta carotene, vitamins C, K, and B9 (folate).

Enjoy these dwarf tomatoes as snacks, in salads, stir-fries, pasta, pizza, and so much more. They're a perfect addition to any meal! 

🐝 Pollination: Tomatoes require pollination. Flowers develop 4-6 weeks after sprouting. Remove the first set of flower buds that grows to encourage root and foliage development by pinching behind each flower head's base. Hand-pollinate flowers by gently shaking the entire plant, or gently swirl the inside of blossoms with your finger or a small brush.

✂️ Pruning: These dwarf tomatoes require very little pruning. Snip away yellow or brown leaves if they appear. Check the roots monthly and trim any that are brown or extending past the yPod. 

🔎 Plant Health: Fruiting plants can be prone to a variety of pests, but not to worry! Learn how to identify common pests and get our prevention and treatment tricks to keep pests at bay.

🍅 Harvest: Harvest Cherry Tomatoes when they look evenly red up to the stem and feel slightly soft. Don't let ripe fruit stay on the plant too long, or they may crack! To harvest, twist the tomato until it snaps off, or use garden shears or a knife to cut fruit at their individual stems.

Recipe Source: Food & Wine

• 3/4 pound cherry tomatoes

• 1/4 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

• 1 shallot, thinly sliced

• 5 basil leaves, torn

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• Pizza Dough

• 3/4 cup coarsely grated aged Gouda (3 ounces)

• 6 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• Basil Pesto

1. Preheat the broiler. In a medium baking dish, toss the cherry tomatoes with the panko, garlic, shallot, basil, and olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil 6 inches from the heat for about 5 minutes, or until the tomatoes pop and brown lightly.

2. Preheat the oven to 500°. Set a pizza stone on the bottom of the oven and heat for at least 30 minutes.

3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each ball of Pizza Dough to a 7-inch round. Transfer two rounds to a lightly floured pizza peel.

4. Spoon one-sixth of the cherry tomato topping on each round. Slide the pizzas onto the heated stone and bake for about 5 minutes, or until sizzling and just set.

5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle each with 2 tablespoons of the aged Gouda and 1 tablespoon of the Parmigiano.

6. Return the pizzas to the oven and bake for about 5 minutes longer, until the cheeses are melted and the crust is lightly browned. Drizzle with a little Basil Pesto and serve.

7. Repeat with the remaining dough, tomato topping, cheeses, and pesto.

Tip: The cherry tomato topping can be refrigerated overnight; let return to room temperature before using.

Our Plant Health & Nutrition Team thoroughly tests each variety we offer to bring you the most flavorful and high-quality plants. We regularly rotate our plant portfolio, so please note, availability varies.