thinking about cherry tomatoes

A basket full of super-sweet “Sungold” cherry tomatoes, from two summers ago.

Earlier this month, it was tomato seed starting time in the greenhouse. All those shriveled up, almost microscopic seeds make me uneasy. Every spring at seed starting time, moments of anxious doubt creep into the picture as I plant those sad looking dried out things. I’ve been doing this long enough now to know better but still, I just can’t help it…while I enjoy happy dreamy visions of piles of produce coming out of the garden in the summertime, it also seems like such an unbelievable miracle.

How is it that we plant these tiny little dots and expect bountiful crops? But we do, every year….well I do, anyway, and I’m full of doubt too, every year, in the springtime…

What am I thinking?….all this work, time and cash invested and no guarantee….I mean, seriously, can this really work?

oh look!!

it does!! every year. phew!!

With each newly germinated seed, Mother Nature has once again proved it to me that it’s safe to believe. One of the many therapeutic aspects of working in the dirt and growing things.

And the little plants just keep on getting bigger and better. And so does my gardener’s heart! Amazing.

By the time my little seedlings are ready to plant in the hoophouse, I’m well on my way to believing that this idea just might work out after all.

Some “Tumbler” plants last spring, hardened off and ready for market.

Now that I’m growing for market, I produce lots of tomato plants to sell to home gardeners on Mayne Island and to some in Vancouver and Victoria too. There are so many folks who love the “Tumbler” cherry tomato plants that I offer up every year. Some who started out buying one or two a few years ago are now buying ten at once. I love the growing enthusiasm!

They’re such a fabulous and prolific plant for patio containers and hanging baskets too since they are a “determinate” or bush (not a vining) variety. No staking and pinching required! The first to ripen every year. So nice and easy for both beginner and seasoned tomato gardeners who have great tomato growing aspirations! Around here, they do well even in our cool summers and that really builds tomato grower confidence. It gives a sense of fulfillment too and we all feel much better with lots of that!

This year I’ve started over 500 tumbler plants. Along with the other cherry varieties and the larger tomatoes I grow just for us (CJR likes to be able to use our own slicing tomatoes for the summer burgers and sandwiches he’s so good at making) I’ve started over 750 plants this year. (nervous chuckle) That’s going to be a lot of potting up for me to do in April/May (not to mention all the other seedlings) yikes…..I hope I can do it! Anyone wanna help?

These are some “Sungold” plants last year, waiting to go to market.

I decided a couple years ago to focus on cherry tomatoes for both my tomato plant sales and my tomato fruit production for market. So while most of the plants I grow for plant sales are the Tumblers, I’ve also started “Black Cherry”, “Snow White”, “Sun Gold”, “Green Doctors” and “Isis Candy” for their fruit and I’ll likely have a few of these plants for sale too. A combo of heritage and hybrid varieties. I’m really looking forward to enjoying all the different tomato colours in cherry tomato salads this summer. We simply cut them in half, add some fresh herbs, maybe some sliced onion from the garden, maybe some feta, a little olive oil….yum!…a favourite summertime staple!

Once the plants I grow for fruit get in the ground, they grow fast!

If I were growing larger tomatoes, I’d probably tie the hoophose vines up with string but since I grow cherries, these remesh cages are the best!

While the larger tomato production benefits from removing the side shoots, I’ve found that all those side shoots on the cherry plants produce lots of fruit that actually have a chance of ripening before winter. And since I grow them in the sheltered hoophouse, I only begin removing branches of green fruit in September and by that time, there are just too many side branches to keep tame by tying so these tall home-made cages really do the trick.

Every busy springtime, I find it helpful to look at photos of past years to get a good look at what I’m working towards. Very helpful!

The Sungolds look like sparkly little ornaments decorating the hoophouse vines. I use these babies in my floral arrangements too because they just look so darned happy and good tucked in there with the sunflowers, nasturtium and amaranth! Sometimes you can have your floral arrangement and eat it too.

Time to get picking!

Beautiful red Tumbler jewels.

Hope springs eternal! ~Alexander Pope

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