Early Cherry Tomato is a determinate variety that delivers the season's first sweet, juicy harvest in just 55 days, making it a beloved milestone for gardeners across zones 3 through 11. This compact tomato produces the small, cherry-sized fruits that home gardeners crave, packed with lycopene and a constellation of nutrients that support eye health and cardiovascular wellness. Its early maturity and reliable performance have earned it a place in seed catalogs year after year, where it's tested alongside hundreds of other varieties to ensure only the most flavorful selections reach gardeners' hands.
Full Sun
Moderate
3-11
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The true draw here is speed: 55 days from transplant to ripe fruit means you're eating homegrown tomatoes while many other varieties are still flowering. Early Cherry thrives on full sun and moderate water, asking for well-balanced soil in the 5.5 to 7.0 pH range. Its determinate growth habit keeps the plant compact and manageable, a real advantage for container growing or tight garden spaces. The fruit itself concentrates nutrients like lycopene at their highest levels, delivering far more than just flavor.
Early Cherry Tomato is primarily grown for fresh eating, where its small size and early ripeness make it perfect for snacking straight off the vine or tossing into salads. The sweet, juicy character of cherry tomatoes also suits them to roasting, halving for appetizers, or preserving whole in jars for winter use.
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Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Provide warmth between 70 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit to encourage germination. Keep soil consistently moist but not waterlogged. Provide bright light once seedlings emerge to prevent leggy growth.
Transplant seedlings outdoors after the last frost date when soil temperatures reach at least 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days. Space transplants 3 inches apart in rows, adjusting to wider spacing if you prefer larger plants with improved air flow.
Harvest Early Cherry Tomato when fruits are fully ripe and have reached their deep color; this is when flavor peaks and lycopene concentration is highest. Pick by gently twisting the fruit from the vine or snipping the stem with pruners. For the best flavor, harvest fully ripe fruit and do not refrigerate immediately after picking. If green fruit remains at season's end, ripen indoors in a cool, dark place, keeping fruits separated so they don't touch.
Early Cherry Tomato's determinate growth habit means it naturally stays compact and requires minimal pruning. Remove any yellowed or diseased leaves from the bottom of the plant as it grows to improve air circulation. Because this variety is determinate, it will set most of its fruit early and finish flowering by mid-summer, so avoid heavy pruning that would remove flowering shoots.
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