Sweet Pea Currant Tomato

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

I'm not a fan of cherry tomatoes. There, I said it. When I was a kid I remember my friends eating them like candy, but every time I tried them I'd just picture a giant eyeball popping in my mouth when I bit down on them. I'm not stuck on that issue, and eat them from time to time, but I generally don't enjoy them as I do others. That is to say, I am a novice when it comes to them.

So, we fast forward a few years to this past summer where my new neighbor introduced me to a tiny currant sized tomato growing all over a 6' plant. I was hooked, my son too. She even let him pick one of her plants clean one day. So, needless to say, now that we had the functional room to grow I HAD to grow these.

In September I bought some seeds and germinated a bunch, but they ended up being pretty finicky and only one ended up making it -- RIP buddies. On Oct 19 he went into dirt, and now a little over a month later some flowers are saying "hi" to the world. Pretty soon here I'll have some new yum yums to consume.

I'll update the thread as time goes on.

 

[ninnymary]

Sprig, I'm not fond of cherry tomatoes either. I really don't know why. I only grow 1 sungold and those are for my preschoolers. I will eat them occasionally when I'm outside though.

Mary

 

[digitS']

Hey! I grew what might be called a currant tomato: Coyote. It was sweet and flavorful.

I'm not sure if I'd want more than 1 (or, 2). There is a lot of picking involved in filling a shirtpocket! I'm all in favor of exercise, however.

Wow! Here is what Gary Ibsen of Tomatofest has to say about your Sweet Pea, "The smallest tomato I've seen. . . large, wispy, regular-leaf, indeterminate tomato plants that yield thousands of 1/4-inch, deep red, currant tomatoes that have an excellent, rich, and complex sweet flavor."

Steve

 

[Smart Red]

SprigO, let us know how they do for you. I grew some pea-sized tomatoes this summer as well. Wouldn't you know it, they did about the best if all my varities. They were called "Spoon". While they had good flavor, they were so small -- as Steve said, picking them was a PITA -- and most of what you had in your mouth was skin.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

SprigO, let us know how they do for you. I grew some pea-sized tomatoes this summer as well. Wouldn't you know it, they did about the best if all my varities. They were called "Spoon". While they had good flavor, they were so small -- as Steve said, picking them was a PITA -- and most of what you had in your mouth was skin.

Will do. The ones I had from my neighbor were a little more than just the skin. I have no idea what these will turn out to be yet. My Desters are really coming into their own though, it shouldn't be but two weeks or so until the first one is good to consume

 

[flowerweaver]

I think the store-bought and restaurant cherry tomatoes give them a bad name because they are so insipid. We grow a lot of different cherry type tomatoes (they seem to do very well in our drought/heat), and each one is a little bite of sunshine! My two favorites are Isis Candy and Yellow Coyote (a currant type).

 

[Smart Red]

I think the store-bought and restaurant cherry tomatoes give them a bad name because they are so insipid. We grow a lot of different cherry type tomatoes (they seem to do very well in our drought/heat), and each one is a little bite of sunshine! My two favorites are Isis Candy and Yellow Coyote (a currant type).

I really do love cherry tomatoes! I can grab a handful and toss them into a salad or lunch bag with no trouble and there's no mess eating each one. The regular sized tomatoes are more for cooking or BLTs than eating out of hand -- except for my fave Black Sea Man. M-m-m-m-m!

 

[baymule]

I grew Tommy Toes for my DH last year, they will be a permanent tomato in our garden. I like cherry tomatoes! I get the whole eyeball thing though. SQUIRT!

 

[PhilaGardener]

My cherry tomatoes are some of the most vigorous and productive plants in my garden. They seem to bounce back from almost anything and give me my first and last fruit of the season. Yes, they have more seeds and skin, and don't fill out a BLT anything like a good heirloom, but they are reliable. We even enjoyed a few late ripeners on homemade pizza this past weekend while looking out on our snow-covered yard. It is a personal victory every year that I can eat ripe homegrown tomatoes after Thankgiving!

 

[flowerweaver]

@Smart Red Black Sea Man is one of my favorites, too!

I don't know why I have such a hard time getting beefsteak tomatoes to grow to size. I get a couple of Zapotec Pleated each year, and had a really large unknown yellow beefsteak I saved from a Texas grown heirloom from the grocery store that gave me one nice fruit. It has been my observation that cherry/paste/small slicers do best where I live.