My personal favorite is Husky Cherry Red, but I don't like the sweeter tomatoes and it isn't one, so you probably wouldn't like it. Very prolific for me, though. As the result of a thread in the FL gardening forum I went out and counted a couple of weeks ago and I had 87 ripening on my one plant, which has been keeping me and my neighbors supplied since late fall and is just now hitting its stride for the season.

It's a hybrid, though, so doesn't come true from saved seed, and if your ideal tomato is something like sun gold, you'd probably hate it.

I love the heirloom varieties of fruits and vegetables. I can save the seeds and plant the next season for years. The flavors are so much richer.

Riesentraube is an old German clustering cherry tomato - a little bigger than most (it translates to giant grapes, or something like that).

You might want to go to the Garden Forums for your area, mine is Carolina Gardening, and post what seeds you want to trade. Or, Seed Saving Forum there.

Sweet 100's....very prolific and bears till frost. Not too sweet, good tomato flavor....a "no nonsense" type of plant!

Thanks, everyone. I'm researching each of the varieties you've mentioned....

Actually, I should add that Sun Gold is the only hybrid tomato that I grow. I prefer heirloom varieties in tomatoes, peppers, and squash/pumpkin, etc., but I do grow hybrids if they're exactly what I want. I haven't been out shopping for seed yet either, so don't know what's available locally this year.

Another vote for riesentraube for a true red cherry. An excellent tomato. I also like black cherry - good tangy flavor, disease resistant vines etc.

I grew both Reisentraube & Black cherry and enjoyed both too. I ran out of Reisentraube seeds(and forgot to replace) & have been growing Black cherry reliably for a few years along with Sungold(my fave) I also really like the flavor of Sweet Chelsea which is a slightly larger cherry tomato I will grow that this year.

Thanks! I checked at one store today and found a very limited selection... it will probably be weeks before everything is out.

ETA: I've grown Black Cherry for many years!

I've tried nearly all the cherry tomatoes posted in my search for an heirloom/open pollinated red cherry that would do well in my garden. Last year it was Sweetie. They were OK, but this year I'll go back to my old reliable sweet 100. Way more prolific, less cracking. We go through a lot of seasoned dried cherry tomatoes. Love the Sun Gold and Sun Sugar, but they aren't as pretty dried.

I'll keep looking for that perfect OP seed, but as long as I can get the seeds I know will do well, I'm not averse to hybrid. It occurs to me I've never tried saving seeds of the 100s...maybe I'd get the best parts that are perfectly adapted. ...who knows?

KatieC, that sounds all too familiar (i.e., looking for one that does well in my garden)... our growing season can vary so much from year to year, but in general it's cold, often too wet, and short. lol! I'll keep looking for Sweet 100!

Gold Nugget always grows great for me, but it's a determinate and not at all sweet. Black Cherry always grows great, loaded with tomatoes, and then we start getting rain in August and every tomato splits and rots. :p Matt's Wild Cherry is too tiny to bother with and I wasn't impressed with the flavor anyway... etc. etc.

Black Cherry always grows great, loaded with tomatoes, and then we start getting rain in August and every tomato splits and rots

Yes, I've found them very unsatisfactory because of that, which is a pretty odd problem for a florida-bred tomato to have, IMHO. They do have a nice flavor, though.

I'm trying a few new ones this year along with some usual favorites. I like my 'cherry bowl' to have a variety of flavor...tart and tart/sweet. My basics are SunGold, ChocolateCherry and CubanYellow grape. For reds maybe Chadwick'sCherry (aka CampJoy) Reisentraube, ReverendMichaelKeyes...

I have some new seeds from Artisan and WildBoar.

SampleSeedShop has a great selection and just 1.50 a pack.

I still have a half dozen packs frozen from last season, quickly depleting.

I'll send you some seed of the two baby squash seeds i saved....have not tried a germination test yet. I have plenty. (pm me your address. no need for sase).

How many tomatoes do you plan to grow?

Loved the Matt's Wild Cherry I planted last year!

I love the taste of the Juliet tomato. I think it is more of a grape tomato but always does well for me. I live in the humid Northeast..

I do grow a red grape every year that I love! I saved the seeds many years ago from store-bought tomatoes that were especially good-tasting. Suspect it's the original Santa. It just isn't the same as a red cherry though. lol!

sleevendog, I have two small veg gardens and usually grow around a dozen varieties each year -- only one or two plants of each, and like you I go for a wide mix! ah, yes, remy's site... I always forget about that... off to see what she has....

sleevendog, thank you for the offer but I wouldn't feel right unless I could send you something too.

I was just searching for info on honey nut squashes and found this. Very interesting!

I think I'm going to try Sweet Aperatif from Totally Tomatoes this year. It's open pollinated and has a brix level that's higher than SunGold, so it's sweet. It's an 80 day tomato, so it should do OK here in Michigan, and it's an indeterminate, so I'd get tomatoes for a period of time instead of a flush all at once. I think the Pink Bumble Bee is prettier, though, with the gold striping...

I do like Sungold and grow it every year, CindyMac first sent me seeds. I did save seeds and one year the SunGolds were still fine but the second year they were sour and not very productive, so I decided I was better off buying seeds. Yeah, I know they're a hybrid, but sometimes you get lucky, you know.

I grow a couple dozen "canning tomatoes", usually Rutgers or Bonny Best. Then I plant half a dozen of a bunch of kinds, for fresh tomatoes and then I just can what we don't eat of those too. My big producer last year was the golden Jubilee, those things just kept coming and coming.

Annie

Annie, I've been growing Sun Gold since 2004, I think.... and yes, it has a reputation for being "a spitter" when grown as F2. lol! One year I bought Burpee's Sun Gold seed and it produced spitters!!! It turned out that many people complained of the same thing, so now I'm very careful about my source for Sun Gold seeds.

wow, Sweet Aperitif sounds great -- except for the 80 days to maturity! That's too long for me to wait for cherries, which I expect to be my first producers. :p I've got it down to an annual race between Sun Gold, Gold Nugget, Taxi, and Stupice on which will ripen first. :)

Annie, have you ever grown Garden Peach for your grandkids? not great tasting but oh so cute!!! they really do look and feel a lot like peaches with their slightly fuzzy yellow skin and bit of pink blush. :O)

If anyone is looking for a cheap effective way to mark their seedlings... I often use cut mini-blinds, but I've discovered that cut yogurt and sour cream type containers work well for one season. I make one cut down the side of the container, cut around to remove the bottom, then have a 'sheet' left to cut tags as long or wide as I'll need. I write on them w/ permanent marker. Like this (added better pic :)

I did a "taste off" several years ago on various cherry tomatoes - one of the few reliable performing types in my cool summer climate. Tried about 8 different kinds and don't remember all the varieties tested but concluded that Sweet 100's and SunGold are the ones I prefer..........and also ones that I had already been growing for a number of years! I like my cherry toms sweet - I call them tomato candy - and these fit the bill!!

The last couple of years, Sweet 100 starts have been hard to find. I don't grow from seed - no room to start and don't need more than 2 or 3 plants of each variety and starts just perform better in my climate. Instead, I am finding Sweet Millions, but they don't taste the same and they don't perform as well. If I can't find the Sweet 100's again this season, I may try another red cherry.........just not sure which would be a decent and equally tasty replacement.

I've been looking in the stores here for Sweet 100s, but all I find are Super Sweet 100s something-or-other... guess I need to read up on the difference.

ETA: the difference I see cited is improved disease resistance.

PM, I grew Garden Peach last year and the year before. Last year they didn't like the wet summer, and didn't produce well and were relatively flavorless. The year before they were amazing, they did actually taste a little like a peach and were wonderfully sweet. I did save seeds, so I'll try those again as I liked them very much. Last year my choices were Mortgage Lifter (the pink variety), Jubilee, Garden Peach, Pineapple, Great White, Sungold, BlueBerries (a complete bust, not a single ripe tomato from that), Indigo Rose and Rutgers. The Cherokee and Brandywine varieties do not perform well for me here in Northern/Western Michigan.

Annie

Annie, I've been wanting to try Indigo Rose because they look so good to me, but I keep reading reviews that say they just don't taste good. What was your experience?! And re a wet summer, I know it makes a huge difference here in terms of watering down the flavor. :p I agree on Cherokee Purple not performing well! but have you tried Cherokee Chocolate? I have much better luck with them. And Brandywine just kills me.... I get LOADS of huge delicious tomatoes -- but most of them don't have time to ripen here. :( Re Rutgers, I hadn't grown them in many years but tried them again two years ago and had such good luck that they're back in my usual grow list! I think I have to grow Kellogg's Breakfast again this year... I skipped it last year because it doesn't produce much at all for me, but I do love the tomatoes! I also have to grow Green Zebra every year... I just miss it if it's not there. :) I have a really good large white tomato, but I don't know the variety -- got it in a seed trade and was supposed to be a white cherry. Haven't grown that in awhile, so don't know if I'll make the room this year. I usually add a pink oxheart too.

wow, that's good info, sleevendog. I learned that I really do need to give every variety at least two years to try it! Some that were total failures the first year have turned into favorites. Our growing season can be so variable and that affects tomatoes a lot.

As a general gardening report, I finally found a source for King of the North pepper last year! (I've been searching for years, but everyone was always sold out!). I LOVE THEM!!! They are the first sweet bell-type I've ever had luck growing. The size and shape of the peppers was all over the place, indicating to me that they aren't really stable, but they produced tons and tasted great both green and red. :)

I used to think we had the worst growing conditions until reading about those that deal with extreme heat and all sorts of soil borne issues and need to grow in pots and grow bags. I grow without any sprays and no-till.

A four year old last late summer, tugging on my sleeve to go pick tomatoes, finally went off on her own and came back with a basket full of cherries....but no SunGolds or CubanYellows. Lots of IndigoRose because those are "spitties", lol.

I'm trying peppers again....never do well at all. They probably just don't get the love, but cool nights will slow that down. (i started a full tray a few weeks ago hoping to get a head start)

Indigo Rose was one that I tried in my 'taste off'. IMO it was taste-less :-)

Sweet 100 for a red cherry and last year I tried a yellow that was great, Honey Delight.

Here is a discussion of the difference between Sweet 100 and Super Sweet 100.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/2180608/sweet-100-vs-super-sweet-100-vs-sweet-million

The Super Sweet 100 does not mean it is super sweet. It means that it is an improved version of Sweet 100.

Here is another link.

http://www.tomatodirt.com/sweet-100-tomato.html

They should call it The Super Improved - Sweet 100.

Sherry, that first thread is interesting! it also has a link to a really cool vegetable varieties site from Cornell! I searched that site for the best-rated cherry tomatoes and I'm off to check some of the varieties named. :)

ETA: ooooooo -- that site at Cornell is loaded with WRONG information! I'm seeing mixed up variety names, OPs listed as F1 hybrids and vice versa, all kinds of bad info. It looks like it might be run like a wiki site w/ anyone providing or updating info. I'm really surprised it's in that state and has the Cornell name on it. :(

I don't have a favorite red cherry tomato and I do not grow mine from seed, but a favorite yellow cherry is the Sun Sugar. I will watch this post and see what you all like in a red cherry one and will try to plant that this spring.

Sue

I didn't look at the link, I just read what GW member wrote.

PM, I was not impressed Indigo Rose, because few ripened before our frost date. They grew well and produced an average amount of fruit, but just took forever to ripen. A couple were OK, and while not the best tomato I ever ate, they were sweet enough and looked pretty on a plate with the other colors. I only got a couple, though, and won't grow them again, as the flavor was mediocre and I can't count on a long ripening period here.

The Garden Peach did very well two years ago, then not as well last year, I think the unusually wet weather slowed them down, as few of them ripened and they were prone to splitting and they just didn't taste like they did the year before.

The Blue Berries were another loser for me, they were sour and just didn't even taste like a tomato at all, even though they were very interesting in appearance.

I grow Mortgage Lifter and Pineapple, along with the Great White every year, as they are favorites and very reliable. The Rutgers are mostly for canning, as they are determinates and I can count on a LOT of tomatoes at once.

Golden Jubilee produced more orange tomatoes than I've ever seen, and I used them to make tomato soup which turned out a bright neon orange that looks fake but isn't. It was Amanda's favorite.

So I'm still conflicted on cherry tomatoes and I'd like to grow another "color", as I have red, orange, white, the striped Pineapple, I need a darker one.

As for peppers, I always grow far more hot peppers than we'll use in a lifetime. Last year the poblanos did so well I was picking them by the buckets, as did a Romanian sweet pepper. The family likes the Romanian peppers because they are small, a nice "lunch box" size, and they can be eaten while green, after they turn yellow, when they become orange or after they turn red. They just get sweeter as they ripen. I've not had great luck with bell type peppers, though.

Annie

Annie, for a darker tomato, I really like Cherokee Chocolate -- though it's not as dark as Black Krim, I like the taste much better.... BK is much more astringent to me. Your growing conditions sound so much like mine; I always had good luck with every hot pepper I tried, but never had luck with bells until I tried King of the North. You should definitely try them! I'm not familiar with Romanian peppers but just looked them up.... One thing I learned: those "mini sweet" colored peppers that you buy in the grocery store have come true from seed for me and they grow great -- all 3 colors. I've grown them two years in a row now and they're on my regular rotation! :)

ETA: I've read a lot of comments recently about Indian Stripe being so much better than Cherokee Purple because they taste great and are good producers. Has anyone tried Indian Stripe?

THanks, PM, I have those peppers in the fridge right now, so I'll use the seeds! I was waffling on a red pepper, the bell type never did very well but the longer red ones did, so I was considering something like Marconi.

I got a free package of something called Black Vernissage, it's a cherry tomato, so I'm going to have to try that, of course.

Annie

Marconi looks great -- good for cooking and matures early!

The Black Vernissage looks really interesting, but I'm seeing it listed as larger than a cherry... more like salad-size (2-3oz each). They're pretty!

I love my marconi rosso peppers. They are thinner walled than a bell, though.

After all the glowing recommendations, and thinking about why I like Sun Gold, I decided to go with a hybrid for flavor. And, yay, I found Sweet 100! :)

I just ordered some King of the North peppers. I've had good luck with Yankee Bell, too, but I can't remember where I ordered from and haven't seen them in my usual catalogs. My best standby is Jimmy Nardello's Sweet Italian Frying Peppers....been saving the seed for years, but you gotta have bells also.

Writersblock, this will be my second year trying Marconi rossos....I feel like our weather is so unstable I need to give new varieties three years. They did OK last year and it was a bad year, so I have hope.

Indigo Rose....pitoooey! I usually buy couple of Sweet 100s from our library plant sale fundraiser, but last year they were sad, so I broke down and ordered seed. All I could find was the super sweet 100s....glad to hear they're not a whole different animal.

I've been trying to cut back on the experiments and stick with what I know will grow. I've gone from five high tunnels to two. But The Kid lives by a great farmers market so I'm sure I'll find some heirlooms that I'll just have to try.

PM...re: seed trade. It sounds like we have similar climates (if the seed packet says 60 days, it will be 90 at my place). I'd be happy to share what I save. I made my old card catalog into a seed library....have little packets all made up for that. Favorites being the Jimmy Nardellos, Hungarian wax peppers; Stupice, Legend and Silver Fir tomatoes; Tongue of Fire beans,random greens and flowers.

KatieC, I like Jimmy Nardello's too, and Elery has to have his hot peppers besides. I usually grow poblanos, jalapenos, habaneros and "something else". I'm thinking I'd like to grow and dry some peppers to make my own paprika this year...

Annie

KatieC, I might have agreed about our similar growing conditions until you said last year was bad for you... last year was the best gardening year EVER here! But I'm with you 100% on going with varieties I know will grow well (and mature) in my conditions!!! You should have great luck with King of the North! but I do think the strain isn't completely stable, and it produces many peppers that aren't bell shape.... I think I grew around 8 plants of KotN last year and at least 3 plants produced non-bells. (ETA: I bought that seed from High Mowing Seeds - Organic).

Many years ago I did lots of seed-trading on GW and tried many different varieties of tomatoes and peppers like Jimmy Nardello's and Marconi-- but I got so many dud seeds that didn't even germinate, or they were incorrect varieties, so I gave up on trading with strangers. lol! Way back then I was looking for a specific and rare pepper from Italy and I found a guy there to trade with... he sent some fantastic Italian and Spanish pepper seed varieties, including paprikas, but my growing season wasn't quite long enough to get good production. There's one he sent that I do continue to grow, he called it LaCrime di Christo... tiny and VERY HOT! Otherwise, the peppers I grow every year are things like Portugal Long Hots, Hungarian Hot Wax, Balloon Peppers, Anaheims, an old unknown Italian sweet variety that's very early (not bell), etc. I've tried Poblanos a few times but my growing season isn't long enough. :(

PM, last year was the first year I was really successful with poblanos here in North/West Michigan. I'm a zone 5a but like you, last summer was the best garden year I can remember in a long time. I got poblanos by the bucketfull, prior years I'd get a dozen or so, not especially large but still poblanos.

I did manage to get exactly TWO Carolina Reapers, LOL, but I had to plant them in pots and move them into our entry way for the winter. They didn't bear fruit until the second summer. I gave up on them and sent the seeds to my ex-boss, who now lives in Florida!

Annie

I never tried Carolina Reapers. Nor habaneros! the first time I ate a fresh habanero it tasted great (like pumpkin for me :) but it blistered my lips so I didn't feel a need to grow any. lol! I tried Peter Peppers one year.... I never wrote a note reminding myself to grow them again. :O)

Has anyone ever grown Roma tomatoes?

You should try Habanada, (sounds like a boy band)...great habanero flavor without the heat. Very mild heat if left to grow to a deep red or so i've heard.

I'm growing three mild heat peppers this year.

Grew a Roma years ago but unimpressed with flavor but good yield. I have so many heirlooms that have not needed them. My neighbor only grows Roma. He just wants sauce but i find a mix of heirlooms makes a better sauce. Early October i buy a big crate of Jersey toms from my local farmstand cheap. Better taste. Great sauce. Same place i pick up fresh picked corn on the cob.

Habanada boy band. lol! Thanks, sleevendog! Never heard of it before, so off to do research...

I agree with sleevendog on the Roma tomatoes. I grew them one year to make sauce, but I find them to be lacking in flavor and very bland. I make sauce from whatever tomatoes I have available from the garden at any given time, usually from my Rutgers/Bonny Best, which I grow for "canning tomatoes".

Habanada? Now that "mild heat" sounds right up my alley, I like the fruity flavor of habanero but can't stand the heat. OK, I'll look for that one now, LOL.

I got another free package, this one is "Green Vernissage", last week I got a free package of "Solar Flare". I won't have room to plant all these varieties! Well, maybe one of each...

Annie

ok, I won't waste any space on Roma. lol!