Cherry Tomatoes: Colorful Variety for Bed, Balcony & Pot
Cherry tomatoes – small but unbeatably flavorful
Once you've eaten homegrown cherry tomatoes, you won't buy any from the supermarket again. The flavor straight from the plant is hard to beat.
Popular varieties
| Variety | Color | Special feature |
|---|---|---|
| Sweet 100 | red | very productive, a classic |
| Yellow Pear | yellow, pear-shaped | mild & sweet |
| Black Cherry | dark purple | intensely spicy |
| Tigerella | red-orange striped | fruity-tart |
| Honeydrop | yellow | extremely sweet, low acid |
| Green Zebra | green striped | ripens green, for connoisseurs |
Location & propagation
Cherry tomatoes need:
- Full sun (min. 6 hours/day)
- A warm, wind-sheltered location
- Deep pots on the balcony (min. 20–30 liters per plant)
Propagation: pre-grow February–March at 22–25 °C, plant out from May.
Care
- Pinch out side shoots like large tomatoes – saves energy for the fruit
- Water regularly – fluctuations cause blossom end rot (black spot on the bottom)
- Fertilize every 2 weeks with tomato fertilizer
- Limiting trusses pays off: one main truss + 1–2 side shoots are enough for a full yield on the balcony
Harvest tips
Cherry tomatoes are ripe when they:
- Are evenly colored (depending on variety)
- Give slightly when pressed
- Detach easily from the stem
Harvest daily – fully ripe fruit otherwise splits after rain.
Using the surplus
- Oven-dried tomatoes: halve, drizzle with olive oil & salt, dry for 3–4 h at 100 °C
- Cherry tomatoes in oil: in herb olive oil only for eating soon – according to the BfR, keep home-made vegetables or herbs in oil in the fridge and use them by the day after making them at the latest (risk of botulism)
- Tomato sauce: for canning, acidify it and follow a tested recipe – see "Canning a big tomato harvest"; the pH of tomatoes varies (BfR)
- Freezing: freeze whole, use directly in sauces
Sources
- German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR): Rare but avoidable: questions and answers about botulism, as of 12 Nov 2025, accessed 5 Oct 2026
The sources support individual statements in this article. The organisations named have neither reviewed nor endorsed it.