How to grow cherry tomatoes or cocktail tomatoes

A pleasant and tasty reward of gardening is biting into a ripe, firm, juicy tomato from your own garden.

There are many varieties of tomatoes and therefore a wide variety of choices, but most gardeners like to include at least a few cherry tomato plants or cocktail tomatoes that are a delight in summer salads and appetizers.

Cherry tomatoes come in red, orange, yellow and even “black,” and are just as sweet and delicious when ripe on the vine.

Some tips for growing cherry and cocktail tomatoes.

Before planting cherry tomato plans and it is essential to have a good idea or at least know the basics of growing tomatoes before you start.

In early spring, whether you started your seeds indoors or purchased seedlings from a nursery, make sure there is no risk of frost on the day you decide to plant them outdoors. Seedlings that are too tender and fragile will die if temperatures drop too low.

Wait until your small plants are 15-25cm tall so that they are strong and sturdy enough to prevent birds and other snails from eating them.

Also, make sure to leave at least 30 to 60 cm between tomato plants so that they have enough room to express themselves.
Cherry tomato stems can grow into large, bushy plants, so they will need a good amount of space.

When planning your garden layout, keep in mind that tomatoes are happiest in well-drained soil with a pH balance of 6.2 to 6.5 and require four to six hours of sun every day.

Planting tomato plants:

Check your cherry tomato plant in its small pot. You can remove all the small stems and shoots from the bottom of the main stem of the seedling to a few inches above the current soil line.
When you remove it from its pot, gently tease out the existing roots.
To plant, bury most of the bare stem deep in the soil, all the way down to the first remaining stem. This will give the plant a chance to make lots of additional roots and grow strong and sturdy as it grows.

To avoid some common problems when growing cherry tomatoes, sprinkle a handful of lemon juice at the bottom of each hole and use some tomato fertilizer to give your plants a good start. Well-rotted manure also works well.

Once they are established, you can fertilize them with homemade compost or a 10-20-10 plant food, depending on the soil content.

Cherry and cocktail tomato care:

Ongoing care involves pinching off any shoots that appear when growing cherry tomatoes. Note where the branches meet the stem and form a “V.” Removing small shoots at these junctions and at the bottom of the main stem will allow your plant to use more energy to produce fruit.

If your cocktail tomato plant starts to get thick, you should help it with a stake placed a few centimetres away to support it and prevent the fruit from resting on the ground or the branches from breaking due to the weight.

Gently tie the main stem of the plant to the stake with a piece of wire or flexible string and plan to rearrange it as the plant grows.

Cherry tomatoes are happiest with weekly heavy watering rather than frequent light watering.

Plants also thrive when ripe fruit is picked daily or every other day.

Harvesting cocktail tomatoes:

Depending on the climate, cocktail tomatoes take about two months to ripen.
Pick them as soon as they have the expected color.
When your tomatoes are ready and fully ripe, they will be very easy to separate from the plant.
Every day or every other day in peak season, you will have more and more ripe cocktail tomatoes to harvest. Picking fresh, ripe cocktail tomatoes for salads, snacks, and hors d’oeuvres is definitely one of the highlights of gardening for children and all vegetable garden lovers.