Grape Tomatoes in the Home Garden

A recent addition to the tomato world is the "grape" tomato. The shape, size, and sweet taste of grape tomatoes is similar to the fruit on grapevines. Oblong-shaped fruits weigh between 1/3 to 3/4 of an ounce and are produced in clusters of up to 30 or 40. The culture of grape tomatoes is similar to other tomatoes. Planting, fertilizing, and other cultural information can be found in extension publication PM 608, Tomatoes . Grape tomatoes are reported to be almost crack-free, increasing the yield of edible tomatoes.

Some grape tomato cultivars include 'Gabrielle', 'Mini Charm', 'Summer Sweet', 'Sweet Olive', 'Grapette', and 'Green Grape'. (The fruit of 'Green Grape' remain green at maturity.)

A few mail-order sources of grape tomatoes are listed below. Check local garden centers for available plants. Johnny's Selected Seeds
184 Foss Hill RD.
RR1 Box 2580
Albion, ME 04910-9731

Park Seeds
1 Parkton Ave.
Greenwood, SC 29647-0001

Totally Tomatoes
335 S. High St.
Randolph, WI 53956

Twilley Seeds
121 Gary Rd.
Hodges, SC 29653

So, when your neighbors ask where you found out about grape tomatoes just tell them you heard it through the grapevine.

This article originally appeared in the May 24, 2002 issue, p. 71.

Issue: 
Authors: 

Links to this article are strongly encouraged, and this article may be republished without further permission if published as written and if credit is given to the author, Horticulture and Home Pest News, and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. If this article is to be used in any other manner, permission from the author is required. This article was originally published on May 24, 2002. The information contained within may not be the most current and accurate depending on when it is accessed.