Many know it as the “Everglades” Cherry Tomato. But the true origin of the these little seedy tomatoes is none other than the Peru and Ecuador region. Thanks to hybridization , done likely by Native Americans and birds, we now consider the tomatoes to be a Florida Native due to its naturalization and long history in the State.
Everglades Cherry Tomatoes are without a doubt an indeterminate variety of tomato. Generally producing dozens and dozens of dime sized fruits. But after trying out many different growing techniques in an attempt to get larger fruit . I ended up finding the most successes ,as far as fruit size and quality, from the plants grown in about 1.5 feet of lightly amended sandy Florida native soil that sat on top of a thick clay deposit. The plants averaged about 4ft tall and 3ft wide. I did minimal pruning of the suckers and the plants received about 8hrs of bright indirect summer light and I watered every other day . No additional fertilizers were used. As a result the average tomato size was a quarter rather than the typical dime .These were the results…
Results of no direct sunlight (Plant size -6ft by 6ft) … dime size
Results of the one grown in a 5 gallon nursery pot …dime size
