How do currant tomatoes taste? What do you have to consider when planting and caring for them? Are there also yellow currant tomatoes? Here you can find out everything you need to know about the special tomato variety.
The tiny currant tomatoes have been a favorite variety in home gardens and on balconies for years. We introduce you to the early and high-yielding tomato variety.
Currant Tomato: Profile
| Fruit | cocktail tomato; red or yellow |
| Flavour | sweet-sour, spicy |
| Maturity | early |
| Growth | Wild tomato, up to 150 cm |
| Location | Greenhouse, Outdoor, Pot |
Origin and History
The currant tomato (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium) descends directly from the wild tomatoes in Peru and Ecuador and is only distantly related to our cultivated tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum ) related. They were bred for flavor and not bigger fruit like all our other strains. However, some varieties have hardly been changed by breeding. Wild tomatoes are characterized by their numerous, very small fruits and their highly branched, bushy growth. This also applies to currant tomatoes.
Properties and taste of currant tomato
Currant tomatoes are found among the yellow tomato varieties, but the red varieties are the most well-known. Currant tomatoes grow a lot in width, they reach a height of about 1.5 meters and a width of one meter. The plants have delicately feathered foliage and produce countless small, round tomatoes from mid-July. The fruits reach a maximum of one centimeter in diameter and form many seeds inside. The taste of the currant tomato can be described as sweet and sour and spicy to tomato.
The currant tomatoes are seed-firm, seeds can be obtained from the fruit for next year's cultivation. The wild tomato also grows wild in the garden. If, for example, fruit has ended up on the compost, many often gosmall plants the following spring. In this way, the currant tomato can be easily propagated without much effort.
The best currant tomato varieties
There are also different types of tiny currant tomatoes. We introduce you to the best yellow and red varieties.
Red Currant Tomatoes
The red currant tomato, also called 'Red Currant', is the classic of the tiny tomatoes. The fruits weigh about three grams and ripen very early on the compact plants. An even smaller variety of currant tomato is the tiny, tasty 'Spoon' tomato. The pea-sized, deep red fruits fit several on a spoon, hence the name. The juicy mini tomatoes have an almost bursting skin and can grow very large as plants.
Yellow Currant Tomatoes
The 'Golden Currant' grows just as luxuriantly as the red varieties and delights with many sunny yellow, sweet fruits from mid-July. It is uncomplicated and easy to care for, but needs space in width. The 'Gold Rush' variety is characterized above all by its long panicles with countless small orange-yellow fruits. It ripens well in autumn on the warm window sill.
All the varieties mentioned are hardly susceptible to diseases such as late blight and are therefore also suitable for outdoor cultivation.
Planting and caring for currant tomatoes
Currant tomatoes are very adaptable in terms of location and can be grown in the greenhouse, on the balcony or outdoors. Due to the compact growth of currant tomatoes, they are ideal for keeping in pots or in hanging baskets. The wild tomato is extremely vigorous and does not have to be pinched. It is best to just let it grow rampant, because it also bears fruit on all side shoots. For hanging baskets and pots, soil selection is critical to keeping plants he althy and productive. When planting from mid-May, fill the planters with a special tomato soil - such as our Plantura organic tomato soil - and plant the young plants deep inside. The nutrients they contain give the currant tomatoes a good start in the summer and promote flowering.
In hanging baskets and pots, the plants quickly take up a lot of space and quickly begin to bear fruit. From this pointthe currant tomatoes need additional nutrients to feed the many fruits. Our Plantura organic tomato liquid fertilizer can be easily fertilized every one to two weeks with the irrigation water.
Harvesting and using currant tomatoes
The many tiny fruits of currant tomatoes are ideal for fresh consumption directly from the plant. As a whole in salads, they are a pretty eye-catcher and a real taste experience. Given the large number of fruits, it is also worth preserving them by drying them. To do this, cut the small fruits in half and dry them in the oven at low heat. In this way, the tasty tomatoes can also be enjoyed in winter.
Would you like to grow currant tomatoes or other tasty varieties on your balcony? We provide tips and tricks on how to grow tomatoes on the balcony and harvest plenty of fruit.