Golden Cherry Tomatoes

"Your love of gardening will take on new meaning in your life." Fortune Cookie

Last year there was a blight in the area so very few gardeners were able to produce a healthy crop of tomatoes. There is discussion that the blight has shown up in the neighboring county again this summer.

This year I tried to grow three varities of tomatoes. I am working on a crop of beefsteak tomatoes for my grandmother, with little success, red cherry tomatoes and the subject of this blog the golden cherry tomato. Anyone with an interest in growing these "fruits" know that there are literally hundreds of different tomatoes to choose from in size, color and flavor. My four year old daughter would like to try something more exotic next year so maybe we will give it a go.

The golden cherry was purchased as a starter plant at our local farmers market, Frog Pond. It has proven to be a hearty little plant that produces extremely well also. The tomatoes themselves are very sweet. I prefer to eat tomatoes along with other foods, more specifically when they are cooked as part of the meal, but this particular tomato is delicious as a finger food. Part of our goal this year was to produce food that not only taste good but looks unique as well and these tomatoes fit the bill.

At this point we are eating most of our tomatoes raw or mixed in with a meal but we have slowly begun dehydrating some as well to add to soups and stews later in the year.

There is not a ton of nutritional value associated with tomatoes but with that said they are exceptionally high in the antioxidant Vitamin C and also contain lycopene. Lycopene gives tomatoes their red color so I am not so sure how much this applies to the golden cherry but lycopene is believed to help prevent prostate cancer.

Enjoy!

Tobias Whitaker blogs for Mother Earth News and Grit Magazine. Click on the Mother Earth News logo at the bottom of the page for all of his post. You can also find him on Facebook at Seed To Harvest: Bossy Hen Homestead  https://www.facebook.com/seedtoharvestbossyhenhomestead/ which is a central location for his homesteading blogs and his homeschooling blog, A Mile In Her Shoes: Tales Of A Stay-At Home Dad found here https://amileinhershoestalesofastayathomedad.wordpress.com/