No. 014 · open-pollinated
Matt's Wild Cherry
Matt's Wild Cherry is an indeterminate open-pollinated cherry tomato with deep red fruit. It ripens in about 60 days.
Flavor
Described as full-flavored with high sugar content and exceptional taste for such tiny fruit. Flavor is subjective, so treat this as the recurring catalog and grower description rather than a measured claim for your garden.
Origin
A wild currant-type cherry tomato whose seed came from Hidalgo in eastern Mexico, brought to Maine by Teresa Arellanos de Mena and shared with researcher Matt Liebman, who passed it to Johnny's Selected Seeds.
What it does well
- Very early and well suited to short seasons
- Some resistance to early and late blight
- Produces abundant clusters until frost
Where it frustrates
- Thin skin cracks if not picked frequently
- Soft fruit does not store or ship well
- Yields less heavily than modern hybrids
Growing it
- Indeterminate vine. It keeps growing and setting fruit right up to frost, so plan on a tall stake or cage and regular pruning through the season.
- Ripens early, under about 70 days, one of the safer picks where the summer is short.
- Generally forgiving and beginner-friendly to grow.
- Reliably sets and ripens in cool, short seasons.
- Prone to cracking and splitting after wet spells.
- One of our picks for the cold, short-season gardens of New England.
Disease resistance
Why no hardiness zone?
Tomatoes are warm-season annuals, so variety choice comes down to days to maturity and your local frost dates.
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Where to buy seed
Related reading
Common questions
- Is Matt's Wild Cherry determinate or indeterminate?
- Matt's Wild Cherry is an indeterminate variety. Indeterminate vine. It keeps growing and setting fruit right up to frost, so plan on a tall stake or cage and regular pruning through the season.
- How long does Matt's Wild Cherry take to ripen?
- Matt's Wild Cherry ripens in about 60 days from transplant. Ripens early, under about 70 days, one of the safer picks where the summer is short.
- Is Matt's Wild Cherry an heirloom or a hybrid?
- Matt's Wild Cherry is open-pollinated, so seed saved from it comes back true to type.
- What can I grow instead of Matt's Wild Cherry?
- A close swap is Sungold, but a tiny red currant-type instead of a larger orange cherry.
Sources
- Matt's Wild Cherry Heirloom Tomato Seed · Johnny's Selected Seeds
- Organic Non-GMO Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato · High Mowing Organic Seeds
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