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All About The Savory Grape Tomato

Sweet, savory little tomatoes like the grape tomato are rising in popularity every year on the market. With versatile eating applications, easy home growing, and a ton of health benefits in a small package, there’s nothing you won’t love about this variety. This is a beloved classic for a reason!

Read on to learn all there is to know about Grape Tomatoes, including how to enjoy them, grow and care for them, and more.

Red Grape Tomatoes in a Bowl

Characteristics of Grape Tomatoes

Grape Tomatoes, similar to Cherry Tomatoes, are small, firm tomatoes and full of flavor. They have thick skin, lower water content, and a meatier texture as a result of some other tomato varieties on the market.

The distinctive characteristic that sets these tomatoes apart from their other smaller tomato contemporaries is their shape. Whereas Cherry Tomatoes are globular, Grape Tomatoes are oblong…much more like the grapes whose names they share.

You can find these small, tasty tomatoes in a variety of colors when fully ripe: yellow, orange, soft pink, and, of course, classic red. They even come in a brownish “chocolate” variety that’s a real eye-catcher!

These tomatoes have a firm, bursting fleshiness and a flavor that straddles the line between deep and earthy and savory-sweet. Though not quite as sweet as cherry tomatoes, grapes are still notably sweet and balanced.


More About The Grape Tomato

Grape tomato in a basket

The grape tomato has its places where it shines and others where it’s not as suitable. Here is some more information so you can make the most out of your Grape Tomatoes.

Eating Them

The size and shape of Grape Tomatoes make them ideal for certain kinds of eating and less preferred for others.

You will find these tomatoes don’t do as well on sandwiches or burgers unless you plan to cut them lengthwise and enjoy a slightly thicker, meatier, and more abundant number of tomato pieces in your handheld meal.

However, grape tomatoes are the perfect tomato to enjoy as a snack or garnish to a dish. They are delicious, simply washed and eaten raw, but they can also be dotted on salads, as they require less prep and cutting than a slicer tomato for this purpose.

There are also many different recipes for homemade tomato soup that lean heavily into the use of these tomatoes. Their sweet body of flavor and smaller size can make them much easier to use in cooking recipes.

Health Benefits

Like many varieties of tomatoes, both large and small, there are plenty of health benefits to enjoying some Grape Tomatoes!

These little tomato types pack an absolute powerhouse of vitamins and nutrients. Some of the key compounds of these tomatoes include Vitamins C and A, which help boost your immune system, lower inflammation, and help with heart and eye health.

Grape Tomatoes are also high in potassium, dietary fiber, iron, protein, and glucose, which boost all sorts of bodily functions from energy to bowel regularity.

These little tomatoes also owe their bright red hue at ripeness to antioxidants lycopene and beta carotene, and their skin contains high levels of a flavonoid called naringenin. All three of these compounds are anti-inflammatory, helping to keep your body in its healthiest state overall.


Growing At Home

grape tomatoes growing

Grape Tomatoes have risen in popularity over the years to become a homegrown favorite! They can be grown in large containers or in the garden. These also tend to be hardy and vigorous plants when well cared for, producing a bumper crop.

Preparing and Planting

To start with, you will want to find the perfect place to plant your Grape Tomato plants. These tomato plants like full sunlight for a minimum of 6 hours a day. Their soil should be well-draining and moist, and you will want to plan for enough space to space and cage your plants adequately.

Like many tomato varieties, Grape Tomatoes do their absolute best when started indoors from seed and then transplanted, as opposed to direct sowing in the soil. You will want to begin them indoors about 8 to 10 weeks before the final threat of frost has passed in your area.

You can germinate your little tomato seeds in temperatures of 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit, then harden the young plants off by placing them outdoors for several hours a day for a full week before you plan to transplant.

Once the soil is consistently at around 70 degrees Fahrenheit and all threat of frost has ended, it’s time to transplant your Grape Tomatoes outdoors! You will want to space them 24 to 36 inches apart in all directions, planting deeply to encourage roots to really spread out and take hold.

Be sure to cage or trellis these tomato plants. They tend to get heavy quickly with the amount of fruit they produce, so caging them early on will ensure they have all the support they need right from the get-go.

After you have transplanted your little tomato plants, it is best to fertilize them with a high phosphate fertilizer solution. Be sure to water down the fertilizer to a 1:20 ratio to avoid burning the plants.

Caring and Maintaining

Once you have your Grape Tomato plants in the ground, it’s important to keep them well cared for! Water is often at the base of the plant to encourage thriving fruits and root growth and avoid wetting the leaves. Wet leaves can lead to diseases that will overtake a whole crop.

Continue to feed and fertilize your tomato plants every few weeks, and watch for any signs of disease or pests. If you spot any, be sure to address them right away!

You should begin to see a ripe harvest of red tomatoes after about 70 days. Once the first harvest sets in, you will likely see a fairly high volume of these little tomatoes coming in, so be sure to harvest regularly.

You may need to harvest multiple times a week or even every other day, depending on how vigorous the plant is. Just watch for your tomatoes to form a faint shoulder, and then harvest; waiting any longer may lead to overripening, splitting, and cracking of your tomatoes.


Where To Buy Grape Tomato Seeds

Seeds

Grape Tomato seeds are fairly easy to find at most lawn and garden centers, nurseries, and even supermarkets and grocery stores. When sourcing them online, we recommend Hoss Tools’ Mingle Mix Variety for Grape Tomatoes of various colors and delicious flavors.


Wrapping Up the Grape Tomato

Excited to grow Grape Tomatoes in your garden this year? Before you get started, be sure to check out our Tomato Plants page. This is a fantastic resource to learn and equip yourself with knowledge about all things having to do with tomato plant growth and care.