Harvest guide
Cherry tomato harvest guide: when to pick and how much to expect
Cherry tomatoes crop early and keep going for months, which makes them one of the most rewarding plants to track. This guide covers ripeness, picking rhythm and storage.
- Harvest months
- July–October(RHS)
- Spacing
- 45–60 cm (18–24 in) apart(RHS)
- Family
- Solanaceae (nightshade family)
- Botanical name
- Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme
Cherry tomato planting and harvest calendar
Sow February–April. Plant out May–June. Harvest July–October.(RHS)
Cherry tomato season timeline
- Sow
- Plant out
- Harvest
- Sow
- Plant out
- Harvest
When to harvest cherry tomatoes
- Small-fruited tomatoes ripen faster than big beefsteak types, so the first cherries are often the first tomatoes of the year.(RHS)
- Pick each fruit once it is fully coloured, keeping the short stalk on.(RHS)
How often to pick
Check the trusses every few days and pick whatever has coloured up. One plant keeps giving small pickings from midsummer into autumn.(RHS)
How many cherry tomatoes to expect
The extension sources we use don't publish a reliable yield figure for cherry tomatoes, so we don't guess one here. Weighing your own harvest is the best way to know what your plants give.
Yields vary with variety, weather, soil and care. Treat these as ballpark figures, not targets.
Plan for your family
For 4 people eating cherry tomatoes fresh, plan on about 12–20 plants(University of Missouri Extension).
To preserve or store some as well, allow 5–10 plants per person.(University of Missouri Extension)
Figures are for tomatoes in general.
Storing your cherry tomatoes
- Like all tomatoes, keep them out of the fridge. Cold below about 4 °C (40 °F) dulls flavour and texture.(University of Minnesota Extension)
- Stored somewhere cool, around 13 °C (55 °F), they keep for about five days.(University of Minnesota Extension)
Track it
Log every cherry tomato harvest
Harvest Journal is a private garden journal for your phone. Tap to log each picking of cherry tomatoes by weight or count, and see your season add up, with no account needed.
Prefer paper? Make a free harvest report PDF in your browser, with no account needed.
Cherry tomato harvest FAQ
Do cherry tomatoes ripen before regular tomatoes?
Usually, yes. The RHS notes that smaller fruits ripen more quickly than large ones, so cherry types tend to give the first harvest of the season.
How many cherry tomato plants do I need per person?
University of Missouri Extension suggests 3 to 5 tomato plants per person for eating fresh and 5 to 10 if you also want to preserve. That guidance covers tomatoes in general, so cherry types sit within it.
Related harvest guides
More: when to harvest vegetables · vegetable yield chart · all guides
Sources
Figures are paraphrased from the sources below. Tags like (RHS) next to each fact show where it came from.