Cherry tomatoes are ripening now. They are tasty, plentiful and require almost no work in the kitchen. In fact, they’re good as a snack just as they are should you walk by them in the garden and want to sample.

All cherry-sized tomatoes are indeterminate, which means the vines keep growing and producing new fruit as the season goes on. Typically they are staked, and gardeners use strips of cloth to tie them to poles. But while most indeterminate tomatoes do poorly in cages (which are designed for determinate varieties), the cherry-sized ones will do OK, especially if they are at least 3 feet tall.

If you didn’t do so earlier this season, next year plant them at the end of May or in early June. Bury them deeper than the soil line of the seedlings, because tomatoes can form new roots anywhere along the stem, so deep planting will give them a stronger root system. Fertilize the tomatoes lightly – too much fertilizer promotes leaves rather than fruit – and water them regularly.

You probably want both gold and red varieties. Sun Gold sets the standard for golden, although the fruits often split late in the season. Cherry Bomb, an introduction from Johnny’s Selected Seeds, is one of my favorite red cherry tomatoes.

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