PlantFiles: Tomato
Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium 'Red Currant'

I grew Red Currant tomatoes several years ago in San Diego, and liked it.

The plant got HUGE, about 8 feet tall, and produced dozens of sprays of pea-sized fruits - each spray containing 12-20 fruits. They were great to just stand in the garden and eat like candy. The flavor was intense, more sour than the average cherry / berry-like tomato. The plant tolerated quite a bit of heat.

Due to their small size, it was a little tough to find anything culinary to do with them other than salads. I sometimes like making pasta sauce out of cherry tomatoes, skins and all, but that might not be to some people's taste.

I tried red currant because it was recommended as a variety which would grow in my fairly shaded garden. It did, but seemed to dry up toward the end of August, while other tomato plants went on for another month. Although it's acidic tang was ok in salads, other small varieties have a much better taste.

The one thing that sets this tomato plant apart from the others is its sheer size. Be sure to give this plant *lots* of room. When I set my plant out in the middle of April it was about a foot tall. By the end of May it had already outgrown its 5 foot cage and was sprawling in every direction. I had to cut the tops off all the vines just to keep it under control.

This variety is also extremely productive. Each truss will produce about 25 marble sized tomatoes. There are over 1,000 tomatoes on the plant already and there's still many months of growth ahead.

The tomatoes themselves are very acidic with good flavor.