Sun Sugar Tomatoes are a hybrid cherry-sized tomato that is very productive and fairly easy to grow.
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Sun Sugar Tomatoes
A complete guide to growing Sun sugar tomatoes. You will learn everything you need to know about growing this variety of cherry tomatoes.
- Botanical name-Solanum Lycopersicum
- Plant method: sow indoors or use nursery starts
- Germination: 1-3 weeks
- Spacing: 24”-36”
- Light: Full Sun
- Plant depth: Plant seed ¼ inch deep, Nursery starts need to be deeper than the pot
- Plant Height: Indeterminate
- Seed type: Hybrid
- Matures: 65-80 days
- Zones: 3-9
- Disease resistant: Fusarium wilt and Tobacco Mosaic Virus
- Production: Produces 100s of cherry tomatoes from 1 plant
- Characteristics: Deep intense orange color with thin skin and bursting with flavor–Known as the sweetest Cherry Tomato
What are Sun Sugar Tomatoes?
Sun Sugar Tomatoes
are a cherry-sized tomato. They are considered a yellow cherry tomato but they really ripen to a very nice orange color. They are a bit bigger than the traditional cherry tomatoes that I have grown in the past (Sweeties and sweet 100’s).
I have also found that they are overall more productive than many of the more traditional cherry tomatoes. They are also very early to mature. These are always the first tomato in our garden. They are also fairly hardy and make a good choice to plant extra early in a wall of water. We have grown them in walls of water for 5 years now and a mid-April planting will mean you have tomatoes by mid to late June!
How to plant?
In most areas tomatoes can not be started directly in the garden. They can be planted 2 ways
- Plant indoors in a seed starting container
- Plant by starts directly in the garden
If you choose to plant this variety of tomato by seed indoors you will need to start them 6-8 weeks before the last frost. To learn more about seed starting indoors go here to find out how to start these tomatoes by seed.
If planting starts then plant them directly in the garden 2 weeks after your last frost. They need to be planted deep. The recommendation is to plant so that ⅔ of the plant is below the ground. 24 to 36 inches apart. These plants grow big and so they need the space.
Pro Tip: A trick I learned from my in-laws to help your tomatoes to be sweeter is to throw a couple of banana peels and some organic compost in the hole that you dug to put your start in. Make sure you plant them deeper than the container they are in.
Growing Sun Sugar Tomatoes
Sun Sugar Tomatoes grow like most other tomatoes. They need good well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. Sun Sugar Tomatoes benefit from an early dose of nitrogen fertilizer and a later dose of fertilizer that is higher in phosphorus (both organic fertilizers of course).
Sun Sugars are resistant to fusarium wilt and tomato mosaic virus. I have never had a disease problem with this variety either from seeds I have started myself or from nursery-bought stock. But it is still a really good idea to practice proper crop rotation and to avoid planting Sun Sugar Tomatoes in the same spot without at least 3 years in between plantings.
They need consistent water but be careful not to overwater or you will get all vine and no fruit. And make sure they get plenty of sun.
When to Harvest?
It is super simple to know when to harvest these cherry tomatoes and the easiest way I have found is to look at their color.
You will know they are ready to be picked if they have a deep orange color all around the fruit. There shouldn’t be any green on the tomato. Carefully twist the tomato without squeezing them otherwise they will split and it should come off easily.
I have read many places suggesting you can pick them green and they will ripen on the counter, however whenever I have tried this they don’t ripen well and they are not as sweet. So if you want the sweetest tomato you have ever tasted leave it on the vine until it has that bold deep orange color, you will be glad you waited.
Should I prune a Sun Sugar Tomato?
Yes!! There are so many advantages to pruning this cherry tomato and you will be glad you took the time to do it.
Here is why you should prune them;
- Tomatoes will grow bigger
- Improves the sweetness of your cherry tomatoes
- Higher production of tomatoes
- Reduces the risk of disease
This variety of tomatoes is indeterminant. This just basically means they continue to grow. They grow pretty large plants and will need some support. A tomato cage works well. But because they are indeterminant tomatoes they will benefit from pruning.
If Sun Sugar Tomatoes have one disadvantage it is this aggressive growth habit. I have found that they can get very aggressive by the end of the summer so be sure to give them a little space so they don’t overtake your other plants.
In fact, this year we are growing our Sun Sugar Tomato plant in a pot away from our other tomato plants to keep the Sun Sugars aggressive vines from affecting the growth of our other plants. Sucker pruning Sun Sugar tomatoes helps keep them under control. You can learn how to do “sucker pruning” from this article!
How does this variety taste?
This is no ordinary cherry tomato! They are bursting with sweet delicious tomato flavor. Sun Sugar Tomatoes are seriously the best-tasting cherry tomatoes I have ever eaten. Sun Sugars are like eating tomato-flavored candy!! They also have very thin skins so they are a pleasure to eat straight off the vine. They are soft and bursting with flavor!
Aj loves cherry tomatoes and eats them by the bucket full in August and September, but I have never been a real big fan of them. I’ve never been one to just eat a plain tomato. I usually prefer my tomatoes in a recipe or at least a sandwich or salad. But Sun Sugar Tomatoes has changed that for me, just writing about them makes my mouth water!!
How many Tomato plants should you plant?
I started my first season off with 2 starts. Two of my Master Gardener friends each gave me a start to try. One of them met an early demise when it had an accident involving and a soccer ball and a trampoline (don’t ask). The other survived to maturity and after struggling to set fruit through our hot summer it finally hit its stride and produced a lot of fruit.
For the first few years that we grew this variety, we planted 2 plants. But we have trimmed that back to one plant now. They are so productive that we were getting overwhelmed with 2 plants and just couldn’t keep up. I would say that one plant is plenty for a family of 4 to 6 people unless all of you really love cherry tomatoes!!
Is a Sun Sugar Tomato a hybrid?
Sun Sugar Tomatoes are a hybrid variety so you WILL NOT be able to save seeds from year to year. But if you are going to grow a cherry tomato, in my opinion, this is the one to choose!! The seeds germinate easily so these are a good choice for growing your own seedlings. Sun Sugars are still not the most well know tomato so you may have to search a little for them. But the seeds are easy to find online from several different seed catalogs.
Our favorite place to buy Sun Sugar Tomato Seeds is True Leaf Market.
Follow this link to get Sun Sugar Tomatoes from True Leaf Market.
Why You Should be Planting in Full Sun?
Looking at the picture makes one want to try them! Nancy
How do I regret not planting this!! I have been buying them at my local markets. They are soooooo good! Definitely a must next year!
I bet they sure are tasty! I have never grow that variety before. Are they similar to Sungolds? We just love those!
Have you tried saving the seeds? I know that sometimes they aren’t viable or dont come true to type but I have found that often they do. I haven’t tried Sun gold as I don’t think its available here but I’ve tried quite a few hybrids here.
They look great. We grew an orange hybrid variety this year. It was our best producer. I don’t think it was Sungold. Maybe we’ll get to try Sungold next year. They sound delicious.
I checked my records. They are Sungold! How about that? We have really enjoyed them too. To bad I haven’t been paying much attention to their flavor. They’ve been coming in gangbusters. I’ll give them a taste test today!
Nice article. I planted a Sun Sugar and a Sun Gold this year. Waiting to harvest ! and I’m pretty sure Sun Sugar is an indeterminate variety.
First year I’ve planted these from seeds. Started indoors in march..transferred to bigger pot and again transferred to huge pot in July…since then they have grown huge with tons of still green bunches…what am I Do I g wrong? Will they ever ripen?
Becky, I wouldn’t stress too much. Mine are running on about the same schedule. We just started getting the first of ours to ripen this week, you should be fine as long as the plants look healthy they should ripen soon!
I have to agree that this is a wonderful tomato variety! We planted four plants last year and between the three of us, they disappeared as soon as they were picked! My daughter refers to them as Nature’s Candy.
I know right!! They are fantastic!!
Where can I find some Sun Sugar seeds?? I ordered some from Amazon last year and gave my mother a couple plants. She was the one that introduced me to them. We were both very excited for the harvest. After all of the anticipation and TLC the tomatos our plants produced were nothing like Sun Sugars … they weren’t even the right color. So disappointing. I went back to look to make sure I ordered correctly and I did, then I scrolled down and read the reviews…. almost all of them were complaining about the same issue.
Needless to say I dont want to order from them again. I am however, having a tough time finding any. The ones my mom grew two years ago came from a plant a friend gave her from Skagit. When I go to their site I can’t find them . 🤷♀️😕
Than you! Jeanne
A quick google search gave me about 8 or 10 different places that sell them. I don’t have anyone that I specifically recommend. Try going with a bigger seed company and hopefully they will get you the right seeds this year.
Tracie and Danny at https://www.tomatogrowers.com can help you with your order for Sunsugar! I am the product manager for Sunsugar tomatoes and I want to make sure you have a great experience with these tomatoes next year and he is an expert…
Sincerely,
Nick Pucci
Can I plant again this coming month?
lolita, Do you know what gardening zone you live in? As long as you wait to plant them outside until after your last frost they should be fine.
I got hooked on these tomatoes last summer after trying them! I bought one plant in April and immediately planted it, and was so sad when the temps dropped suddenly one weekend. This plant had MAJOR frost damage and only part of the stem with one tiny off shoot looked normal.
I decided to buy another sun sugar tomato plant and placed it in the same pot (18′ pot) thinking the original plant would die. To my surprise, the original sun sugar plant has grown back and is the same size as the second one! They are both flowering and starting to set fruit (none are ripe yet).
My only concern is that now I have 2 plants in one pot. Should I try splitting them since its still early in the season or should I just see what happens?
Thanks in advance!
If they are to the flowering stage then I think I would just leave them be and see what happens.
I need advice on growing these delicious tomato candies in a pot on my deck. Zone 8a.
Also, it’s August 12th. Is it too late to put another plant in the ground or in an outdoor, full sun pot?
Thanks to anyone willing to answer
Monica,
The biggest issue you will have with growing this in a pot is that this is an indeterminate tomato. So they grow like CRAZY! They can get really big and invasive.
Unless you live in Zones 8, 9, or 10 August is way too late to plant.
Go for it! If you get 6hrs of sun each day on them for 2-2 1/2 mths, you will be okay. They do need “cool” days to turn orange.
This is the first year I’ve grown these and they’re fantastic! And this crazy plant just keeps growing and producing! I got this plant back in early May, it’s now 9 feet tall and putting out another small crop! Fabulous! Don’t be in doubt, just get these next spring–you won’t regret it!
Thanks Lisa! I so agree with you. Our plant is still producing like crazy we have loved having these in our garden for the last 9 seasons!
Someone gave me a few of those tomatoes last summer. I couldn’t believe how sweet and yummy they were. Now I want to grow them on my balcony and I,have no idea where to find them? Guelph, Ont., Can.
I have grown Sunsugar tomatoes for 7 years. I have a large tomato garden each year so I plant
5 plants each year. I suppport them first , when they are small, by using large tomato cages. I later enclose them in 2 in by 3 inch fencing that I buy by the roll which is five feet tall. I later take a strip of fencing the size of the circumference of the original fencing around the fence . I usually take a 2 ft. strip and this makes the fencing around the plant arund 7 ft. tall. This does take some work, but I have increased the yields from each plant aprox.20%. It is common to get a yield 200 tomatoes using this method because of the added suport for the growing vines.