Sungold tomato: cultivation & care

As its name suggests, tomato ‘Sungold’ has beautiful, golden yellow fruits. Here is everything you need to know about growing and caring for tomato ‘Sungold’ at home.

With long vines, full of golden-yellow, sugary-sweet cherry tomatoes, ‘Sungold’ F1 is a summer treat! Read on to find out what makes this variety so special, and how you can best plant and care for tomato ‘Sungold’.

‘Sungold’ tomato: profile

Origin and history of the ‘Sungold’

The golden yellow cherry tomato ‘Sungold’ is a hybrid variety. It was developed by the Tokia Seed Company in Japan, and arrived on the market in 1992. Available in the UK that year, Thompson and Morgan seed trade, who distributed the tomato, described it as the “sweetest tomato ever”.

Ever since, this disease-resistant hybrid has remained hugely popular at home and abroad. The yellow ‘Sungold’ F1 was followed by a red variety marketed under the name ‘Sungold Select Red’.

Taste and characteristics of tomato ‘Sungold’

‘Sungold’ F1 is a voracious grower; reaching up to 2m in height, it produces round fruits that hang in clusters, each weighing about 15g. You can begin harvesting very early in July and continue until October.

‘Sungold’ tomatoes are golden yellow cherry tomatoes that taste very sweet, slightly acidic and citrusy. The F1 hybrid is resistant to tomato mosaic virus (ToMV), tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV) and Fusarium wilt. However, seeing as it is not an heirloom variety, you will have to buy new seeds each year to regrow your plants.

Top tips for planting and caring for tomato ‘Sungold’

Potted, young ‘Sungold’ F1 plants grow well outdoors or in a greenhouse. However, as this variety has no resistance to tomato late blight, we recommend using a rain shelter if you are growing the tomatoes outdoors.

Plant your tomato plants in the greenhouse at the beginning of May, and in pots outdoors from the middle of May. Be sure to use potting soil that is adapted for tomatoes. Our Plantura Organic Tomato & Vegetable Compost is a great choice. It’s pre-fertilised mix contains essential nutrients to support young tomato plants until their first fertilisation in June. After planting, provide the tomatoes with a support and water well.

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High-yielding cherry tomatoes, like ‘Sungold’ F1, grow well with several shoots. Leave three to four side shoots low on the stem when pruning. This will create a bushier plant with more sugary-sweet fruit. However, it will require strong support, so be sure to help it out!

Fruiting begins in June. As such, apply some fertiliser to your plant then. Especially for those in pots or hanging baskets, reach for a liquid fertiliser, such as Plantura Liquid Tomato Food. This will allow you to mix 15 to 25 ml of the fertiliser with 5l of water and water the plants as normal roughly once a week. This method also works well for tomatoes grown outdoors and in greenhouses.

Harvesting and using ‘Sungold’ tomatoes

The ‘Sungold’ F1 is a snack tomato with a high yield and a sweet taste. The fruits taste best fresh from the plant. However, they are also ideal for drying, which will allow you to enjoy them out of season. A homemade tomato chutney made from the sweet fruits is particularly delicious!

There are thousands of tomato varieties to explore, some more exotic that others. Find out what makes the ‘Banana Legs’ tomato variety so unique in our article.