An excellent low-growing, wild-type cherry tomato. Tomadose is a tomato grown in the West Indies, a group of 7,000 islands and 13 countries, stretching from the coast of Florida to the coast of Venezuela. We tracked down a natural history book published in 1876 about the West Indies (also called the Antilles Islands) that describes Tomadose as:
“Introduced and naturalized, are cultivated throughout the West Indies. We find them in the wild, escaped from cultivation” (translated from French).
The informative French tomato website, ventmarin.com, cites a description of Tomadose from a 1944 pamphlet, “The tomato. Practical guide to its cultivation in Guadeloupe“:
“The “tomadose” should not be overlooked. It renders great service to the local cuisine, especially among our peasants. It even makes a better sauce, according to some gourmets, than other tomatoes, being more tart. The fruits are small, round, in numerous clusters and bright red in color. Rustic, the plant grows almost wild in Guadeloupe. It grows spontaneously in scorched land and with extreme vigour, crawling on the ground.”
Plant Characteristics: Tomadose is a wild-type, so we let them sprawl, rather than tie them up. The small red cherry tomatoes are ready mid-season. Tomadose is a semi-determinate plant that gets to be about 1 foot high and about 2 feet wide. Very manageable, low-maintenance and productive. Our original seed source was Seed Savers Exchange.
Check out this link to our Musing titled, Water Worries, Adaptation and ‘Go to Where the Puck is Going’ for more thoughts on the importance of Drought-Tolerant practices.
How to Plant: Start seeds indoors 6-8 weeks before the last frost. Plant seed 5mm (¼ inch) deep. Keep moist. When true leaves appear, transplant to a larger container if needed. Transplant outside after the danger of frost has passed/later spring.
