Sweet 100 Tomato

One cluster. Up to 100 tomatoes. That’s the promise.

Sweet 100 gets its name from exactly that claim. A single flower truss can set 100 cherry tomatoes. Not every truss hits 100. But clusters of 40, 60, or 80 tomatoes hanging from one stem are completely normal on a healthy plant.

Northrup King Seed Company developed Sweet 100 as a hybrid, breeding for sweetness and sheer production. The result was a cherry tomato so prolific it changed what American home gardeners expected from the category. Sweet 100 became the benchmark. Other cherry tomatoes were compared to it.

It earns that reputation. It also has one serious flaw, and most Sweet 100 content buries it. We’ll name it early. It cracks. More than almost any other cherry tomato of its size. Knowing that going in changes how you grow it and whether you come back to it the next season.

What the fruit is like

Sweet 100 produces scarlet red cherry tomatoes about half an inch to one inch across. The skin is thin. The flesh is juicy and intensely sweet with just enough acid to keep it balanced. Growers describe eating them off the vine as “vine candy.” That’s not marketing. It’s an accurate description.

The flavor is genuinely different from low acid cherry types like Yellow Pear. Sweet 100 is sweet AND tangy. The sugar and acid work together rather than one disappearing behind the other. That balance is what makes it compelling straight off the plant in the garden rather than something you have to season or combine.

The skin is thin enough to be a liability. It splits easily. That’s the tradeoff for the tender, juicy eating experience. There’s no workaround that fully solves it. Only management strategies that reduce how often it happens.

Days to maturity: 68 to 70 days from transplant. That makes it one of the earlier cherry tomatoes in this guide. Fruit arrives before mid summer in most climates and continues until frost.

The cracking problem, named honestly

This is the reason some growers quit Sweet 100 after one season. It’s worth addressing directly.

Sweet 100 cracks more than almost any other cherry tomato of comparable size. The thin skin, the rapid fruit development, and the sensitivity to moisture fluctuation combine into a splitting problem that frustrates even experienced gardeners. A heavy rain after a dry stretch will split half the ripe fruit on the plant.

Some growers have abandoned it entirely. Others have found workable habits that keep the damage manageable. The key ones: pick at first blush rather than waiting for deep red color, apply thick mulch to buffer soil moisture, and check the plant before any forecast storm. Pick anything close to ripe before the rain hits.

How to grow the Sweet 100 Tomato, start to finish

Starting seeds

Start indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date. Sow seeds a quarter inch deep in a clean seed starting mix. Keep soil temperature between 70 and 80°F. A heat mat keeps germination fast and consistent in early spring.

Set up fluorescent or LED grow lights close to the canopy from the day seedlings emerge. Keep them 2 to 3 inches above the plant tops. Raise them as growth continues. Sweet 100 is a vigorous hybrid that reaches 8 to 10 feet. A weak, leggy seedling produced by poor light never fully catches up once it’s in the garden.

Pot up to individual containers when the first true leaves appear. Feed weekly at half strength with a balanced liquid fertilizer from that point through transplant day. Sweet 100 grows fast. A well fed seedling establishes in the garden far ahead of anything that was cramped or underfed early.

Sweet 100 is a hybrid. Seeds saved from the fruit don’t grow true the following season. Buy fresh seed each year or switch to an open pollinated variety like Yellow Pear if seed saving matters to you.

Transplanting

Move plants outside after your last frost date, once nights hold reliably above 50°F. Cold nights below 54°F during flower formation cause catfacing. Sweet 100 produces small cherry fruit, so catfacing is less obvious than on beefsteak types. But cold flower nights still affect set and early fruit quality.

Harden off over 7 to 10 days. Set plants outside for increasing periods each day. Indoor seedlings moved directly into full sun and outdoor wind experience shock. A proper hardening period costs a week but saves more time than it takes during the critical establishment phase.

Bury two thirds of the stem at planting. Tomatoes produce new roots along buried stem sections. A 8 to 10 foot indeterminate vine carrying hundreds of small tomatoes needs every bit of root depth it can get. Strip any leaves that would end up below the soil before planting.

Space plants 24 to 36 inches apart. Sweet 100 spreads wide as well as tall. Crowded plants trap warm, humid air around the lower foliage. This variety carries VF disease resistance, which helps. But airflow still matters. More space means fewer fungal problems and healthier fruit production through late summer.

Soil and feeding

Rich, well drained soil loaded with compost, pH 6.0 to 6.8. Work a balanced organic fertilizer into the planting hole before setting the plant in. This slow release base feeds developing roots without pushing fast leafy growth in the first weeks after transplant.

Switch to a lower nitrogen tomato feed once the first flowers open. High nitrogen after flowering pushes leaf growth at the expense of fruit. Sweet 100 already grows vigorously. It doesn’t need encouragement on that front once fruit is setting.

Feed every two weeks through the full season. Sweet 100 produces until frost. Fruit is still setting through September in most climates. Tapering off nutrition in late summer while the plant is still producing heavily is a common mistake.

Calcium helps prevent blossom end rot, though cherry tomatoes are generally less susceptible than large fruited varieties. A compost rich base and consistent watering together handle most of the risk. Keep pH in range and moisture even through the full season.

Light and water

Full sun, 8 hours minimum. Sweet 100 is a high output plant. It runs on heat and light from the day it’s transplanted until the first frost. Partial shade extends the time to first fruit and reduces both yield and the sugar concentration that makes this variety worth growing.

Water deeply and consistently at the base of the plant. Target 1 to 2 inches per week. A drip line or soaker hose keeps moisture off the foliage. For a variety that cracks under moisture fluctuation, keeping the soil moisture level stable is the primary management strategy. Wet foliage is a secondary problem this approach also solves.

Lay 2 to 3 inches of straw mulch around the plant after a deep watering. Mulch stabilizes soil moisture between rain events. It reduces the wet to dry swings that split ripe fruit. It also cuts watering frequency during the hottest weeks. On a variety this prone to cracking, mulch is essential from planting day.

Support and pruning

Sweet 100 is fully indeterminate. In good soil it reaches 8 to 10 feet and spreads 4 feet wide. It keeps growing until frost. Standard short tomato cages fail under this plant. Size up from the start: a heavy duty cage at least 6 feet tall, tall sturdy stakes, or a trellis system all work. Set the support at planting, before roots spread.

Tie growing stems to the support with soft plant ties or strips of fabric. Nothing that cuts into swelling stems. Check every two weeks. A loop that was loose in June cuts into a stem by August. Wet clusters of fruit add real weight to loaded branches.

Remove suckers below the first flower cluster. This keeps the lower canopy open and reduces disease pressure. Above the first cluster, Sweet 100 produces its best yield on those upper branches. Don’t aggressively sucker above the first cluster. You’ll reduce the total harvest without improving individual fruit quality.

Strip any foliage touching the ground. Soil to leaf contact is the primary entry route for soil borne disease. Keep the lowest foot of the plant clear of leaves and debris throughout the season. Strip spotted leaves the day you see them.

Problems to watch

Cracking. The main problem. A rain surge after a dry stretch splits ripe fruit fast. Pick at first blush, not at deep red. Check the plant before any storm forecast. Consistent mulch and watering prevent most of it at the root level. Still expect some splitting during extended wet periods. Our tomato fruit problem guide covers cracking and every other common fruit symptom in detail.

Catfacing. Less obvious on small fruit than on large beefsteaks. Cool early season nights below 54°F during flower formation cause it. First flush fruit may show minor scarring at the blossom end. Safe to eat. Trim and use it. Midseason fruit from the same plant comes in clean.

Fusarium and verticillium wilt. Sweet 100 carries VF resistance. It handles these two common soil diseases better than unresistant heirlooms. In gardens with heavy wilt pressure, that resistance makes a meaningful difference over a long season. Rotate beds anyway. Resistance slows wilt; it doesn’t make the plant immune.

Early blight. VF resistance doesn’t cover early blight. Strip spotted lower leaves as soon as you see them. Water at the soil. Keep foliage dry. Rotate beds each season. Early blight climbs from the bottom up and gets ahead of you fast if you let it go more than a few days.

Hornworms. An 8 to 10 foot vine loaded with cherry tomatoes is a hornworm target. Check undersides of leaves and look for stripped stems weekly. Dark droppings below a branch are the sign. Handpick or treat with Bt at first appearance.

Container growing

More manageable in containers than large beefsteak types, but still demanding. Sweet 100 reaches 8 to 10 feet and carries hundreds of small tomatoes. A container limits the root volume that vine needs to sustain that production.

If you’re going to try it, use a 10 gallon container of quality potting mix at minimum. Some growers go to 15 or 20 gallons and get better results. Set a tall stake or cage at planting. Water daily in summer heat. Feed every week to 10 days. Expect more cracking in containers than in the ground because moisture control is harder in a pot.

For container cherry tomatoes, there are better choices with a more compact habit. If Sweet 100’s flavor and production are what draw you to it, it performs best in the ground.

Our guide to growing tomatoes in pots covers container growing in full.

Sweet 100 vs Super Sweet 100 vs Sungold

Super Sweet 100 is the improved hybrid successor. It adds N (nematode) resistance to the VF rating, produces slightly larger fruit, and has better crack resistance than the original. If you’re choosing between them at the seed rack, Super Sweet 100 is the better version of the same idea. Many seed companies have quietly replaced Sweet 100 with Super Sweet 100 in their catalogs.

Sungold is the comparison most cherry tomato growers reach for. Both are prolific, sweet cherry hybrids with thin skin. Sungold is orange, tropical in flavor, and manages cracking better than Sweet 100. Sweet 100 is redder, more classically balanced in flavor, and earlier. Which wins depends on what you want from a cherry tomato.

Black Cherry is richer and more complex. Sweet 100 wins on production volume and season length. Black Cherry wins on depth of flavor per tomato. Many gardeners grow both and eat one while the other rests on the cutting board.

The verdict

Sweet 100 set the standard for what a sweet cherry tomato should taste like. That reputation is earned. The flavor is genuinely excellent. The production is exceptional. And the cracking problem is real.

Grow it with thick mulch from planting day, consistent moisture, and a harvest habit of picking early rather than waiting for perfect color on the vine. Those three habits make Sweet 100 one of the best things in the garden. Skip them and you spend the summer cleaning up split fruit after every rain.

Give it full sun, real support from day one, and consistent water. Pick it at first blush. Don’t wait. Our growing tomatoes guide covers the full season timing for early to mid season cherry varieties like this one.