Description

Camp Joy Cherry is our family’s favorite cherry tomato both for sentimental reasons and practically speaking it is an amazing tomato!

Camp Joy Cherry is a really delicious tomato for fresh eating and salads. The flavor is supurb because it is sweet, slightly fruity, complex and has just the right acid note to round it out. It is both juicy and the flesh is meaty. I really appreciate the juiciness of this tomato as I sink my teeth into it and cant help myself to one or a few each time I pass by the tomato vines.

Practically speaking, I really appreciate that the Camp Joy Cherry has a relatively thick skin which allows it stand up better to handling and has a longer shelf life than thinner skinned varieties. The skin is not tough and adds only a satisfying bit of resistance when biting into it.

Honestly, I prefer popping the Camp Joy Cherry tomatoes whole into my mouth and enjoying the explosion of flavor when I bite down, but the plants are so vigorous that we are always left with ample tomatoes in the kitchen for cooking too.

The tomatoes themselves are very round and very red. Until fully ripe, the tomatoes will first have dark green shoulders and then orange shoulders as the rest of the tomato turns red. Finally when it is fully ripe, the whole tomato is a satisfyingly bright red color.

Camp Joy Cherry is an indeterminate vining tomato that ideally needs support or trellising. As far as tomatoes go, these vines are workhorses and crank out loads of tomatoes all season long. Camp Joy Cherry tomatoes are among some of the earliest tomatoes to produce. We’ve been selecting seed from the earliest producing plants to continue nudging them in that direction.

As far as cherry tomatoes go, the Camp Joy Cherry is on the larger size, noticeably larger than most other cherry tomatoes. Some seedling plants produce smaller sized cherry tomatoes and we continue to select for the larger size cherry tomatoes because we prefer the large size that the Camp Joy Cherry is known for.

The Camp Joy Cherry tomato appears to be resistant to splitting which is another bonus. We’ve never had a problem with blossom end rot with Camp Joy Cherry tomatoes, nor any problems with diseases or pests in our climate.

The backstory: Ann’s mentor, Jim Nelson of Camp Joy Gardens, stewarded this delicious tomato since about 1971 when Camp Joy Gardens was first started in Boulder Creek, California. Jim’s cherry tomato seed came by way of Jim’s mentor, the legendary Alan Chadwick. According to Jim, Chadwick noticed a chance cherry tomato seedling growing by his scarlet runner bean trench that had noticeably better fruit than its parents and siblings. Chadwick saved and continued growing seeds from that one unique plant. Chadwick never released this tomato to the public but shared seeds openly.

Jim called the tomato Camp Joy Cherry since he grew it at Camp Joy Gardens. Around 1988 Camp Joy Gardens started growing the Camp Joy Cherry tomato for seed, which was sold through Renee’s Garden for many years. Eventually, some years later, the Chadwick’s tomato was grown for sale and made its way to market under the name Chadwick Cherry. It is unknown to Jim who released it, but it must have been a past apprentice or local farm that loved the tomato.

Both the Chadwick Cherry and Camp Joy Cherry tomatoes have the same origin, but are stewarded in different soils by different farmers. Depending where you get your seed they will have different qualities, flavors, sizes, etc. due to different stewarding and seed selection practices. Having received seeds directly from Camp Joy Gardens who stewarded this cherry tomato for over 50 years, and having spent time with the plants and tomatoes first hand in Camp Joy Gardens’ gardens for two seasons, the seed we offer is about as close to the authentic Camp Joy Cherry tomato as you will find. We continue to steward the tomatoes and save seeds to preserve and reflect the best qualities and characteristics that this tomato has offered for years.

After Ann left her apprenticeship at Camp Joy Gardens, we have been stewarding the Camp Joy Cherry tomato in our homestead gardens from 2018 to this day. Since being gifted to us, the Camp Joy Gardens seeds have traveled with us across two states and two gardens. We are so excited to share these tomato seeds with you!

Details

Lifecycle: Perennial in frost free climates, otherwise grown as annual
Lifespan: 2-5 years in frost free climates
Hardiness zones: 10-12 (USDA)
Habitats: No wild habitats
Plant size: 1 ft wide x 9 ft tall when trained & pruned, otherwise sprawling 3+ ft wide x 3+ ft tall
Light: Full sun
Soil: All soils, but fertile loamy soil preferred
Water: Moist soils preferred, some drought tolerance
Seeds per packet: 25+ seeds

Seed Starting

Short seasons: Start seeds indoors, in cold frames or in a greenhouse in nursery pots or flats with good quality, well draining potting soil or compost. Cover with 1/8″ of soil. Bottom heat can help speed up germination when planting in unheated greenhouses in the colder months. Divide and pot up as needed. When all chance of frost has passed, plant them in their final positions.

Long seasons: Use the same instructions as above. No protection is needed in frost free climates. Alternatively you can direct seed tomatoes in a well prepared bed by sowing 1/8″ deep and not allowing the top layer of soil to dry out until germination has occurred.

Cultivation

As indeterminate vining tomatoes this variety will do best with some support. Stake, cage, or trellis the vines so that the tomatoes are off the ground and so that the vines don’t droop over by the weight of the tomatoes. Pruning the suckers is optional and may help increase airflow. Alternatively, allowing the tomatoes to sprawl may work well in drier climates with drip irrigation.

Tomatoes prefer rich loamy soil and regular moisture. However, over watering can reduce a tomatoes’ sweetness.

Harvest

Harvest tomatoes individually or by the cluster when the tomatoes have turned fully red. To maximize your yield at the end of the season, harvest full sized, shiny green tomatoes (leave the dull green ones) before your first expected frost date and ripen them inside on the counter until they turn red.

Propagation

Tomato plants can be propagated by cuttings and layering. In climates with long growing seasons, especially in frost free climates this would be an effective method to make new plants.

Seed Saving

Wet process the tomatoes and seeds with fermentation, decant the seeds then dry them immediately. Camp Joy Cherry tomatoes are self pollinating and require only one plant at the minimum to save seeds, but more is merrier.