📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Datterini Red
- 🌍 Origin: An Italian-style heirloom/commercial variety. The name “Datterini” translates to “little dates”, perfectly describing their elongated, grape-like shape.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very vigorous and heavily branched. Best grown by removing all suckers up to the first flower cluster, then allowing multiple stems to develop for maximum yield.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, elongated grape/cherry tomatoes weighing up to 0.7-0.9 oz (20-25 g). The texture is a standout feature—they are incredibly firm and crunchy with a pleasant “snap” when you bite into them.
- 👅 Flavor & Use: Sweet and very tasty. Perfect for fresh snacking, tossing into salads, or canning whole in small jars.
- ⏳ Grower Notes: Produces fruit very late into the season. The tomatoes have excellent shelf life and will ripen perfectly on the counter if picked green before a frost.
Datterini Red. Indeterminate, an absolutely wonderful and productive variety 👍. The fruits are shaped like large oval grape/cherry tomatoes weighing up to 0.7-0.9 oz (20-25 g). The fruits are very firm, crunchy, slightly sweet, and extremely tasty 😋. They are absolutely perfect for canning whole in small jars.
Prune all suckers up to the first flower truss, and then let it grow out into multiple stems (multi-leader). It requires very sturdy staking and tying up, especially towards the end of the season due to the weight. Has a very long, extended fruiting period.
These photos were taken today, September 25th, in different greenhouses. This is the tail end of the harvest 👋. I think these fruits will store well and ripen perfectly on the counter indoors.
