🍅 Quick take: Midnight Snack F1 is an indeterminate cocktail cherry hybrid developed by PanAmerican Seed (USA) and recognized as a 2019 All-America Selections (AAS) National Winner. The vigorous vines produce heavy clusters of ~1 oz (30 g) round cherries that ripen glossy red with an inky anthocyanin purple-black shoulder. Growers praise its exceptionally polite growth habit, requiring far less sucker pruning than typical sprawling cherry vines, backed by solid disease resistance and a balanced sweet-tart bite. Full summary ↓
Growers’ Notes and Photos
Hey everyone!
Growing this tomato for the very first time this year. Sourced my seeds out of England, was really curious to see how an American hybrid like this would perform in our climate.
Official specs list it as a tall indeterminate hybrid cherry, fruit weight around 1 oz (30 g).
In the garden, it showed outstanding disease resistance. Growth habit is very well-behaved and manageable, definitely not aggressive and doesn’t go crazy sending out endless suckers from every leaf axil.
Flavor is nicely balanced, moderately sweet with a pleasant little kick of acid.
Full Summary: Origin, Plant Habit, and Flavor Profile
- 🇺🇸 Origin & Breeding: Developed in the United States by PanAmerican Seed. Awarded the prestigious 2019 All-America Selections (AAS) National Tomato Award for superior garden performance across diverse climates.
- 🌿 Plant & Canopy: Indeterminate vine with a remarkably disciplined growth habit. Unlike notoriously wild indeterminate cherries (such as Sungold or Sweet 100), Midnight Snack produces moderate, sturdy lateral branching that does not overwhelm trellises with excessive suckering.
- 🍇 Fruit & Appearance: Sets generous trusses of round cocktail cherries averaging 1 oz (30 g). Fruits start green with a deep purple anthocyanin blush on sun-exposed skin, ripening into an attractive glossy crimson capped with jet black.
- 👅 Flavor Profile: Balanced and refreshing. Offers moderate natural sweetness backed by traditional tomato tang rather than an overly sugary, low-acid profile.
- 🛡️ Hardiness: Bred with strong hybrid vigor, demonstrating high field resistance to common foliage fungal blights.
🍅 Grown Midnight Snack F1? How dark did your shoulders get in full sun? Share your photos and notes below!
👨🌾 Editor’s Note: The 2019 AAS Winner “Midnight Snack F1”
Midnight Snack F1 was one of the first indigo/anthocyanin cherry tomatoes developed specifically for commercial home garden seed lines to win an All-America Selections award. Svetlana’s note that the plant is “polite and doesn’t throw endless suckers” points to modern hybrid selection: wild heirloom crosses with Solanum lycopersicum can become unruly jungles of vegetative growth. Commercial breeders specifically selected Midnight Snack for controlled node spacing and manageable branching while maintaining the healthy antioxidant concentrations found in purple-shouldered fruit.
Midnight Snack F1 was one of the first indigo/anthocyanin cherry tomatoes developed specifically for commercial home garden seed lines to win an All-America Selections award. Svetlana’s note that the plant is “polite and doesn’t throw endless suckers” points to modern hybrid selection: wild heirloom crosses with Solanum lycopersicum can become unruly jungles of vegetative growth. Commercial breeders specifically selected Midnight Snack for controlled node spacing and manageable branching while maintaining the healthy antioxidant concentrations found in purple-shouldered fruit.
