Sungold

Sungold bears bright apricot-orange round fruits about 1¼ inches across, carried on long, grape-like trusses of ten to fifteen. Each little globe weighs roughly half an ounce and tends to cluster in groups of eight to twelve on the stem. The flavor starts with a snappy tartness that ripens into a candy-like sweetness, often described as fruity with tropical, citrus-like notes when sun-ripened. That sweetness develops early, so the fruit is already delicious a week before full maturity, and the flesh stays firm.

Because its sweetness develops so early, Sungold is well suited to snacking straight off the vine before the fruit is fully ripe. Beyond fresh eating, it works well in salads and roasting, and the plant itself performs wonderfully in large containers as well as in a vegetable garden bed.

Sungold grows as a vigorous indeterminate vine that produces equally well planted in the field or raised in an early spring greenhouse. It is generally easy to grow and holds up better against common tomato diseases than some popular heirlooms, with specific resistance to tomato mosaic virus, tomato yellow leaf curl virus, and Fusarium wilt. Fruiting begins very early in the season and, true to its indeterminate habit, continues steadily until frost.

In 2007, the Royal Horticultural Society named Sungold a holder of its Award of Garden Merit, a mark of the variety's standing among gardeners.