BUSH OR CORDON?
Sweet Million is grown as a cordon type tomato and is also a vigorous grower. It is probably best grown as a cordon if you want tomatoes early in the season. We have tried growing it as a bush type and it still produces a good crop but the foliage becomes very crowded and runs the risk of fungal infections. When the trusses form limit them to 3 or 4 per plant and be sure to be ready to stake each truss because they can easily break under the high weight of the fruit.
APPEARANCE AND TASTE OF SWEET MILLION TOMATOES
Sweet Million tomatoes are generally described as cherry tomatoes but in fact their size varies from just smaller than an average cherry tomato to golf ball size. The fruits are bright red and very glossy. They taste of a good mix of sweetness / acidity and at the same time have a reasonable amount of tomato flavour. Kids love the smaller ones, they can be given instead of sweets.
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SUMMARY CHARACTERISTICS OF SWEET MILLION
F1 OR OPEN POLLINATED?: Sweet Million are an F1 variety and stored seeds will not come true to type. However, seeds collected in the first year (known as F2) may well produce a similar plant and tomato.
GROWTH TYPE: Cordon type, needs to be pruned to get the best crop. This is an early maturing variety which takes only 62 days from transplant to fruit maturity.
WHERE TO GROW: Cold greenhouse or outdoors in many areas of the UK.
USE: Salads, and by itself
SKIN COLOUR / TEXTURE: Red and thin
FLESH COLOUR: Red
TASTE AND TEXTURE: Not as sweet as the name implies, Sweet Million has a Brix rating of 7.1. Lots of juice.
STORAGE: Stores well and can be ripened on the windowsill well.
TOMATO SIZE: Variable, generally slightly smaller than a golf ball, weighing about 15g per fruit.
REGULARITY OF CROPPING: Regularly produces a good yield with a very large number of fruits per truss, often in excess of 40. Expect 200 to 300 fruits per plant although not all may ripen fully on the truss.
AWARDS: RHS AGM
SPECIAL FEATURES: Very high yield.
WHEN TO SOW SWEET MILLION SEED
The key dates for sowing and planting out Sweet Million tomato seeds are given below.
- Sow seeds in pots indoors
- Pot up young plants
- Harden off young plants
- Plant out young plants
WHEN TO HARVEST SWEET MILLION TOMATOES
This variety is a cordon type tomato and if they are pruned in that way you can expect to be picking your first Sweet Million tomatoes in the
BUYING SWEET MILLION SEED / PLANTS IN THE UK
Seeds for this variety are available from most online seed merchants and many garden centres. It is also often available in some seed swap schemes for free. They are often available from the discount stores and supermarkets.
The cheapest reliable seeds for this variety we could find this year was at D T Brown at only £2.09 for 15 seeds. In general, Sweet Million tomato seeds are higher than average.
If you need any more information on growing this variety, click here to go to our main tomato page.
Other varieties which may also be of interest include:
| RED ALERT | GARDENERS DELIGHT |
| SUNGOLD | SAN MARZANO |
COMMENTS / QUESTIONS LEFT BY OUR READERS
Sometimes our readers ask specific questions which are not covered in the main article above. Our
Outdoor Tomatoes comment / question and answer page
lists their comments, questions and answers. At the end of that page there is also a form for you to submit any new question or comment you have.
When and How to Sow Tomato Seed
Ongoing Care
Pruning Tomatoes
Pest and Disease
Tomato Nutrient Defficiency
Save Tomato Seeds
Tomato Variety Review
Tomato Question and Answer
SWEET MILLION TOMATOES
By David Marks
Sweet Million is a very popular variety in the UK and can equally well be grown outside in a protected position or in a greenhouse. Flavour is excellent and recommended by the TV chef Raymond Blanc.
This variety produces a large crop of red, moderately sweet cherry tomatoes early on in the season. It is widely available from garden centres and online so shop around for the cheapest reputable supplier.