Gardener's Delight
The safest first tomato for an Irish garden, and still one of the best tasting.
If you grow one tomato in Ireland, grow this one. Gardener's Delight has been in seed catalogues since the 1950s, it crops in a cool greenhouse or against a sunny wall, and unlike most modern hybrids you can save the seed. The flavour is properly sweet with real acidity behind it, which is more than can be said for a lot of prettier varieties.
Quick facts
- Botanical name
- Solanum lycopersicum
- Type
- Open pollinated
- Category
- Cherry, cordon
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Hardiness
- Tender, no frost tolerance
- In Ireland
- Much better under cover
- Germination
- 7 to 14 days at 18 to 25C
- Sowing depth
- 5mm
- Spacing
- 45cm apart, 75cm between rows
- Height
- 1.8m
- Position
- Full sun
- Containers
- Grows well in pots
- Sowing to harvest
- 16 to 20 weeks
- Harvest
- July to October
Sowing and harvest calendar for Gardener's Delight
Months shaded below are the reliable windows for Irish conditions.
Where to buy Gardener's Delight tomato seeds in Ireland
Irish suppliers that stock this, so postage stays domestic and seed arrives in time to sow. These are plain links, not paid placements.
Garden centres and mixed retailers
- Mr Middleton Irish Mail order arm of a long established Mary Street shop, carries the familiar named varieties the organic specialists skip. Visit Mr Middleton , Co. Dublin
- Woodie's Usually the cheapest packet, click and collect nationwide Dublin headquartered chain, part of Grafton Group. Cheapest per packet and the only nationwide click and collect option. Visit Woodie's
- Johnstown Garden Centre Irish Stock runs out by midsummer, best ordered in spring Third generation family business near Naas with the widest branded range, though popular varieties sell out by midsummer. Visit Johnstown Garden Centre , Co. Kildare
Why it suits Ireland
Gardener’s Delight sets fruit at lower temperatures than large-fruited varieties, which matters here because our summer nights stay cool even when the days are decent. Small fruit also ripen faster, so the plant finishes its crop before the light fails in September.
It held an RHS Award of Garden Merit for years but lost it after the 2018 small-fruited tomato trial, judged too large for the cherry class and too variable, because several divergent strains are sold under the same name. That is worth knowing when you buy: seed from a careful supplier is noticeably better than the cheapest packet. In practical terms it remains the variety that forgives an inconsistent watering routine, a chilly greenhouse and a late sowing.
Growing notes
Treat it as a cordon: one stem, side shoots pinched out weekly, tied to a cane or string. It reaches around 1.8m under cover, so give it height.
The fruit split if the plant swings between dry and drenched, which is the main complaint people have about it. Consistent watering fixes this entirely. Pick regularly once ripening starts, because a heavily laden truss left too long will spoil at the far end.
Because the fruit are small and borne in long trusses, this is a good variety for a large container on a patio, provided the pot holds at least 30 litres and never dries out.
Common questions
Can Gardener's Delight be grown outdoors in Ireland?
Yes, better than most. It is a cordon so it needs a cane and side shooting, but it sets fruit willingly in cool weather and the small fruit ripen faster than beefsteak types. Give it the sunniest, most sheltered spot you have and stop it at four trusses. It has no blight resistance, so an outdoor crop is still a gamble in a wet August.
Can I save seed from Gardener's Delight?
Yes. It is open pollinated, so seed saved from a ripe fruit grows true to type. Squeeze the seed and its jelly into a jar of water, leave it three days until it ferments and the good seed sinks, then rinse and dry it on kitchen paper. Stored cool and dry it stays viable for four or five years.
How many tomatoes will one plant produce?
A well-grown plant under cover carries six trusses of around twenty cherry tomatoes each, so somewhere near 120 fruit, or roughly 3kg. Outdoors, stopped at four trusses, expect a little over half that.
More tomatoes to consider
Sungold F1
AGMF1 hybrid / Cherry, cordon
The best tasting tomato most people will ever eat, and worth the hybrid price.
Growing notes and stockistsShirley F1
AGMF1 hybrid / Medium salad, cordon
The variety to grow if your greenhouse is unheated and your summer is unreliable.
Growing notes and stockistsAlicante
Open pollinated / Medium salad, cordon
The most flexible old variety here, happy in a greenhouse or a sheltered outdoor bed.
Growing notes and stockistsMoneymaker
Open pollinated / Medium salad, cordon
Dependable and cheap, but there are better tasting varieties for the same effort.
Growing notes and stockists