Sun Gold vs. Sun Sugar Cherry Tomatoes

[jcr1709]

I grew both Sun Gold (left side of photo) and Sun Sugar (right) to compare, both from seed started inside this past March. Both are grown in a similar area with full sun all day. Both plants are probably 8' by now and are productive.

It seems Sun Gold for me has a hard time getting a deeper yellow/orange. When Sun Gold does get that color, the flavor is good, but they are most often split/cracked.

Sun Sugars are always advertised as being less prone to crack, and I do agree. The color is beautiful, they don't crack easily, and flavor is excellent. On the slight negative, their skin is a bit thicker than Sun Gold.

I'll be growing Sun Sugar next year for sure, probably not Sun Gold.

Your thoughts?

[Tania]

I have grown both SunGold F1 and Sunsugar F1, not side-by-side, but alterating them every year - probably since mid-2000s.

I agree that SunSugar is less prone to cracking than Sungold (but it still cracks). The taste and the color I find identical, and I love the taste!

These days I grow either one under plastic cover, which reduces the probability of cracking - Sungold F1 cracks so badly after any rain here that it is almost impossible to get good quality fruit from the plant. In the rain (or high humidity) it cracks even under the cover, but not nearly as much as when grown in the open.

I am thinking that once I am out of my Sungold F1 seed, I will only be growing Sunsugar (which I buy in bulk from TGS every year).

Tania

[pete]

Grow both!!! Any year they can vary a lot. I have been growing both for 9 years and they are very close. I think different fruit on the same plant can vary more than the two different plants. Why not just grow both???

pete

[tam91]

I had Sungold this year, my friend Sunsugar. We both thought Sungold tasted better. But they were both good.

My Sungolds get orange just fine - but they seem pretty small. I thought sunsugar was supposed to be the smaller of the two - but not for us.

[huntoften]

We planted them both side-by-side this year and were very pleased with both. Sunsugar was a bit smaller, but flavor was very similar. We use SRM film mulch and had virtually no cracking issues at all with either. Both will be back next year!

[travis]

I've had less cracking with SunSugar than Sun Gold, but I get smaller fruit with Sun Gold and it tends to shatter its fruit, meaning when you reach in to pick ripe fruit, a lot of it drops off at the slightest touch of the plant.

In the end though, I prefer the flavor of Sun Gold and get around the cracking and shattering by picking it under ripe.

[kath]

I grew them both side by side 2 yrs. ago and preferred the taste and growth habit of Sungold. I found they both split after rain and the thicker skin of Sunsugar was very unappealing to me. Sunsugar was more affected by early blight for me as well. Sunsugar had smaller fruits for me.

[cottonpicker]

Have grown both; although not in the same year and found ( as stated above ) ...Sun Sugar is perhaps slightly larger, on average, than Sun Gold and Sun Sugar does NOT split like Sun Gold does. Taste & productivity are about the same for both varieties as far as th' missus & I could tell.
Sun Sugar for me next year.
LarryD

[casino]

I grew sun gold and sun sugar side by side years ago and now all I grow is sun sugar. Lets say that I will never have a tomato garden without sunsugar. For reasons that I cannot remember the sun gold did not impress me. But now I see in a catalogue someone is selling sungold "select", how knew. I also grow tommy toe "yellow" That is one beautiful yellow cherry tomato.
I also save my seeds because 99% of all my tomatoes are heirlooms and I forgot that sunsugar is an F1 hybrid but I have been saving sunsugar seeds for 4 years now. It may not have the super duper vigor or have the extra sweetness as the F1 hybrid but it is sweet enough and pretty enough for me and when the frost hits the plant is over 6 feet tall.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by casino

I grew sun gold and sun sugar side by side years ago and now all I grow is sun sugar. Lets say that I will never have a tomato garden without sunsugar. For reasons that I cannot remember the sun gold did not impress me. But now I see in a catalogue someone is selling sungold "select", how knew. I also grow tommy toe "yellow" That is one beautiful yellow cherry tomato.
I also save my seeds because 99% of all my tomatoes are heirlooms and I forgot that sunsugar is an F1 hybrid but I have been saving sunsugar seeds for 4 years now. It may not have the super duper vigor or have the extra sweetness as the F1 hybrid but it is sweet enough and pretty enough for me and when the frost hits the plant is over 6 feet tall.

When you refer to a sungold select I think you're referring to the several OP versions of Sungold F1 that Reinhard Kraft in Germany has developed. There's:

Sungold Select
Sungold Select II
Big Sungold
Big Sungold Select

it's Sungold Select II that Baker Creek offers but in the blurb they say that some plants willl have red fruited plants which means what they're offering is not stable, as the original was.

I offered Big Sungold Select, seeds from Reinhard in 2009 years ago, in my seed offer here this past Spring and there's a thread here just for that variety that's titled Big Sungold Select and you can use the search feature to find it if you're interested.

I haven't grown Sunsugar F1 but have been pleased with Sungold F1 for just taste alone and not much splitting here except after heavy rain when lots of fruits of many varieties also can split.

[BigdaddyJ]

Sun Sugar splits a lot less than Sun Gold but doesn't have that unique great taste. I have been growing Sun Gold since it was first available and no other cherry comes close to that great taste IMO...