Ernie this is the place. It is in Heflin. They specialize in Heirloom Tomatoes. This is my second year ordering from them. The Cherokee Purple is sooooooooooo good.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Tasteful Garden

Thank you for the info. I will order some pronto.
can you offer any advice on growing this variety?
Did you use cages or did you stake the vines and prune them. I like to use the florida method with my romas and other smaller types(plant close together in a row and weave string in and out)but I get the idea that the Cherokee is a larger variety

I staked mine last year but am thinking about getting cages this year. Seems to me that is easier.

Ernie, I have seen plants available at Plant Odyssey on 6th Ave South and also at Andy's Creekside Nursery in Vestavia off Rocky Ridge Road.

i grew the cherokee purples last year (from tasteful garden) and they were sooo delicious! however, they quickly outgrew my cages and went spawling all over the place! i had a large leaf to fruit ratio....

I planted my first Cherokee Purples this year (from Tasteful Garden). Even with our excessive amount of rain, the plants are some of the healthiest in my garden. HOWEVER, so far no one likes them. They just don't seem to have ANY taste. We are use to Better Boys which have a little acidic "kick"....if you know what I mean. I was sooooo excited to get some CP's this year, so this has been a real disappointment so far. If you load them up with pepper they taste decent.....but definitely not what I would call a good tasting tomato. I'm hopeing it's all the rain we've had.

I too was disappointed with the taste of C. P. tomatoes, especially compared to Brandywine and Sungold--both far superior in my garden. Wonder if I'm doing something wrong. Because of all the rain, even the Brandywines were a bit more watery and less flavorful than last year. I also like The Tasteful Garden.

I'm growing several heirloom tomatoes this year (as well as some hybrids), and so far Cherokee Purple is one of my favorites. However, Marianna's Peace is better, for my personal taste preferences -- because it has a little more acidic bite. I also like Aunt Gertie's Gold (slow to produce but really good) and Black Cherry is an incredibly good cherry tomato -- I could eat those by the gallon.

If your growing plants that need a cage you might want to look at this cage on this link. I saw it yesterday and wished I had seen it sooner. My first brandywine leaned against the metal cage and has long burn marks from the hot metal.I'll be making some of these for my fall tomatoes. My
brandwines and white tomatoes are 2 feet over the metal cages already.Good luck with the cherokee.Thats what I'm planting in the fall. http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/tom_pvc/?ind=6

I have to agree with Old Ginger on the 'Sungold' and 'Brandywine' tomatoes. I've been growing the Brandywine for a few years now and they are, IMO, the BEST tasting tomato!!!

I grew the Cherokee Purple last year, and was not that impressed. But maybe I expected too much from them. I'd heard so many raves about this tomato and then the taste was just, well, not really there.

BTW...too much rain will definately contribute to a tomato having a 'watery' taste When over-watered, the tomatoes naturally absorb more water into the fruit, thus a 'watery' tasting tomato.

I was not impressed with these either. (Just for the record! ;)

I grow in earthboxes and my Cherokee Purples were very good. So were Box Car Willie, Black from Tula, Black Krim, Omar's Lebanese, Etc. Don't have a problem with over/under watering in earthboxes. Not practical if you grow more than a few tomatos. I have 7 boxes and grow 14 plants.
I made pvc supports, but instead of using the expensive ( and hard to find) crosses that Tom uses, I used tee's at the corners and short pieces to connect the tee's on the horizontal pieces.

Cherokee Purples require a good drought to produce well and to taste good. Also, full ripening is very important...they must be almost too ripe for the full sugar/tangy flavor to develop.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Tasteful Garden

Thanks for this update on the Cherokee Purple. I just bought some SEEDS from Park Seed, which thankfully arrived
without a hitch, and I wondered how to treat them.

i grow the purple cherokee tomato plants and it is by far the best tomato i have ever eaten it tastes like its been sprinkled with sugar it to me is the best tomato ever