I've tried them two times from two different vendors and concur with your statement. I don't find anything sweet in them. I tried to like them with all the attention they have gotten, but it just didn't happen. In Southern California, rain isn't an issue, so I'm not sure that I can use weather as an excuse. Mary

I agree and I've grown them for four years now!

I have felt obliged to grow them - because they are different, and I'm amazed at all the good publicity they get when I think they taste mediocre.

I really liked them the first year I grew them, but they were mediocre the next few times - flavor wasn't that great and skins were tough. I thought it was the seeds, so last year I bought a started plant. Nope, skins were less tough, but not a lot of flavor, even though the plant produced well and remained healthy throughout the growing season.

I think it's important to grow a variety a few times to make a truly informed decision, you never know when you'll have an "off" year.

Mine taste nice like a mini tomato. Not too sweet, but not bland, either. They have an acid content too. Have you let them ripen enough (probably you have, just have to ask becaue the first one I tried was bland, but then I realized I had picked it too early)? I didn't know BC had a reputation for being sweet, just tasty, which doesn't immediately mean sweet to me.

I sure wanted to like them, but didn't. I prefer a sweet cherry, so it's Sunsugar or Sungold for me now.

I'm not a huge fan myself, but they're my husband's favorite so I always plant one. They are very prolific though, and they make a great addition to roasted tomato sauce.

OK, sorry but I have to stick up for Black Cherry with all the haters :-) Not sure what's going on with all yall's Black Cherrys, but they are delicious and sweet! Must be the weather or questionable seeds. My plant looks nothing like last years monster, but the tomatoes are still nice and sweet. Have been eating them off the vine. There's been lot's of discussions about cherries and the concensus IMO is that BC is only bested by Sungold F1.

Yes, sunnibel7 , I've tried them at all stages of ripeness. I tried some today that I picked at first blush and let them ripen on the counter. They are a little better.

The skins are tough as mentioned, and I don't mind that nor the not sweet part. They just seem bland and not acidic at all.

edweather, I'm glad that you like them and I'm not a hater.

Maybe my expectations were too high? :)

I bought the plant a local annual heirloom plant sale. $3.75 for one plant!

They are bigger than I expected, about 1" in diameter. The plant is huge also, it has busted out of my 6' crw cages, took over the ones next to it, and has started growing back down the sides.

My other tomatoes are hardly growing from lack of sun and too much rain.

I'll save some seed and try them again next year. They might be better with less rain and the seed may adapt to my soil and climate.

Even though the plant was "local", about 20 miles away. It came from slightly mountainous country. Zone 6 and no clay in the soil.

I'm with Ed, I lke BC. In fact this year I started all my plants from seed with the exception of BC and I felt so guilty not growing it that I went and bought a plant. It's growing like crazy, of course. It's a great tomato, just don't let it over ripen. It's great in a salad or pasta. Of course, SunGold is always a winner too.

Well I'm pretty sure aoil probably plays a part... I often find that tomatoes are more acidic at my new house than I remember them being at my old house and the soils are very different. So maybe that's why I find them to be balanced and you don't? I agree, they are bigger than expected and quite striking to look at. Glad at least something is bearing for you!

I grew them last year but both plants were less than 5 feet tall and not prolific. The flavor was just OK. I got the seeds in a swap and strongly suspect there's some hinky seed getting around. I made sure not to pass any of those seeds along.

First year growing them, everyone in my clan likes them, they make delicious dried snacks

Anyone ever cook with the dried ones?

I've grown Black Cherry for the last two years. Last year we had a cold wet spring, then went immediately to very hot days. Black Cherry was the only tomato that really had any production. Of the other 20+ varieties (I had cut back because I had surgery in the spring), we got maybe two dozen tomatoes all summer, but the Black Cherry kept on pumping them out.

Unfortunately, this year has been even worse, weather wise. May was cold and wet, temps as much as 10-12 degrees below normal in the weeks before plant out time, June ran 10-15 degrees above normal almost from the get go. So far in July we have had only 4 days below 90, 3 that were 90-94, 14 days from 95 to 99 and 6 over 100 degrees!

Black Cherry is the only tomato to give us ripe fruit yet and the other 30 varieties have very few tomatoes set on them. And no, I haven't over done it on the nitrogen. I think we've just had too much hot weather (and the humidity has been higher than normal too) for most pollen to be viable. BC has so many blossoms that some of them set in spite of the conditions. Their flavor has been quite good all along, not great maybe, but definitely better than the stuff you find in the grocery stores.

Betsy

Second and last yr for me. Nice plant big nice cherries and lots of them but very sour.

Sidhartha- not specifically with black cherry, but I often use dehydrated cherry tomatoes to make quick pastas in winter. I rehydrate them, usually with some mixture including any of the following: red wine, red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, garlic or garlic powder, basil, oregano, olive oil, black pepper, salt. They can sit in that in the fridge for several days and then when you want a fast meal just cook up some pasta and stir them in. Maybe add extra oil depending on how much fluid is left with the tomatoes by the time you use them.

PS it is an extra step, but I do remove the seeds before I dry them. That's just a personal preference.

" I do remove the seeds before I dry them. That's just a personal preference"

You know, I did think about that afterwards, maybe I will next time around, which is gonna be in the next day or two. They are tasty snacks though with the seeds in.

Thanks for the info on rehydrating them. I'll remember that. I tried seasoning the first batch with a little salt, pepper, and garlic powder; we like them better dried plain.

This post was edited by sidhartha0209 on Mon, Jul 29, 13 at 7:17

Yeah, I might try removing the seeds too. Good Idea.

Yes, I've decided I like mine with just a little sprinkle of salt when drying. My mother uses salt, sugar, and basil when she dries hers, but I thought that sort of hid the lovely tomato flavor too much. Cheers!