Has anyone ever grown them? I assume they are tasty like most black varities. A company called Sustainable Seeds sells them and I wonder if anyone has ever ordered from them and what their reputation is?

Thanks
deb

When I look it up as 3 words, it's also sold by Seed Savers Exchange and Heirloom Seeds (I've bought from both) and TomatoFest, which I've never purchased from but I believe is supposed to be a good vendor ... plus some others I either don't know enough about or wouldn't recommend.

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On another forum, I learned that Google has a seed search. I couldn't find it on Google's site, so I just bookmarked the link and clear the search field each time. (Yes, despite the length, it does work to cut and paste this.)
From somewhere in Ohio, probably more or less central Ohio.
http://www.google.com/custom?hl=en&client=google-coop-np&cof=FORID:13% 3BAH:left%3BCX:Vegetable%2520varieties%2520for%2520gardeners%3BL:http: //www.google.com/coop/intl/en/images/custom_search_sm.gif%3BLH:65%3BLP :1%3BVLC:%23551a8b%3BGFNT:%23666666%3BDIV:%23cccccc%3B&cx=003472780514 561857771:_eyckfdgfmi&adkw=AELymgXKKcoj8ExjLwA_2QQUrTOC56hT5csg6nztOXo mwH8QqjOuDih_7udDMbvIgLtF5VsgbKHSInqxR4nHxAwQ_0whzhEXXL9uATYXLPKd8h_o- a-yOzkd46y21DaRePcq3852tVK6X7nnQOMrOZPm4Cm5kLSxSQ&boostcse=0&q=Royal+C hico+Tomatoes&start=10&sa=N

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terrybull, we may be kin! "Gramma Seaman" is one of my mother's ancestors (far enough back that I'm not sure how many generations; likely my 2- or 3-greats grandmother).

Back in the mid 90's SSE used to receive many varieties from Marie Danilenko, in Moscow, and I was asked to trial many of them by SSE.

There are really three so called blacks that are det and PL, the two I trialed are Black Sea Man and Southern Nights, another det PL black and the third one is Blaufruct, or Blue fruit, which has long been known.

http://t.tatianastomatobase.com:88/wiki/Blue_Fruit

While some say det and some say indet for the above variety mine was det. But, I thought it was a lousy variety and a disease magnet to boot. ( smile)

I admit that I'm not a fan of most so called black varieties so I didn't think that Black Sea Man or Southern Nights were all that great.

I've grown a lot of so called blacks which I call pink/blacks or red/blacks, depending on the epidermis color, but about the only ones I like are Indian Stripe, Cherokee Purple, Black from Tula and the cherries Black Cherry and Kazachka and maybe a few more whose names escape me right now.

Carolyn

And yes, many of them originatged in the Crimea and near the Isle of Krim in the Black Sea.

I usually divide them into pink/blacks that have a clear epidermis, such as Cherokee Purplee Indian Stripe, etc., and red/blacks that have a yellow epidermis such as Black Krim and friends.

And since the fad of the dark ones has gone way beyond my expectations what's happened in the last decade or so is that, well, I'll put it this way.....where there is demand the varieties will follow if you get my drift.

I like the new fad of green when ripes b'c they're one of my favorite groups of tomatoes along with the hearts. But the same thing has happened and is happening with the green when ripes in terms of varieties appearing where there is demand.

Summary: not all so called blacks are unique and same for the green when ripes.

Carolyn