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bigred_gw

Black Tomatoes

bigred
10 years ago

My sister recently bought some "Black" tomato seeds and being she a non-gardener and I've been a gardener for 25+yrs,she sent me a few to try this coming garden season. I'm not so sure I trust them being black but did google them and found this website. Anyone have experience w/ these tomatoes?

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/black-tomatoes-uk-unusual-fruit-ray-brown-newton-abbot-devon-anthocyanins-135314051.html

Comments (15)

  • carolyn137
    10 years ago

    I couldn't get the link toopen but you live in ARK in the US and me thinks you don't have to go to a UK source for seeds for any so called Black tomatoes.

    There are many many, yea thousands upon thousands of folks who have grown the different varieties and why not just ask here for those folks to list their faves?

    I'm not a big fan of them, but will list just a few that I like>

    Indian Stripe
    Black from Tula
    Black Cherry
    Cherokee Purple

    And below I'll link to a list of them from Tania's data base so you can see how many there are and also see some pictures when you click on most of the varieties and see comments for others, and also on a given variety page see what the seed sources are.

    Here's the home page from which the the following link was taken:

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

    The degree to which a variety turns a darker color is based on individual varieties, whather they have a clear or yellow epidermis, the degree of UV that they get, and growth in any one season,

    Even for an individual variety you'll see differences of opinion on taste, yield and so much more. So theonly way you're going to know what you like is to grow a few of them and make up your own mind,

    Hope that helps,.

    Carolyn

    Here is a link that might be useful: Black tomatoes

  • labradors_gw
    10 years ago

    They are talking about Indigo Rose with the usual Brit sensationalist writing (LOL).

    I grew it last year and it was "different". Unfortunately for me, my tomatoes didn't get much bigger than cherry size and the plant wilted easily. I never did find out why it was so unhappy in my garden as others said that their fruit was the right size. It produced a lot of fruit and the taste was unusual, but I don't think I would bother growing it again. Linda

  • fireduck
    10 years ago

    B...you have come to the right place. haha. I grew Cherokee Purple (great!) and Black Prince (very good-smallish) this last season...here in Socal. They tend to be a dark brown color....no jet black. Scan the past posts and research your questions. There is much to learn!

  • bigred
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I've been growing unusual tomato varities many years now and have grown many black/brown types but this one is a first for me. I've cut my veg.garden space down to boxes and large containers so there may in up in a flowerbed just to grow them for a hoot and not take up valuable space in the veg. garden.
    Linda,if they wilt in your Ont. garden,they will not be happy with the heat and humidity of Ark.

  • carolyn137
    10 years ago

    bigred. Linda didn't say that it was heat and humidity that made the plant wilt.

    I know several in Arkansas who grow tomatoes, including a major seed site in Conway where the so called blacks are grown with ease.

    And Indian Stripe was also originally sourced from Arkansas as well.

    Actually the darker colored varieties are darker in the south b'c of the higher UV.

    So no worries at all.

    Carolyn

  • bigred
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks Carolyn

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    I bought a package of "HEIRLOOM" cherry tomatoes from Trader Joe's.
    It had all different colors (yellow, red , pink, orange, black) and came in various sizes. The smallest ones are red and yellow pear shaped.

    I have a picture to show you.
    My question is about theblack one. Its color is EXACTLY like CHOCOLATE STRIPE but it is much smaller. it is oval and little bigger than a pecan.
    IS IT CHOCOLATE STRIPE?

  • carolyn137
    10 years ago

    I don't know of any truly heirloom so called black ones that look like what you show, but if you look at the new Totally Tomatoes catalog/website, you'll find lots of newly bred ones that might be candidates, from primarily Brad Gates in CA.

    The picture is a bit fuzzy, at least to me, but I doubt it's anything from Chocolate Stripe, which is a much larger fruit size with a different shape.

    A Google search does bring up some so called Chocolate Stripe cherries, but they are round, not oval, and as far as I know are the end results of some breeding projects and not heirlooms.

    Carolyn

    Here is a link that might be useful: Chocolate Stripe Cherries

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    Thanks Carolyn
    Yes the picture is of bad quality but I assure you that the color and pattern is EXACTLY as chocolate Stripe. The tomatoes sold in special packages, as: mini HEIRLOOM, product of Mexico The rest of the tomatoes also came from the same package. .
    I looked/googled. There is no cherry version of CS. I will check the link you mentioned

    here is a better picture. it is zoomed and size looks out of proportion.

    This post was edited by seysonn on Tue, Dec 10, 13 at 16:03

  • John A
    10 years ago

    I've grown Cherokee Purple and Black Kriim for a few years with mixed results. Last year (2012) both of them bore fruit early, but the meat was a little mealy, and the plants were the first to fall victum to blight. This year both were my best performers. The taste was delicious, and the plants lasted all season.
    John A

  • em247
    10 years ago

    It looks somewhat similar to the Black Vernissage tomato on Baker Creek's site, but I'm not sure if it's the same thing or not.

    Best of luck on your tomato ID quest. : ) It's always kind of fun playing detective to figure out what a certain variety of veggie or flower is that we see and like.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Black Vernissage Tomato at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    Thank Em247
    I think you have done it . Goo job. Shape, color and size(~2 oz) fits the bill.

  • garlicgrower
    10 years ago

    Hi Folks:

    I have trailed a number of "black" tomatoes over the years. Cherokee Purple as Caroline mentions was good, but in our climate had a lot of rot problems. Other varieties had other types of problems or the taste was not there. I finally settled on a selection of Black Krim which was traded to me via this forum as Bart's Black Heart.

    I've maintained this selection and further selected only the biggest and densest fleshed fruit, on the most disease tolerant plants. In my area, tomatoes have to tolerate fungi and all kinds of insults.

    Now I have a selection of Krim that is somewhat heart shaped, very good flavor, and adapted to our area. I save seed religiously every August-September. I've also saved Rose in this way. I select for tastiest, largest, meatiest
    dense flesh, few and small locules. I may be into the 12th to 15th selection now, I don't remember as i never wrote it down the first year.

    I really think any gardener can do this and come up with a selection that is better adapted to your location.

    My seedlings of 2013 were even bitten by frost in mid-May while in the cold frame. I thought they were goners, but my husband insisted I just plant out those little "sticks" that were left. I was prepared to buy replacement plants. Lo and behold, the leafless little sticks recuperated, grew, branched copiously, bore plenty of fruit and I have plenty canned. I wondered if my selection process had anything to do with the hardiness...
    Is a truly hardy tomato possible? well, maybe not....but I know for sure that selecting repeatedly for characteristics you want does work!

    I digress from the original topic, sorry.

    Happy catalog dreaming...
    ML in WMass

  • carolyn137
    10 years ago

    Black Krim has been known to give a blunt heart shape, see the link below for a well known variety Brad's Black Heart.

    You're in W MA and I'm in Eastern NYS not that far from you and I guess it might be best to say that IMO there is no such thing as local adaptation and this after growing 3,000 plus varieties and being raised on a farm, so up close and personal with tomatoes for a verrryyy longtime.

    Folks have selected for larger size, for earlier versions of a known variety, for this and that and they never seem to genetically stabilize.

    To me local adaptation means a landrace, such as Ethiopian Wheat and some rice cultivars and it took thousands of years of subtle mutations for those to adapt to local conditions.

    Cold hardy? I guess it depends on how cold? Tomatoes were from the highlands of Chile and Peru where its a temperate, not a jungle environment,

    Carolyn

    Here is a link that might be useful: Brad's Black Heart

  • labradors_gw
    10 years ago

    Re Brad's Black Heart

    Tania says it's early and good-tasting, but not very productive.

    My Black Krim was good tasting, but neither early nor productive. In fact the plant seemed miserable. The first BK was bought from a nursery too late in the season and was probably root-bound. It almost died, but I coddled it and it produced two tasty tomatoes. I saved the seeds and a friend grew them out and gave me two plants the following spring. Something happened and the young plants seemed to stop growing in her cold frame and everything else overtook them, but they eventually caught up and fruited. I think I will skip them next year.

    My Purple Cherokee was early and tasted great, but that wasn't very productive either.

    Perhaps Indian Stripe would be a good black tomato to try.

    Linda

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