Cherokee Purple Heirloom Tomato

Cherokee Purple Heirloom

This is my first summer growing Heirloom tomato plants (non-hybrid) and this is an update on their progress. As the history pundits purport, this purple coloured tomato originated from the Cherokee Indians living in Tennessee over 100 years ago. The seeds were passed down by generations of families who loved the taste of this seed saving beauty. Thats right, you can save heirloom seeds year-to-year and get the same genetics from the previous plant.  

You cannot save seeds from hybrid tomatoes like Ultra Boy and expect to get the same plant genetics, therefore you need to purchase seeds from a grower like Stokes Seeds. 

In the early 1990's, tomato rock star Craig LeHoullier was given seeds belonging to the purple tomato plant. After growing the plant and being impressed with the quality, he named it "Cherokee Purple" and sent samples to the Southern Exposure Seed exchange and eventually became available to the general public.

It's appearance is purple with a splash of green on top, until fully ripe. The taste is sweeter and has a texture unlike your standard hybrid. The interior is plump and has fewer seeds that your average hybrid. However, some tomatoes did have a scab growth on the sides known as "cat facing" but it was easily removed before eating. In my situation, I have attributed the cat facing scab growth to cool growing conditions in June when we had one week of very cold temperatures. The cool day and night temps affected the pollination of the flower which causes scab growth. Once the spring temperatures warm up, the next set of flowers should be free of this physiological condition. See this link for greater detail.

Another observation when growing this plant is how slow it was to grow during the first 4 weeks under the grow lights. It was much smaller that the hybrids and when it hit the ground it was again slow to grow. However, it eventually caught up to the hybrids in height and the early tomatoes were hugh! This 4.5" purple beauty was too heavy for my 16 oz. kitchen scale so I can only estimate it to be 1-1/2 to 2 lbs. Go ahead and make great toasted tomato sandwiches, my friend.