Tomato- Cherokee Purple (Heirloom)

Tomato- Cherokee Purple Heirloom

Solanum lycopersicum

Allegedly, the seeds came from Cherokee gardeners who grew this big dark purple heirloom tomato for 100 plus years. It's been compared to Brandywine, with its full, rich taste often described as a balance of sweet, acid, and savory. Most will agree that Cherokee Purple is the clear winner when it comes to flavor. When these 8-16oz "ugly" fruit are diced or sliced, the flesh colors range from purplish, to greens and browns, with some dark pink. Wide, long vines grow quickly, so this indeterminate tomato needs lots of staking on a large trellis. Cherokee Purple tomatoes, like a lot of older heirlooms, produce more flowers on their secondary and tertiary branches, so keep the trimming of the "suckers" to a minimum. If you need to thin out leaves, not branches. More branching means more tomatoes, however, if your leaves become a clustered mess, it can lead to disease. Therefore give them the space and trellis they need. This tomato will continue to fruit with night time lows in the lower 70's.