Growing tomatoes is one of my passions. There are so many interesting colors, shapes, tastes and sizes. It’s so hard to decide that many a year I’ve gone a bit crazy and grown way too many! Though they are my favorite crop to grow, they are actually quite a lot of work. So, I’m learning to streamline my tomato garden and focus in only only the most successful varieties.
My absolute favorite tomato is the Cherokee Purple. And I have high standards for tomatoes. Cherokee Purple has a heavenly rich tomato flavor, it’s relatively easy to grow, has high yields and is a beautiful complex dark pink exterior and deep red interior.
Even though there can be a few more challenges with growing heirlooms, I vastly prefer them to more modern hybrids. The old-fashioned varieties almost across the board have a more complex taste better and their beauty really can’t be beat. I also love participating in seed conservation.
Here is why I’ve fallen in love with Cherokee Purple, and why I think you will too.
1. The fruits are resistant to cracking and disease
Cherokee Purple can get quite large, but typically stay medium-sized. But even the big ones keep a pretty healthy and crack-free exterior. Some of the big, lucious heirlooms like Brandywine are so tasty and so beautiful. But they are so likely to crack and split and allow bugs and diseases to get in before they’re even ripe, that I have come to avoid all such tomatoes entirely.
2. The plants are disease resistant.
I don’t have the time or energy to manage a lot of disease and pest problems, and I suspect neither do you! Cherokee Purples generally resist common tomato diseases like Fusarium Wilt and Septoria. This does not mean that they won’t get disease. Nearly all tomatoes are susceptible to late-stage blight that will kill the vine. The trick is to cover the soil with mulch, avoid splashing watery-soil onto the plants and prune lower leaves/branches.
3. Fruits throughout the season.
Cherokee Purple is what’s called “indeterminate” - meaning it tends to have large vines and it’s fruit ripens at staggered times vs. “determinate” that tends to have smaller vines, but all the fruit is ripe at the same time.
Determinate are great for a bit of an easier growing experience, but it’s difficult to keep up with all the tomatoes being ripe at once. A typical Cherokee Purple plant will yield 15 to 30 fruit.
4. Ripens Mid-Season.
I’m in Minnesota, so we do not have the longest of growing seasons here. Which, of course creates a practical problem with getting tomatoes to ripen before frost. But even in more temperate climates, taking many months to get your first tomato can be demoralizing and frustrating. On the other hand, so many of the vegetables I want to pair with tomatoes, like peppers, basil and eggplant, aren’t mature until mid-season. At 80 to 90 days, Cherokee Purple strikes the right balance of not-too-early and not-too-late.
5. Manageable Vines.
Cherokee Purple is not going to be your most compact plant, but it’s also not a monster. Prune well and get a strong cage or trellis and you’ll be fine. It can be grown in containers on a patio and will stay proportional to the pot you put it in.
This Native Cherokee grown tomato was nearly lost to history, and I am very happy that it didn’t. Thanks to the vigilance of thoughtful gardeners and the work of organizations like the Seed Savers Exchange, these once forgotten varieties have survived and can be enjoyed by new generations of tomato lovers. This gorgeous tomato will be the highlight of your tomato patch and your dinner plate.
See future blog postings on pruning tomatoes and the “perfect” tomato patch. And happy gardening!
Check out this fun NPR story on the Cherokee Purple: