Cherokee Purple... Amazing tomato

luke · July 23, 2012

Picked my one and only Cherokee Purple from a plant given to me by a friend several days ago. Sliced it for sandwiches Saturday night, and it blew me away.

It is a must have in my garden from now on.

koshki · July 23, 2012

After reading so much about Cherokee Purple here, I am looking forward to growing this variety next year!

matereater · July 23, 2012

Its been a 'must' in my garden since first trying it 8 years ago, one of my top favorites!!

JamesL · July 23, 2012

In full agreement on CP! My grandfather and father both grew it. A personal favorite and I will always have find a space for it.

riceke · July 23, 2012

Luke...you said your one and only Cherokee Purple. Is it that low of a producing plant? I ordered seed for next year but don't want to take any chances on varieties that are stingy on production.

TomNJ · July 23, 2012

CP is always among my highest producers.

TomNJ

TightenUp · July 23, 2012

this is my first season growing CP. one in a container and another in a SWC.

i've trained the regular container plant to 2 main stems and its growing very well this way and producing equally as well.

the SWC is about 25 gallons. the CP is all alone in there and easily 9 foot tall counting the container. they were both started early and put in there homes early. now i am eating them nice and early and the flavor is outstanding

i will be growing same way next year but adding to another garden

JamesL · July 23, 2012

My "head" count on July 5th - 2 plants - 17 on one and 19 on the other.
New blossoms now on both as the heat has subsided.
Only harvested 4 tomatoes so far though. Looks like the next 2 weeks will be "fruitful".

cloz · July 23, 2012

I grew Cherokee Purple, Indian Stripe and Spudakee side by side last year. Spudakee was the big producer and is back in my garden this year. Cherokee Purple and Indian Stripe gave me about a half dozen tomatoes each.

lakelady · July 23, 2012

My CP is in an area that doesn't get an awful lot of sun, and it only has a handful of tomatoes that aren't ripe yet. If I like the taste once I get to eat a ripe one, I'll plant them again next year in a different location.

Surprisingly, my Indian Stripe IS in a sunny location, and it is not really producing much at all for some reason. Everything else around it is going like gangbusters.

b54red · July 23, 2012

Last year my Spudakees out performed CP big time but this year CP edged out Spudakee. Indian Stripe out produced both of them this year. I have set out a couple of each of them for fall tomatoes and will see which does the best in the fall. This spring Spudakee was slightly better tasting of the three but it was probably just the spots they were grown in.

If you really like the flavor of CP then you should try JDs Special C Tex. It makes a bit larger tomato and to me it is usually even better tasting; but it frequently doesn't make as many tomatoes.

Cole_Robbie · July 23, 2012

This was my first year growing Cherokee Purple. It takes a little warming up to, but now I am starting to enjoy it. I like it better in salsa or on a sandwich than sliced plain. None of my family likes it, though. They are just too used to red tomatoes.

JamesL · July 23, 2012

b54red,
How would you rate Indian Stripe and JD's Special against the CP? I guess flavor and productivity? Or is it just too close to call?

JD's Special is on my list for next year.

luke · July 23, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by riceke

Luke...you said your one and only Cherokee Purple. Is it that low of a producing plant? I ordered seed for next year but don't want to take any chances on varieties that are stingy on production.

This plant was set out about two months after the rest of my plants. The heat and the lack of sun got to it. I'll fix that next year.

But to be honest, the one tomato was well worth it. I've only been growing heirlooms for two years, and have experimented with about 25 varieties. Next year I have a lot of seeds that won't see the light of day to make room for CP.

b54red · July 23, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesL

b54red,
How would you rate Indian Stripe and JD's Special against the CP? I guess flavor and productivity? Or is it just too close to call?

JD's Special is on my list for next year.

If I had to pick just one black tomato I would have to go with Indian Stripe because of the experiences I have had with it over several years. It has been the most consistent producer for 3 years. I think that they are all fairly close in flavor and one year one will sometimes be better than the others. This year Spudakee was the tastiest but last year it was the most productive. Last year it was Indian Stripe winning on taste. Cherokee Purple did the best last year in the fall followed closely by Dana's Dusky Rose. I think a lot of the differences are from the spots that the plants are set out in. Usually Spudakee will outproduce Cherokee Purple but this year it didn't. I have had more inconsistency of production with JD's Special C Tex, Gary O' Sena and Cherokee Purple than with Spudakee and Indian Stripe. I try to plant all of them along with Black Krim so that I have a variety of blacks growing every season. It seems that every year one will standout in either flavor or production; but I never know which one it will be.

July 23, 2012	#1
luke Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Mississippi Posts: 177	Cherokee Purple... Amazing tomato Picked my one and only Cherokee Purple from a plant given to me by a friend several days ago. Sliced it for sandwiches Saturday night, and it blew me away. It is a must have in my garden from now on.

July 23, 2012	#2
koshki Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Grosse Pointe Shores, MI Posts: 127	After reading so much about Cherokee Purple here, I am looking forward to growing this variety next year! __________________ Katherine

July 23, 2012	#3
matereater Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: S.E. Michigan (Livonia) Posts: 1,264	Its been a 'must' in my garden since first trying it 8 years ago, one of my top favorites!! __________________ Steve Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

July 23, 2012	#5
riceke Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Snellville, GA Posts: 346	Luke...you said your one and only Cherokee Purple. Is it that low of a producing plant? I ordered seed for next year but don't want to take any chances on varieties that are stingy on production. __________________ *Ken*

July 23, 2012	#7
TightenUp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Jersey Posts: 1,183	this is my first season growing CP. one in a container and another in a SWC. i've trained the regular container plant to 2 main stems and its growing very well this way and producing equally as well. the SWC is about 25 gallons. the CP is all alone in there and easily 9 foot tall counting the container. they were both started early and put in there homes early. now i am eating them nice and early and the flavor is outstanding i will be growing same way next year but adding to another garden __________________

July 23, 2012	#4
JamesL Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 1,992	In full agreement on CP! My grandfather and father both grew it. A personal favorite and I will always have find a space for it.

July 23, 2012	#6
TomNJ Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: Floyd VA Posts: 771	CP is always among my highest producers. TomNJ

July 23, 2012	#9
cloz Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Southern Connecticut Posts: 435	I grew Cherokee Purple, Indian Stripe and Spudakee side by side last year. Spudakee was the big producer and is back in my garden this year. Cherokee Purple and Indian Stripe gave me about a half dozen tomatoes each.

July 23, 2012	#10
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	My CP is in an area that doesn't get an awful lot of sun, and it only has a handful of tomatoes that aren't ripe yet. If I like the taste once I get to eat a ripe one, I'll plant them again next year in a different location. Surprisingly, my Indian Stripe IS in a sunny location, and it is not really producing much at all for some reason. Everything else around it is going like gangbusters. __________________ Antoniette

July 23, 2012	#11
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Last year my Spudakees out performed CP big time but this year CP edged out Spudakee. Indian Stripe out produced both of them this year. I have set out a couple of each of them for fall tomatoes and will see which does the best in the fall. This spring Spudakee was slightly better tasting of the three but it was probably just the spots they were grown in. If you really like the flavor of CP then you should try JDs Special C Tex. It makes a bit larger tomato and to me it is usually even better tasting; but it frequently doesn't make as many tomatoes.

July 23, 2012	#12
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	This was my first year growing Cherokee Purple. It takes a little warming up to, but now I am starting to enjoy it. I like it better in salsa or on a sandwich than sliced plain. None of my family likes it, though. They are just too used to red tomatoes.

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