Solanum lycopersicum
Overview
Uses: Tomato crop production—produces excellent yields
Benefits: Cordon (produces crops all season). Heirloom! Deep, rich purple skinned tomatoes with a meaty, merlot reddish purple flesh. Large, sweet fruit!
USDA Hardiness Zones: 3 - 9 suggested (has been known to survive in all USDA Hardiness Zones)
Sun: Full
Growth: Indeterminate (cordon)
Life Cycle: Annual
Mature Height: As high as 4' with proper staking and fertilization.
Mature Width: 24"
Bloom Season: Summer to Early Fall
Summary
Add some sophistication to your sandwiches with our heirloom, Cherokee Purple Tomatoes!
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes are best known for their gorgeous deep purple skin tones, and their vibrant, deep red flesh!
Their fairly sweet taste is slightly sweeter than most tomatoes, but not overwhelming. Their flesh is meaty, juicy, and firm. They're one of our favorites for eating right off the vine, plus they're absolutely phenomenal when sliced and diced for sandwiches and salads!
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes have an average maturation rate, and should begin to produce their first harvests sometime in the middle of summer, often sustaining their production of crops until mid-fall. One may expect ripe tomatoes about 60-75 days after planting one of our starter plants.
Cherokee Purple Tomato is an indeterminate variety of tomato, often referred to as a vine or cordon tomato. This means; unlike a determinate variety, they keep growing and producing tomatoes from the beginning of the summer until early fall (determinate varieties stop growing at a certain height, then produce all of their crop within a short time frame).
Does not require staking or caging, although we highly suggest doing such. It grows as a vine, so un-staked plants will travel along the ground, causing their fruit to be more susceptible to rot. Cherokee Purple tomato plants are known to grow to an average height, so a strong stake or cage is suggested.
Care
Cherokee Purple Tomato Plant Care
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes will likely tolerate temperatures above 40°F, but it's suggested to attempt to keep them in temperatures above 55°F.
Plant 24" apart.
Suggest planting late-March through May depending on temperatures in your area. Keep in temperatures above 55°F.
Does best in temperatures between 75°F and 95°F.
Likes organic, rich soil with lots of drainage.
Make sure to water regularly and attempt to keep soil moist but not wet.
Give early dose of high nitrogen organic fertilizer either when planting or as a part of soil preparation.
Will benefit from a high phosphorus organic fertilizer once established, just prior to or after it begins to produce fruit.
Suggest caging, or staking and providing something to climb, although not required. Unsupported plants will likely grow on the ground in a somewhat vine-like fashion, which will drastically increase the potential of rotting fruit.
You'll know your Cherokee Purple Tomatoes are ready to harvest once their skin turns their namesake purplish color, and are firm, yet bouncy when squeezed.
Size
Size of Cherokee Purple Tomato Plants for Sale Online
The Cherokee Purple Tomatoes that we sell online will ship in a greenhouse grade grow pot. Each plant will be appropriately sized for its pot. Please contact us with any specific questions.
Size of Cherokee Purple Tomatoes When Fully Grown
Cherokee Purple Tomatoes often spread to a width of around 24" when staked and allowed to grow vertical. They're cordon-type growers, so their vines may grow as long as 4' long in certain situations.
Additional Information
Botanical Name of Cherokee Purple Tomato
The botanical name of Cherokee Purple Tomato is Solanum lycopersicum.
Toxicity and Risks of Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
Tomato plants are actually considered toxic. They're members of the nightshade family, and produce an alkaloid called tomatine.
This alkaloid is most present in the unripe fruit, the stem, and the leaves of a tomato plant.
Tomatine is toxic when ingested in extremely large doses, it may cause gastrointestinal problems, liver, and even heart damage.
