Tomato 'Cherokee Purple'

Last year was a horrible year for gardening in Coastal N.C. Too much rain, followed by intense heat. I lost all of my tomatoes to early...Read More blight. So, I bought a bunch of CP's from an Amish man when I was in PA. I decided to grow them and started C.P. plants in January planting them in mid-March. After 45 days away from my garden, early blight was back, despite mulching and using soaker hoses. I had to pull all five blight riddled Brandywine plants next to the CP's. Three weekly applications of copper and pruning leaves a foot off the ground got things under control. CP's are doing well along with some Jet Stars and Beefsteaks. CP's are producing well (one bunch of ten baseball sized fruit has five ripening). I picked a few today (mid-June) but have not tasted them yet. Will not grow Brandywine again any time soon, after losing them two years in a row. They had been my favorite.

This grows well for me, but seemed quite susceptible to blight. Despite heavy blight damage on the plants, it is still producing loads of...Read More big fruit. It is growing in pure composted rabbit manure.

The fruit is tasty and interesting to look at. But they have many, MANY seeds that are very small, and this makes the cherokee purple very difficult to preserve. This is best eaten out of hand rather than put up for later.

I grew this tomato last year in the middle row of three rows of tomatoes. The few tomatoes that was produced where delicious.

...Read More/> This year i am growing them in the front row full sun and they are ok, not as sweet and flavorful. Still not many fruits as i would like. Very disappointed.

Last year i grew the Black Brandywine potato leaf in the same spot and i got lots of tomatoes, as much as off my Big Beef plants.

The Brandywines where better then the Cherokee Purples that i am growing in full sun and a whole lot more productive.

Next back to the Brandywines and maybe one Cherokee plant in the middle row.

I grew Cherokee Purple for the first time this year and it has done very well for me. My problem was trying to figure out when it was rip...Read Moree! After eating a few, I knew then that it's going to have some green on top unlike our 'normal' tomatoes. Also, as others have mentioned, it's prone to cracking and it is an ugly fruit when that happens. I love the flavor though and plan on trying to save some seeds for next year (this was bought as a plant at our local nursery). I'm going to try to pick it sooner to alleviate the cracking - we'll see how that works!

a must have in my garden. produces very well for me and the fruit is very tasty.

Brandywines have always been our favorite, but in a side-by-side comparison we found the flavor of Cherokee Purple to be more interesting...Read More due to the smoky undertones. Prone to splitting. Decent production - we'll plant more of these next year.

This is the first year I've tried these and I must I say I was impressed. Plants were loaded with fruit and most were between 8 and 14 oz...Read More. I did experience some minor cracking when we had 3 days of heavy rain but not enough to worry about. Just keep the plants well watered and mulched and it shouldn't be a problem if the rains come.

Taste was excellent. It seems to work out better if you pick while the shoulders are still green but the bottoms are deep red/purple with just a slight give to them. They finish up quickly in the house.

Plants are huge and with so much heavy fruit will be a challenge to stake. Plan ahead for this.

Now for the downside: most of the fruit are just plain butt ugly. If you want perfect, round tomatoes these are probably not for you. What they lack in looks however, they more than make up for in taste. Well worth a try if you've got the space to experiment with a few plants.

Grows very well in Zone 18/19. Plant gets to 5-6 feet tall. Lots of medium sized good tasting tomatoes.

Love this tomato. If you let them ripen on the vine they are the best BLT tomato possible. If you try to pick em early, they are sweet bu...Read Moret otherwise unremarkable.

I planted 3 of the Cherokee Purple and gave 6 additional away to family members- no one got a single 'mater worth eating off of them. Two...Read More of my plants never produced a thing and the one that did made 4 tomatoes. They were huge, granted but every last one rotted on the vine. It was not blossom end rot or cracking due to rain. My other varieties did good- mortgage lifters, Genovese, Amana orange, Black Krim etc. It was nasty- I tried to pick some that were unripe so I could at least get a taste but they were rotting too- split apart when I picked them up. I swear they look like zombie tomatoes. My families all did the same, few produced and what did was rotting on the inside and burst when you touched it. I won't be trying this again

Rich tasting, but they (from my first seed source) tend to be very watery tomatoes for me, every time I cut one up I make a mess, and I g...Read Moreet somewhat low production out of them.

I got seed from a different source later on, and the tomatoes were less watery and a little more productive after the initial review. It seems to be resistant to what looks like early blight affecting all of the other tomatoes in my yard this year. I think overall I slightly prefer Black Krim, but I still grow this plant once in awhile.

I am eating a Cherokee Purple right now and its delicious. My plant is covered with them, many green and some turning. I put the plant ...Read Morein the ground on May 18, and harvested the first ripe fruit on July 25.

The plant seems vigorous and happy in its raised bed. I use fish/seaweed mixed fertilizer with the tomatos, which seems to help with fruit production. I am also growing Mortagage Lifter and Nebraska Wedding this year, and so far they are all doing well.

I'm absolutely amazed by the taste of the Cherokee Purple. The only heirlooms I've had a hand at growing are Black from Tula, Black krimm...Read More and Cherokee purple and it definitely takes the #1 spot so far. The taste profile easily surpasses all the heirloom, beefsteak and cherry tomatoes I've ever grown.

With that said the plant definitely doesn't produce as many fruit as the black strains I've grown and definitely can't compare to the fruit production of the commercial beefsteak and cherry varieties in my garden this year.

The plant seems to be staying very healthy and vigorous despite being the most neglected tomato in my garden this year. The beefsteak and Black Krimm in my garden this year have succumbed to disease but the Cherokee Purple has held strong which leads me to believe that it might have good disease resistance. It also seems like it is not a very heavy feeder (as opposed to my Big Beef), able to keep it's color with less fertilizer.

All in all a very tasty treat with an amazing color that's dark red with almost purplish hues .

I grew Cherokee Purple tomatoes for the first time last summer. The plant grew well, was fairly productive, and produced several large e...Read Morexamples of one of the best tomatoes I've ever eaten. This year I planted them again (seedling from a local nursery), and even though all the plants this year are a couple of weeks behind due to a late, chilly spring, the Cherokee Purple is plugging right along and has six tomatoes in various stages of growth on it. We get the heat and the sticky humidity here, and I highly recommend them. I don't think they're all that ugly, either. :)

I planted Cherokee Purple for the first time in 2012. I planted 6 transplants early in the season. These made only a few large tomatoes b...Read Moreut those few were very tasty....and they did have that strange green color on the ripe interior. My wife complained loudly....even though they were tasty. The later planted transplants started coming off in mid June. Even though I controlled the watering....nearly 100% turned to mush. That lasted until Sept when I finally gave up and pulled the plants. I suspect this variety couldn't tolerate our south Georgia hot, humid nights.

This is my first year with Cherokee Purple and to my mind, it is the best tasting tomato I have ever tried. Here at 2,500 ft. we plant st...Read Morearters around mid May. CP handled the cold spell and made fruit even in mid 90° temps. First ripe fruit by early August. A super tomato for Grass Valley, CA.

I am growing Cherokee Purple tomatoes in Piedmont, in the North of Italy, since three years ago. The first year I had seeds from the US a...Read Morend then I saved my own seeds, without losing any of the characteristics. I am not a novice in growing tomatoes and I have to admit that Cherokee Purple has a better taste than most of the famous Italian tomatoes.

Great flavor and texture, very sweet and tomato-ey fruit. Not producing heavily but could be our cool to hot to cool weird temperatures t...Read Morehis summer. I'll take what I can get...will replant next year!

A great variety of tomato. Sure its not the prettiest, but flavor is the most important thing.Great at farmers markets. Enhances flavors ...Read Moreof hamburgers greatly. Adding seaweed to the soil helps the plant grow much better.

I put one Cherokee Tomato seed in a 18 gal storage container with a 6" water reservoir on the bottom that I had made. My tomato plant i...Read Mores already about 9 feet tall and loaded with Tomatoes. I just picked my first one yesterday the size of half a grapefruit. I used a potting soil called Miracle Grow Moisture Control. I also added a Cherokee Blue corn seed to each box I made. This was a mistake because these
too are growing around 9 feet tall. Over all, this method is really the only way to grow in hot mostly dry Florida without much stress and not so much watering. They last several years.

For more information on these hand made grow boxes email me at tangerine@cfl.rr.com.

I've now tried Cherokee Purple in my garden several different times. The first two times the production was slim and the taste was good b...Read Moreut not up to the standards of some other black tomates. This summer I tried them again. The plants grew well but had zero production. Every other tomato variety I grew this year had at least some production and most were outstanding in production. I love growing heirloom tomatoes, but I'm done with this one.

I am updating the review I have written farther down. It is March 25,2012. I have just picked and eaten the first tomato off of this plan...Read Moret. It was delicious! This tomato would be concidered an "ugly" tomato.It looked like 2 smaller tomatoes fused together about 4" long,with a more chocolate than purple color. This tomato had a very nice "tomato" flavor. Not too acidic,a fruity, almost wine flavor.This is a heavy feeder, especially when full of fruit. I have quite a few tomatoes now.--- So far, I have had success with this tomato. I have 2 plants. They are growing at an average rate. I have about 3 small/medium tomatoes growing right now. There are several just starting from the flower. I have quite a few blooms on this tomato. So far, so good. I do not have a large area to work with but I love to garden. I have found-through trial and error- the best way for me to keep healthy tomatoes is a two pot system. I take my potted plants and stick them in a larger pot-with no holes-and then add water and fertilizer to the larger pot. This seems to be the best way to keep the tomatoes from drying out in the drought. It also allows me to drain the water when we have excessive rain. I had tried to make a raised bed but had alot of issues with keeping the soil moist due to severe drought here. Even with a morning and evening watering, the heat from the day was awful. Also had issues with wash outs when the rains came in torrents. I do use milk to add calcium to keep the blossom end rot at bay. I also plant basil to bring in the bees. And garlic and onion plants to keep other bugs away. So far, no leaf and tomato eaters,no blossom end rot and plenty of pollination going on. My Roma's are a week or so behind these and are doing just as well.

100% positive. We loved this tomato last summer! Slightly tart might be a description for this. Maybe a little sweet. (I am not a tomato...Read More aficionado.)Though the shape can be a little odd it still slices nicely and holds together. Unlike some larger, juicier tomatoes it didn't seem to mush all over the place when slicing. ***Loved the flavor and "texture". ***

Yes, there is some green on top and other coloration I am not used to (okay, once or twice I think I called it the ugly tomato) but we tried it and it became our taste favorite. Will be growing it again this summer of 2012.

I have grown this wonderful tomato in SE Michigan for the last several years. I have given some away to widow ladies in the neighborhood...Read More and have seen the funny look on their faces, because a fully ripe Purple Cherokee is green on the top and a crimson on the bottom. This is what growing your own is all about. Pick fruits when they are still firm, dont wait for them to turn uniform red or they will get mushy and rot. I plant around 24 plants in a Community garden in Livonia and get a huge yield per plant of around 20-30 fist sized or larger tomatoes. Planting here is late May with fertilizer of 12-12-12 slow release every 10-14 days till mid July, then stop with the fetrilizer. Fruit usually starts Aug 1st but was 2 weeks later this year. Keep plants watered every 2 days if there is not enough rain. Even in August these tomatoes sell for 5.99 per pound when you can find them. They are not pretty, but the are the best you can find. After I gave away these purple wonders the first year, I got calls from all the widows asking where in the hell I got these. Wish I could share some with you today, but grow them next year and you will see what I mean.

Keep in mind that this has been a terrible tomato year for me. My garden has been hit with a perfect storm of excessive (100+) heat from...Read More early in the season, voles, and at least two types of disease. Frustrating!

Despite this, I'm giving Cherokee Purple a positive rating. Before it succumbed to the disease and heat, my two plants gave me 15 absolutely beautiful and tasty tomatoes. They were smaller than most that others have described, but they were like little works of art, with deep olive green shoulders and brilliant coral red bottoms. I hated to eat them, they were so pretty.

But the best part was the taste and texture! The first one I ate was a touch mealy and bland, but that was because I left it on the plant too long. I'm learning that most of my heirloom tomatoes are best pulled as soon as the bottoms get just barely soft to the touch. Then they can ripen inside for a few days. That tends to alleviate most cracking and insect problems and the flavor and texture are actually much better than the ones I have left to fully ripen on the vine. Love these!

This has been my favorite heirloom tomato so far. Or maybe a tie with Kellogg's Breakfast, but they are very different. Cherokee Purple...Read More has a richer taste and softer flesh than KB, and a nice round shape you don't often find in heirlooms. I don't find it to be mealy at all, and I would say it is actually less acidic than KB. It has split--only a little--on me after hard rains, and flopped right out of its cage, but it's worth the extra effort to support the rambling branches. I have it planted in (very) full sun in a raised bed with quality topsoil that I ammended with mushroom soil before planting and gave a light dressing of compost in July. I watered when needed during the extreme heat this summer. Pick these when the shoulders are still green or they'll turn to mush on the vine. Other than that it has been carefree and DELICIOUS!

What a great heirloom! This is my first year planting this variety and I will definitely plant it again. I purchased my plants from Hom...Read Moree Depot this spring. The plants are large and healthy with good production of large, juicy tomatoes with a wonderful, rich tomato taste. YUMMY!

Loved, loved the color but as with some of the other reviewers...I found them to be quite bland & the texture was weird. Threw away see...Read Moreds from last year's crop. Not growing this year.

I planted 2 Cherokee Purple Tomato plants in early March. Since May 6th, I have picked 6 tomatoes from both plants combined. One plant pr...Read Moreoduced 3 normal sized tomatoes and a GIANT 2.4lb doublebloom tomato, while the other produced 2 very large ones, both over a 1lb for sure. They were all delicious with beautiful coloration. Some acidity but that was fine for me. The plants are between 3 and 4 feet tall right now.

There are about a dozen more Cherokee Purples that have set so I am excited to have more of them throughout the season.

I grew these last year and had great crop. Had a bushel from 3 plants at first frost mid Nov. However, my seeds I planted this year, ge...Read Morerminated and came up great but now a few weeks later, when ready to move outside , have began wilting and dying in the cups. I have not over or under watered, they are in the sun butnot sure why . I transplanted roughly 70 plants for giving away etc but everyone's are dying....any ideas why? They seem to just fall over right where the base and soil meet.

Greetings from the frozen tundra of Southern Minnesota (zone 4b)! My local nursery had Cherokee Purple plants last spring, so I planted t...Read Morewo of them, just as an experiment. They produced a grand total of ONE ripe tomato and 2 greenies, all picked the night before our first hard frost. In all fairness, the ripe one was DEEELICIOUS, and the vines were very stocky and vigorous, even in a garden that experiences 30mph winds at least once a week. The only problem is the seed catalogs list this as an 85 day tomato, which pretty much agrees with my experience. They simply can't do their thing before frost, up here. I wish I could grow Cherokee Purples, but I'm going to stick to my faithful old Cheyennes.

This is perhaps the most fun I've had with an heirloom tomato and I tried the mixed seeds last year with a number of varieties and the pu...Read Morerple tomato I think bore better and had the most interesting different taste, rich, full flavor. Now your relatives and friends may not like it just because they only like red tomatoes, but anyone that is willing to try it will I think grow to like it because it is different. The plants grew huge and healthy more than 6 feet tall in time and I had them in cages in pots because I live in a duplex and must use pots outside on the patio. It was a brutally hot year and I watered every day, so you have to like to water and garden if you undertake any gardening. Hornworms were the only threat and I picked them off and did use a spray one time and about 6 worms were killed that way that I could not see otherwise. The heat was so bad that the tomatoes stopped bearing in July-August here with 100 degree temperatures. I grew most of my crop in May-June and Sept-Frost. I loved it. But it does take daily observation and water and yes I used miracle grow plant food regularly as prescribed on the box. Of all the heirlooms I grew this year I like these the best. The others were fun too and I hope to try more. Actually the best producers for me were the patio tomato and the little yellow pear tomato. The small ones have several ripe fruits just about every day, but you have to wait for the larger Cherokee purples, but they bore best of the larger tomatoes that I grew. Cherokees do have a cracking around the top, but I cut around that and they are very juicy and full of flavor!!! Yum!!!

Cherokee Purple was quite variable for me. One year, it was excellent! Production was fantastic, flavor was very good(sweet yet rich), an...Read Mored the fruits were stunning. However, my second year was horrible. My plants only started producing in late August and probably only gave me 1 fruit per week. The tomatoes tasted like supermarket tomatoes, extremely bland. I might grow this tomato again, due to my excellent first year, but most likely not.

This tomato grew well and produced many fruits under tough conditions. I give it a neutral rating only because of the taste. It had a fla...Read Morevor that reminded me of wine. Weird, I know. Every tomato from two plants had the same flavor, whether I picked it ripe off the plant or a little early and let it ripen inside the house. It wasn't a bad taste, but one of those things that you either like or don't. I prefer old-timey, rich tomato flavor. Cherokee Purple is a pretty fruit and my plants out-produced many of the other heirloom tomatoes I've tried through the years.

Grew them for the first time this year in very difficult weather - Nashville flooded and there was initially too, too much rain and then ...Read Morenot a drop with very hot 100+ degree days. That said, this tomato had no more problems than one would expect with those conditions and the flavor was out of this world. Our tomato of choice for bruschetta!

To those who mentioned issues with cracking - tomato cracking is caused when you have a drought that is then followed by huge amounts of rain. The tomato fruit is wet and expands with all the influx of rain, causing the skin to crack. To prevent this problem, water regularly when you have a drought, but don't overwater. Give your plant regular, moderate water.

To those who reported problems with the fruit rotting or not ripening - this tomato will not turn a bright red to indicate it is ripe. When fully ripe it may still be a bit green at the top. Use your sense of touch to tell you when it's ripe. When I've had fruit rot on the vine, it's always been because I simply didn't pull them off when they first ripened. And like any tomato, it will turn soft and mealy and then rot if left too long on the vine.

Finally, good organic compost or composted manure is a great fertilizer, but like many heirlooms, this plant does not want to be drowned in Miracle Gro every other week. You can take too much care of this plant.

Best of the Best. 2nd year with Cher. Purple. 1st year little success. This year, terrific. Not a tomato for those who have limited time ...Read Moreto care for plant. The ones I planted in ground were complete failures. The ones in 5 gal. buckets, great. Keys: dark sandy soil, pH below 7, fertilize weekly with Miraclegrow 24-8-16 all purpose, water twice daily when temps reach100. Run rope thru bottom of bucket to a tie off 8ft high and tie plants to rope as they grow. Plants will stop production after a period of 100+ degrees and will not bloom or set fruit until it cools to 90. Each plant has produced close to 70 tomatoes. Watch for and treat for stink bugs and tomato fruit worms. Pick off green horn worms. Best tasting tomato ever and I also grow 3 varities of Brandwines, plus other heirlooms.

I'm a novice veggie gardener and I'm very happy with this choice. We got a really late start to summer and I didn't think the tomatoes wo...Read Moreuld get enough sunshine but they seem to be thriving (once I convinced myself I didn't need to water every other day). These are beautiful fruit (I've only tried one so far). The initial taste was a little tart rather than sweet, but it was tasty, juicy and had a very nice texture. I agree that it's probably better to let them fully ripen on the windowsill. I'll be looking for this plant next year and will be planting more than one of this variety definitely.

I tried this variety for the first time this year and it has ripened sooner and been more productive than my Better Boy. The flavor is un...Read Morebelievable! I had some trouble with catface early in the season and the tomatoes tend to crack around the stem. Very strange looking but very tasty!

I am growing a Cherokee Purple this year and its going great. I have big juicy tomatoes, some almost 1 pound. A tip- dont wait for the ...Read Moretops to turn red. They never will. When the tomato feels ripe to the touch then pick it. I leave mine in a windowsill for a day or two and they are wonderful! You can even pick them a few days before they are fully ripe to avoid critters from eating them before you. Put them on a windowsill until they ripen up.

Wonderful! Fairly prolific but prone to rot, splitting and insect problems. However, the taste makes it all worth it. Second only to B...Read Morerandywine in my opinion. Sweet, salty, rich tomato flavor.

This is our first year growing this variety and we just had our first few tomatoes from them tonite.

I'm still in heaven. ...Read More They have a wonderfully complex flavor. Brandywine is still my favorite, but these are absolutely delicious and as of today I've added them to my Must Grow Yearly list.

Did I say they were delicious?

Smith Mtn Lake, Va.
Lots of sun this year and many mid to high 90s in temps.
Not much rain if any.
The tomatoe plant...Read Mores are huge!
I have four of these and four of brandywine.
Both are doing terrific.
I have only watered them one time since planting late May.
They are all seven feet plus and staked.
Huge plants; lots of blooms.
The Purple cherokee ripened first around July 26.
First one was beautiful when sliced and tasted yummy!
Very meaty and juicy.
I think the high heat and low rain has produced good results.
Interesting that very little water seems to be good!

Planted toward end of May here in the mountains of VA (US).

Plants have grown well, flowered well, and are producing muc...Read Moreh medium to large fruit. The only real issue I'm having*

(besides some expected cracking on some of the larger fruit, a bit of insect trouble, and some soil issues which caused blossom-end rot on a few tomatoes and which has been halted with calcium in the form of bone meal and eggshells)

*now nearing the supposed final week to 10 days of maturation, is that ONLY TWO of these tomatoes have shown any color other than hues of green. Just wondering when the rest are going to color-up?

The jury is still out on these plants. I planted three 12-inch seedlings in mid-May--two in a Topsy Turvy and one in a humungous porous ...Read Morepot. They appear to be thriving and are now thick bushes with at least 100 flowers, but I have only 2 tomatoes (the size of toddler fists) that showed up in mid-June. One is nearly ripe but seems small compared to some described here. I use Miracle-Gro every 10-12 days and keep them watered. The flowers are vibrant when they bloom but they wither without forming fruit. Are they not being pollinated, maybe? Come to think of it, I haven't seen many bees this year. I haven't gardened in years, obviously, but my love of the Purple Cherokee and my hatred of paying $5.99/lb. drove me to try growing them. Btw, Pacifica gets little sun (a few hours a day, usually) and is nicknames 'Fog City.' Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Bought 2 plants from Raleigh Farmer's Market and planted them in a box on my deck with a fair amount of sun and regular watering. Added M...Read Moreiracle Grow a few times early on. The stalks shot up and plants appear healthy, but I have yet to see a single flower. I was so psyched when I first saw this variety available, but I am definately disappointed at this point. Will definately try something else next year.

I planted one cherokee purple from seed last year that I planted in the ground, I only had two tomatoes to eat. They were small but the t...Read Moreaste was amazing so I decided to try again this year. I have 3 plants this time in containers with drip watering. They are doing well in the pots which are small for tomatoes, maybe 3 gallon size and between the 3 plants there are 25 tomatoes. My main complaint is that they are cracking! I know this variety is prone to it but it didn't happen last year for whatever reason so it was a bit unexpected. The tomatoes do not crack until it rains. The tomatoes are huge this year though and I cannot wait to taste them. I am still giving a postive rating as the plants are prolific this year and they should taste just as wonderful as last year; but the cracking is a definite bummer...

This is one of the best tasting tomatoes I have ever eaten. However, the plants hardly flower. Only had about 4 or 5 from the plant I g...Read Morerew a few years ago. I will have to try this tomato again to see if I have better luck with it.

I found this a very disappointing tomato. I got a good yield of large solid looking fruit that had little taste and were incredibly water...Read Morey when cooked for sauce. No one liked the texture raw -too soggy.

grew well in 20litre bucket inside, reached the ceiling, 8 feet, produced big tomatoes, best ive ever tasted, a keeper definatley

I was given a couple of Cherokee Purples about 4 years ago by a fellow near Maggie Valley, NC. I was not familiar with the tomato but sav...Read Moreed the seeds from these two and planted them the next year. Have been planting saved seed for the past 3 years and had excellent success. Mine are grown in a sandy/loamy soil and have had no insect problems. They do crack around the stem area but this seems to be characteristic of the tomato. If picked just before dead ripe there is no problem with rot. Since I started them from seed they are later in producing so I hope to have some up to frost time (late October). We really enjoy the sweet, mild flavor and sharing them with friends.

I started these from seed. The plants were average in every way, except next to no flowers. Then, it only produced two tomatoes and an en...Read Moreormous caterpillar ate one.
I will NOT plant these again.

Excellent size, shape and texture. Very prolific and grows very tall. Great taste. One of my favorites and this is my first year for growing them.

'Cherokee Purple' is good, not great. It has a moderate yield of large, gorgeous berries with a yummy taste. I grew it next to 'Brandyw...Read Moreine' last year to compare. Each had delicious flavor and darkly sexy fruit, but the 'Cherokee' produced fairly mealy tomatoes. 'Brandywine' wins.

Great flavor. Productive. Will grow again.

Easily one of the tastiest tomatoes to grow. Were it not for the tastiness, I probably wouldn't grown this one as it is prone to disease...Read More and plants only produce a few fruits at a time.

This one of my favorite tomatoes. I have grown it in 5 gallon pots with Promix BX for two years. I have had good success with this to...Read Moremato and love the flavor. The comments about the tomato rotting on the vine - this does seem to be a trait of this tomato. I pick mine when they are ripe and put in the produce crisper in the fridge. They keep about a week that way. Without refrigeration, they are gone soon after they ripen - on the vine or off.

The flavor makes it worth it - great as the main entree on a sandwich.

This plant produces high quality fruits earlier than would be expected for tomatoes this size and quality. 68 days from plant out and t...Read Morehree Cherokee Purple Plants I planted this year began to provide beutiful ripe fruits. This plant has a tendency to want to grow horizantal but can easily fill a 6' x 24" cage. I have had several fruits over 1# this year and Cherokee Purple will remain a part of my gardens for both flavor and reliable production.

Good taste and nice round form, unlike the ugly shapes some big heirlooms produce. Production was not great in my shaded vegetable garde...Read Moren, but I'll try it next to some flowers in a sunnier bed next year.

I'm growing this superb tomato in central Mexico (at some 7000ft altitude) both in the ground and in large pots. The sun here is severe a...Read Morend burns plants easily so I get best results when they're well shaded. The plants in the ground are much larger and better producers than the potted ones but even these potted ones are holding their own very nicely. I had one fruit go bad (blossom end rot?) but so far none of the many others have had similar problems. This is far and away my favorite tomato, both for growing and for its marvellous, complex taste - like no other. I like to pick them when there's still considerable green around the stem - tastes fully ripe to me.

First gew this tomato last year, Just a couple of plants. While this was not the most prolific producer I have to say it has become my ...Read Morefavorite tomato based on the taste. A simply wonderful complex treat for the tounge.

This year I will be growing at least a dozen plants.

I've little to add to most of these comments, except to report that the Cherokee Purples I planted (two plants) did well, produced a good...Read More amount (though few fruits had a chance to ripen completely), and I really liked the rich flavor, not to mention how pretty they are sliced on a plate. No misshapen fruits to speak of, no obvious disease problems, but one notable oddity...

the one with only 4 hours of dappled sunlight per day beat out the full sun specimen. Go figure.

I am having pretty good luck with these guys. Large to extra large in size and a decent number of tomatoes. The taste is delicious. So sw...Read Moreeet. No salt needed to bring out the flavor and they are great raw. I brought some to my dad's house. He saw them on the table and saw "Eww" but they were a big hit once they were sliced up and served. My only problem which is adding to their ugliness is the severe cracking they have endured. I water them quite frequently, but its been very hot and there's a lot of cracking around the top.

This is the first year we have grown this tomato and it has flourished in the face of severe drought and extreme 100+ degree heat. The ...Read Moreonly bug that seemed to effect this plant and all my tomato plants was the blister bug. Sunburn from the extreme heat ruined some of the fruit, but the plant did fine. The Cherokee Purple was the most resistant to bugs and certainly the most prolific producer. Tomatoes grew from small palm size to very large pound size. The taste was wonderful.

Hi. First time growing veggies, and planted two each of the Cherokee Purple, Rutgers Select, and Yellow Heirloom - all out behind the gar...Read Moreage. They look great and healthy so far. Expecting them to turn color between first and second weekend in August. The Cherokee Purple is beautiful, just over five feet tall...can't wait to taste them!

I tried this one for the obvious novelty. However it is very early for an indeterminate. The flavor is unique and delicious. Though t...Read Moreouted as a moderately productive tomato, I can't keep up with my plants.

I have to admit this is not a beautiful tomato, but when I serve it with other more attractive tomatoes, I always tell my friends -- try ...Read Morethe ugly one. And they love it. Actually, if one comes to love heirlooms, Cherokee Purple is quite attractive.
Here in New Mexico at 7300 ft. Cherokee Purple is one of the earlier tomatoes. Later than Stupice but well before Prudens Purple and the Brandywines and others.
It won a tomato taste contest conducted here in New Mexico by Tauton's Fine Gardening some years ago.
It has a distinctive sort of double flower and has won it's way into my heart. I understand that it may not do well in all soils and climates.

I grew Cherokee Purple for the first time last year. I had two plants and they grew luxuriously and bore abundant fruit. The Cherokee P...Read Moreurple was our choice of eating tomato as the flavor, texture and mouthfeel was simply fabulous. Many times we would just slice one or two and have tomato sandwiches on toast for supper! My brother raises heirloom tomatoes to sell and this tomato has no equal IMHO.
Location: Central Illinois Disease or Pests: Virtually none Quality of Fruit: Excellent Uses: Sliced for salad; caprese salad with buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil (5 stars!!); sandwiches. Plants in Ground: Memorial Day First tomato: Right around the 4th of July.

Have grown this tomato twice in Bryan Texas, very successfully. It produces well in the heat and humidity. Right now in May, mine has pro...Read Morebably 3 dozen green tomatoes on it in various sizes, and not a shred of disease. Interestingly, it is between a "Better Boy" and a "Tomande," both of which are getting whiteflies and stink bugs, but they leave the Cherokee Purple alone.

UPDATE, JUNE 5 2006: What an awesome tomato! It is now outperforming the hybrids in both health and productivity in the now-hot Texas sun...it is still setting fruit with temps in mid-90s.

Cherokee Purple is one of the best-tasting tomatoes on the planet, packing a sweet taste that's in the same ballpark as Pink Brandywine -...Read More- but of course, you need a healthy plant and an ideal climate. This variety seems to grow great in the Indianapolis area and has been a mainstay in my garden for the better part of a decade. If you haven't had any luck with it, you might try buying plants instead of seeds. A vendor at a farmers' market in downtown Indianapolis (at the City Market) sells giant plants for only $5 each, and five for $20, and it's hardly the only place around that stocks Cherokee plants.

Tried this one over two seasons. As with most heirlooms in Houston, the heat and humidity did a number on it. I never got more than a f...Read Moreew small maters and those didn't have any flavor or texture to justify growing it. Maybe if I had coated it with fungicide each week - but I tend to the lazy organic side of things.

Fabulous, complex flavor -- a must grow every year, and a top ten tomato for me. I wouldn't be without it. Fruits turn a very deep purp...Read Morelish red in my climate.

In my family’s opinion this was another disappointing tomato. I gave it a fair chance, but ended up pulling it out early because the t...Read Moreomatoes never had much flavor. Also, as someone else had, they kept rotting on the vine. Other tomatoes were planted by them, in the very same compost rich soil, and they were fine.

Cherokee Purple produced lots of fruit, but I never got a single one because they all rotted. Every last one of them were rotten on the ...Read Moreinside, and the rot seemed to start at the stem end. Never could get an answer as to what was going on, but I'm giving up on them anyway.

Two years growing both times poor results Prudens is far superior in my area. I will not try this one again

I have grown Cherokee Purple for three years now. I love the flavor and the color. This has been the best crop and they were started in...Read Moredoors from seed. The previous two years I bought plants.

This is the most delicious tomato ever, but sooo difficult, it always has the most rot and the fewest tomatoes and lumpy, unattractive, c...Read Moreracked, etc. fruit :-( but worth it just for the few sublime moments!

Very yummy if very ugly tomato. Large fruits with somewhat slimy greenish inside. When it comes to flavor, I think this is the very best....Read More Sampled it at work, a garden center, everyone absolutely loved it. Can't say enough about this tomato!

This is the first year that I have seen this variety at my local nursery--Paulino Garden's in Denver, Colorado. My neighbor and I have b...Read Moreoth planted the Cherokee Purple in NW Denver. So far, our plants have been entirely disease free. I have watered this plant liberally--as Denver is semi-arid. I myself have picked 3 tomatoes to date--August 18th, 2005. The early planting season is generally delayed here by cold weather, so I put this plant in around May 15th. So, I am at around 90 days from planting to first harvest--normal for this item. I picked my first 3 tomatoes a day or two early, so I allowed them to ripen off the vine with some of my other tomatoes. As expected, the Cherokee's deepened in color from green-purple to red-purple. This heirloom is fantastic--very moist and dense inside flesh--not the least bit watery or grainy. I attribute that to regular, liberal watering--with only light to moderate fertilization (early soil-mixed compost and late water-base fertilizer). The stem of the plant did not split from under watering, but the fruit did split slightly near the stem. I have read the term "complex" to describe the flavor, but I disagree somewhat. The flavor is not stark--either acidically sour or surprisingly sweet. In short, it does not have the over-powering "tomato" flavor some might be used too (and therefore, disappointed by). This tomato is subtle and smooth--with many of the flavor emerging near the end of the bite--not at the beginning. I would eat it with sandwiches, but also with feta or blue cheese crumbles, herbed or not. I think this is what we should expect from heirlooms like this--surprisingly tomato flavor, celebrated BECAUSE they do not taste like something from the grocery. I would definitely grow this one again. I am eating mine—this evening—with a nice rib eye or fillet!

Very tasty tomato. I had a lot of blossom end rot with this variety initially, but now (late July) I am getting some good ones and they ...Read Moreare really good in almost any tomato recipe, or just in a salad. I had one that weighed nearly one pound, which is quite big for me.

I am growing a Cherokee Purple Tomato Plant and not sure when to pick the fruit. The plant is doing very well and the fruit is growing. A...Read More couple started to ripen, but only the bottoms are turning pinkish purple. The tops are still green. They have been that way for about a week or more. The tomato is soft to touch and feels like it is ready to pick, but does not look ready. I am used to Early Girls and Better Boys that ripen real fast and red all over. I picked one and it had very good flavor but was kind of mushy. I am going to stick it out and see if the green goes away, but I don't want my tomatos to go bad on the vine!!!!

Very vigorous grower,large plant,no tomato blight to speak of midway through the growing season.
First bite,taste tells you a toma...Read Moreto,then as you chew,you have a experience like noe other you have tasted before,I prefer it in salads,rather than a slice on a sandwich,it just seems to me,it goes better with salad fixings than meat!
Also noted,no tomato bottom rot,or cracks in the skins.

I live in Indianapolois Indiana where I love to grow unusual and unique EVERYTHING! LOL.
I was really looking forward to a unique ...Read Moreand well reviewed tomato last year when I started some Purple Cherokee tomato seeds inside and then transplanted them into my garden in May. What I ended up getting was weird! From the outside the tomatoes all looked like the pictures I had seen of this heirloom tomato, but when you cut one open there was next to nothing in it! Inside they looked like bell peppers when you cut one in half - a small bunch of seeds up at the top where the tomatoes stem was, but nothing else! The adult tomatoes were entirely hollow! They had absolutely no juice or meat to them at all! I got the seeds through a seed exchange early in the spring so maybe I just got a bad gene pool or something. I was very disappointed though.

I grew this tomato for the first time last year and it was a winner. A lovely smokey flavor that is quite complex and interesting. Goes g...Read Morereat with BLTs. My 8yo daughter will not eat any other type of tomato now (and she is/was a tomato fiend before) It does tend to crack with uneven watering. I didn't notice any more trouble with disease than with my other tomatoes. I grew two of these and seemed to have plenty.

I grew the Cherokee Purple for the first time last year, and it is the best tasting tomato I have ever grown. The only drawback is that ...Read Morethe plants are stingy producers. I'll compensate this year with more plants. All of my Cherokees were picked with green shoulders, and the tomato turned a lavendar/purple when I scalded the tomatoes to skin them.

I'm growing the Cherokee in my garden in Oak Park, Illinois. When I first tasted this fruit, I felt as if I had time traveled back to my...Read More grandparent's farm in Michigan. Old time taste, big tomatoes with supple flesh, good balance of acidity and sweetness.

I've gotten about 22 tomatoes from one plant. And, I don't expect that all the little ones will ripen before the frost. For that reason, I've been slicing green ones, dipping them in milk and beaten egg, then in crumbs and frying them. A squirt of Frank's Louisiana Hot Sauce. Heavenly!

These will also be good for making pickled green tomatoes. More to come....

Don't get me wrong, I am very impressed by the totally different, smoky flavor, nice texture, not too juicy or dry. But either I am doing...Read More something totally wrong, I must say these have to be the most ugly tomato I have ever grown! I have a pic here of the blossom side. They see to crack easily, one had "resealed" or scabbed over, commendable I guess, but am not sure if it would be healthy to eat? The 2 bushes I planted from seed I started, are about 5' tall with good leaf coverage. Have never had any problem with those green hard shell June bugs until they found the first ripe CP! I lost three to them! UGH I whipped out the spray and have not noticed their presence since. Tomatoes are ripening slow here this year. Good News/Bad News not as bloody hot as usual! I am NOT complaining. Am anxious to see how CP yields over the season and how long they will produce since I normaly have tomatoes into the late fall. At this point I am still happy with them but closely watching....

We love the smell, texture and taste of this tomato. It has a perfect balance of meat without being to sloppy wet. Just picking them is a...Read More pleasure to my nose!

The conditions must not have been right in my garden for my Cherokee Purple fruit was meaty but bland and tasteless. Probably not enought...Read More sun (Only about 6 hours per day). Wish I could taste what others are tasting.

This is a great tomato. I love the color and don't understand those who don't. You did know it was that color when planting it.
<...Read Morebr /> The taste is very good and I got lots of production in my Louisiana garden.

If I could only plant one tomato this may be it.

Cherokee Purple grows and produces well in this area. However it is one that you will either hate or love. My wife threatened to leave if...Read More I ever brought another one into the house. It tastes like a tomato, but the color is that of raw pork liver. It is just not eye appealing to a lot of folks. Since it is not outstanding in any way but color, I no longer plant it.

Fabulous tomato! First, it grows here. Second, it tastes terrific. I don't get many tomatoes per plant but I love the ones I get. Als...Read Moreo, it is now available at our upscale supermarket as an heirloom.

The plant grew well here in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. The fruit were big but there were only a few per plant.

First time for this tomato and I love it. Beautiful, blemish free fruit, wonderful color and great taste. Some comments have indicated ...Read Moredisease problems but so far my plant is large and healthy. I will definitely grow this heirloom again next year.

Actually, I buy them from a farmers' market. I have never had a better tomato! We used to grow quite a few in Southern New Jersey, and th...Read Moreis is the first West Coast (Marin) fruit I've seen that could rival that product.

I grew this tomato for the first time here in Austin, Texas.
All I can say is that in my humble opinion this is the "Holy Grail" o...Read Moref the tomato kingdom! The flavor brought friend to their knees and cries of "My grandmother's tomatoes live again!" However, I did have some problems. All is not easy when one is on a quest! The plant came down with disease early and since our ag agent was on vacation I could not get an accurate diagnosis. The plant only produced about 2 dozen fruits but boy oh boy were they spectacular in looks and flavor. I intend to try them again next year and want more information on these plants.

This is a hit of the garden in Marin County, CA. Large, great flavored fruit. Dark color is exotic. Have had a bit of trouble with diseas...Read Moree, but that may be my fault. Love this tomato.

My second favorite tomato of the 2002 season. Full of flavor that's complex, with a nice texture.

Cherokee Purple is good, but seems somewhat over rated. I thought they were on the dry side when truly ripe and a bit grainy and bland. ...Read More I may be doing something wrong, but I much prefer Pruden's to this one in a similar category.

Rumored to have been grown by the Cherokee Indians of North Carolina. This is a wonderful all-purpose tomato.Absolutely heavenly sliced,b...Read Moreut makes great sauces and salsa too.

Not sweet,but a mixture of spicy tartness that balances well.

One of my favorites.