Tomato 'Cherokee Purple' |
Origin: North American cultivar
Preferred Situation: Full sun; well draining evenly moist humus rich fertile garden soil.
Harvest Date: Monday 19 September, 2011
Seed count: 20-25
Description:
80 days. A true American heirloom that is said to originate with the Cherokee First Nation but didn’t become available to the public pre 1890. Indeterminate vigorous plants produce high yields of dusky purple pink coloured fruits that have a sweet flavourful complex flavours that makes it one of the best tomatoes in the world. Fruit average 10 ounces and the flesh colour is very dramatic deep red-purple making it a beautiful slicing tomato. Tolerant to mild drought and common diseases. Fruit sometimes has greenish shoulders. Plants produce right up to frost.
Notes:
Open pollinated. Bigger the roots at transplant (mid May) bigger the harvest. Prune sparingly. Protect from rain; water at plant base never foliage except foliar feeds. Heavy feeder; use balanced organic fertilizer. Excess nitrogen= leaves no fruit; no calcium=blossom end rot; extreme heat=blossom drop.
Cultivation:
Sow 5 mm deep. Keep moist; plastic cover improves success. Opt. germination temp: 18-25 C. Days to germ: 5-10. All tomatoes drop their blooms when temperatures reach 85 F or greater, so make sure your tomatoes don't get over heated. Blossom end rot is a nutritional disorder where a lack of calcium causes the fruit to rot from the blossom end so be sure you use something like rock phosphate (22% calcium) when amending your tomato beds/growing medium. Use mulch to retain moisture or prevent water from splashing up on your plants as tomatoes hate having their foliage wet...NEVER WATER FROM ABOVE...its like someone splashing a cold bucket of water on you! See our tomato article under 'Confessions of a Mad Gardener' for growing information.
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