Purple/Black Tomatoes
Amazon Chocolate $3.00 75-80 days - Indeterminate, slicer, fruits to 1 lb+. Recently introduced by Amishland Seeds, this large-fruited "purple" tomato is destined to become a classic. Extremely productive over a long season, the flavor has been described as sweet, rich, complex, and having wine-like overtones. The vigorous plants tolerate heat and drought and stalwartly keep on yielding the chocolate-brown, soft and delicate juicy fruits. Originally from Ukraine and apparently from the Black Sea region which has given us so many superlative heirloom varieties.
 Black Cherry $3.00 65-75 days - Indeterminate, 1/2"-3/4", regular leaf, cherry Beautiful black cherries, look like large, dusky-purple grapes; they have that rich flavor that makes black tomatoes famous. Large vines yield very well. Very unique and delicious.
Black Icicle $3.00 75 days - Indeterminate, 4 oz., regular leaf, paste (Sosulka Chernaya) The Icicle Series are newly intoduced from Ukraine, and Black Icicle may be the the most sensational member of this impressive group. Extremely rich, complex flavor that is the hallmark of the purple/black types. Fruits are elongated, with a pronounced "beak" at the blossom end. Simply superb!
Black Krim $3.00 80 days - Indeterminate, 10-12 oz., regular leaf, salad/slicing/canning Dark red-purple fruit, rich sweet flavor. One of the best. It always places high in tomato taste trials. It’s very juicy. An heirloom from Russia with very unique looking, large fruit. Wonderful flavor. It’s popular at many markets on the West Coast; also a favorite of many fine chefs.
Black Prince $3.00 70 days -Indeterminate, 5 oz., regular leaf, An heirloom from Irkutsk, Siberia. These tomatoes are round and very uniform; the color is a wonderful deep blackish-chocolate brown. The flavor is as deep, sweet, and rich as the color. A unique salad tomato, the plants produce a large crop. A good tomato for fine markets.
INTRODUCING "BLUE" TOMATOES
In the last couple of years, a new class of tomatoes has become available--the co-called Blues. Actually more of a true dark purple to indigo, Blue Tomatoes are unusually high in anthocyanin content. Flavor on them is widely considered very good, and keeping quality is often superior. For gardeners wishing to try something really new and different, we offer a small sampling here.
Black Beauty $3.00 80 days. The darkest tomato we know of! A dark, meaty, very rich-fleshed tomato with extreme anthocyanin expression (same antioxidant in blueberries and blackberries). So dark that some tomatoes turn solid blue-black on the skin. Deep red flesh is among the best tasting of all tomatoes. Rich, smooth and savory with earthy tones. Hangs well on the vine and stores very well, and the flavor improves with room-temperature storage.
Blue Beauty $3.00 75-80 days. The stunning fruits are incredibly high in anthocyanins, as with all the “blues.” The flavor is as outstanding as their anti-oxidant content. Gorgeous, deep blue-black appears on the fruits' shoulders and anywhere else direct sunshine falls on the developing fruits, making this unique among slicing types. Fruits are of beefsteak type and of modest size, weighing up to 8 ounces. Selected from a cross between ‘Beauty King’ and a blue tomato.
Blue Berries $3.00 75 days. Here’s a small cherry variety of very dark “blue” color, which means it’s super-rich in anthocyanins. Unripe, the fruits are a glowing amethyst purple. At maturity they turn deep red where the fruit was shaded; the areas that received intense sunshine are a purple so deep it’s almost black! The 1” fruits are produced in great trusses; flavor is intensely fruity, and sugar-sweet! Plants are very productive, yielding all season long. From Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms.
Blue Gold Berries $3.00
80 days. Incredibly beautiful cherry type in purple and yellow. Long clusters are packed with small, half-inch bright yellow cherry fruits. Each has indigo shoulders, bursting with loads of antioxidants, anthocyanin in this case. The flavor is very sweet and rich, and the plants are so productive. Sunburn and crack resistant, and the fruits hold well on the vine or in storage. A choice selection out of the original Wild Boar Blue Berries.
Indigo Apple $3.00 75 days. 2 to 4 oz. cherry that turns red when ripe, and a striking deep purple, almost black color when immature. This descendant of OSU Blue Fruit has a complex, sweet flavor, and resists sun-scald and cracking. Produces clusters of beautiful fruit long into autumn.
Wagner Blue Green $3.00 80 days. This great “Blue” tomato comes from renowned heirloom/OP breeder Tom Wagner. Color is an incredible blue, with green flesh! We were impressed with its beauty and great flavor! The round fruits are around 3 inches in diameter, and are very smooth and blemish-free.
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Carbon $3.00 80-85 days -Indeterminate, 8-12oz., regular leaf, salad/slicing/canning/drying. This variety has won taste awards from coast to coast in the last few years. The fruit are smooth, large, and beautiful, being one of the darkest and prettiest of the purple types. They also seem to have an extra dose of the complex flavor dark tomatoes are famous for.
Cherokee Purple $3.00 80 days - Indeterminate, 1 lb., regular leaf, salad/slicing/canning/drying An old Cherokee Indian heirloom, pre-1890 variety; beautiful, deep dusky purple/pink color, superb sweet flavor, and very large-sized fruit. Try this one for real old-time tomato flavor. The favorite dark tomato of many people!
Gypsy $3.00 75 days - Indeterminate slicing We believe this to be the same variety as "Zigan," which we carried previously. Zigan means "gypsy" in Russian, but what's not clear is whether this is a Gypsy variety, or whether it has merely traveled a lot. This variety is medium-sized, unevenly purple and sometimes shows darker streaks on the blossom end. Very smooth-skinned with a distinctive smoky flavor. Some growers have suggested picking these when slightly under-ripe for the tangiest flavor. Very rare variety.
Japanese Black Trifele $3.00 85-90 days - Indeterminate, 3-5 oz., canning. Attractive tomatoes are the shape and size of a Bartlett pear, with a beautiful purplish-brick color; the fruit are perfect and smooth with no cracks. The flavor is absolutely sublime, having all the richness of fine chocolate. A heavy producer, with the plants producing loads of fruit all summer long. It has become a favorite with many seed savers.
Paul Robeson $3.00 75-80 days - Indeterminate, 7-10 oz., regular leaf, This famous tomato has almost a cult following among seed collectors and tomato connoisseurs. They simply cannot get enough of this variety’s amazing flavor that is so distinctive, sweet, and smoky. Fruit are a black-brick color. Named in honor of the famous opera singer Paul Robeson. This Russian heirloom was lovingly named in his honor. We are proud to offer such a wonderful variety.
Pierce's Pride $3.00 90 days - Indeterminate, regular leaf. Bred by our friend Larry Pierce, of Cabool, Missouri. A lovely black/red fruit with a wonderful rich flavor. Can grow to over one pound. A local favorite.
Purple Calabash $3.00 85 days - Indeterminate, 3 inch, regular leaf. This may be the most purple of all purple tomatoes, a deep purple/burgundy, and very colorful! The shape is also exciting, with the fruit being very flat, ribbed, and ruffled. Flavor is intense, sweet and tart, with a citrus taste. A very uniquely-flavored tomato. The plants give huge yields. This tomato resembles tomatoes pictured in 16th-century herbal diaries.
Purple Russian $3.00 80 days -Indeterminate, 6 ounce, regular leaf, This Ukrainian heirloom is at the top of its class with delicious purplish, egg-shaped fruit which are smooth, perfect, and blemish free. With superb flavor, it is one of the best varieties we carry for fresh eating, salsa, and preserving. This variety will make market gardeners and chefs happy, and is a favorite of our growers. The plants are very productive. Introduced to the USA in 1980.
True Black Brandywine $3.00 80-80 days - Indeterminate, potato leaf, beefsteak fruits to 12 oz. Reputedly the original strain, bred in the late 1920's by Dr. Harold E. Martin. There are those tomato purists who will argue that no Brandywine worthy of the name could ever have any but potato leaves, and True Black Brandywine has them! Fruit not dissimilar to the regular-leaf version offered above; but not having trialled them together we aren't certain how the flavors might compare. Certainly the man responsible for this strain's introduction, famed author William Woys Weaver, feels strongly that this strain is superior. In a fascinating descent into heirloom tomato lore (in the Winter 2006-2007 issue of Heirloom Gardener magazine) he wrote of the regular-leaf strain: "...frankly, it does not have the same distinction of flavor as the original creation [meaning the one offered here]..." And he wrote of the True Black strain that it "...is probably the caviar of all the brown/black tomatoes."
Vorlon $3.00 70-80 days - Indeterminate, slicer to 12 ounces or so, potato-leafed plants. Very smooth, round, deep purple fruits. Acclaimed for its outstanding flavor--rich, complex, smokey...just what discerning growers have come to expect from the purple/blacks! Stories describe its origins variously, but we're betting on its being a cross between Cherokee Purple and Pruden's Purple, as it certainly appears to combine many of the best traits of these two classic heirloom varieties.
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