I have sown 10 tomato varieties. 4 of these, Alicante, Gardeners Delight, Moneymaker and Sungold are in the top 5 tomatoes chosen by home gardeners to grow from seed. I profile them all (and Shirley) in the Tomato Lover’s Top 5 Tomato Seed Guide.
However as yet I haven’t said much about the other 6 tomato varieties. Time to put that right.
My other seed choices were Black Cherry, Carbon, Garden Pearl ( Gartenperle), Red Robin, Tigerella and Tumbler.
Starting today, over the next week or so I will profile each variety. Today’s profile is of Black Cherry.
To eat, Black Cherry is:
- Sweet, rich complex, very sweet, rich smoky flavour, sweet and juicy flavour, very rich and sweet
- Cherry size, round, perfect round cherry
- Purple skin, deep red blackish hue, dark red flesh, purple skin, dusky purplish black, deep mahogany brown
To Grow, Black Cherry is:
- Cordon Interderminate
- Glasshouse or outdoors
- High yield, huge yield, abundant, huge clusters, large clusters, prolific
- Vigorous, tall, large, sprawling
- Early maturing, early season
- Crack/spilt resistant
- Very easy to grow
To buy Black Cherry:
Available packet size tended to be between 15 and 25 seeds. Average seed priced worked out at 8 pence per seed. Seeds are stocked by Nicky’s Nursery, Thompson & Morgan and Ready to Grow
All my research on Black Cherry makes me very excited to be growing it. It seems the perfect combination of exotic, delicious fruit AND an easy to grow plant.
Have you grown Black Cherry? Am I right to feel excited about its dark mystery and sweet promise?
Photo by old tasty
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Hello, I’m enjoying your website. I grew Black Cherry this year from Thomson and Morgan seeds. Mine were deep red to purple with green shoulders when ripe. Mine weren’t quite as productive or as quick to ripen as Gardener’s Delight, but I germinated them a month later. well worth it. They have a sweet, tangy and subtly nutty taste, not as sharp as G.D. They also keep well; the last few of mine are on the windowsill. A definite for next year and well worth the wait.
Thanks for the feedback – glad you are enjoying the site.
Great to hear that you still have some from this year to eat fresh . So much better ( & cheaper) than what’s avaliable in the supermarket right now !
I’ve just come across your website whilst looking for info. on costoluto fiorentino. This year I found loads of old seeds that we brought from England when we moved to Greece 4 years ago. These included Tiny Tim, Sub-Arctic Plenty, San Marrano and the Costoluto. Although old and, in some cases, opened packets, they have all germinated well with only the Arctic Plenty seemingly reluctant to grow on. I must have over 200 plants either in the ground or still in the greenhouse and most of the produce will end up on friends’ tables or in our local taverna.
The Black Cherry sounds interesting but I’m not sure how the tourists would take to the colour in a Greek salad.
Thanks for the website as it’s nice to know there is someone dafter than me about growing toms.
Dave
Zakynthos, Greece.
Hello
Thank you for stopping by and getting in touch. I was trying to count on my fingers how many years it is since I found myself eating a Greek Salad on Zakynthos – and when I had counted on both hands, twice over I stopped – before depressing myself any further !
But I tell you if I was served one that had Black Cherry tomatoes in – I would be so impressed !! Perhaps it can become the Taverna’s signature dish !
However on the other hand, maybe you’re right to be cautious – when I grew them last year someone did say to me that they couldn’t eat a black tomato as it didn’t seem ‘right’. On the other hand all the adventurous types who gave it a try – loved its flavour.
I love the idea of having 200 plants ( apart maybe from all that pinching out) and as Summer shows absolutely no sign of arriving here in England anytime soon, pls keep in touch and let us know how yours flourish !
Just got some of these black cherry toms can you tell me do you take off the sideshoots or are they bush type.
Thanks
Very good choice! A lovely tomato – in looks and flavour. A bit prone to splitting if they get too over watered (by rain – if you grow outdoors like me) but well worth growing.
They are indeterminate – which means they grow like a vine – so not the bush type. So yes – take off the sideshoots – and they are quite vigorous so throw out quite a few.
I’m not growing them this year – having had them for the past 2 years I decided I must try something new – so am trying Chocolate Cherry instead. But they will have to very good to compete!
SAME AS PAULS QUESTION – BLACK CHERRY TOMS ARE THEY BUSH TYPE OR DO YOU PINCH OUT SIDE SHOOTS??
Hello – Pinch out sideshoots – it will throw out lots – it’s very “vine” like in its growth habit!
I PICKED UP TWO BLACK CHERRY TOMATO PLANTS AT A MARKET IN VERMONT AND CARRIED THEN BACK TO WESTERN PA ON AN AIRPLANE. I PLANTED THEM AND WOW! DID THEY GROW – AND GROW – AND GROW! THEY WERE RICH AND HEARTY. ONE DAY I MADE A SANDWICH OF MEAT, BLACK CHERRIES SLICED IN HALF, A SPRINKLING OF CHEESE. I HEATED IT ENOUGH TO MELT THE CHEESE. THE FIRST BITE WAS A SURPRISE. THE FLAVOR EXPLODED! INTENSE, ROBUST, JUST KICKED IT UP TEN NOTCHES. NEEDLESS TO SAY, BLACK CHERRIES WERE A HIT AND I WILL GROW THEM AGAIN THIS YEAR 2011.
What a great description! I loved their airbound journey home – and you are absolutely right about their growth habit- just like Sungold they really like to see what’s going on over the fence – or anywhere they can “scramble” to. They are a great tomato and I am with you on it being one that rightly earns its place in the garden each year. Enjoy this year’s crop !
A very interesting and tasty tomato indeed. Over here in Sydney Australia, I planted one I grew from seed in late March on the recommendation that it was a tomato that could survive up to our winter (June – September) – we have no no frost or below zero conditions and live on the coast. What a surprise! It just grew and grew, was impervious to very wet weather, disease and pests and in the end I had to pinch out the top. It kept flowering in cool to cold wet weather and the fruit kept coming. I don’t know how this tomato will go in our summer months but I am certainly going to try it. I have picked fruit as of June 3 and there is more to come. If this tomato continues to emulate its (Australian) autumn performance – I have found the “Golden Egg”!
Hello – Thank you for getting in touch. It is wonderful to hear from tomato growers about their experiences with different varieties. And even more wonderful to hear from growers in different countries and climates. And I like the idea of a “Golden Egg” tomato! I like it because of its colour, flavour and wild calyx! It’s good on its own and it adds a certain something when mixed in with other tomatoes in a salad etc – esp if you grow varieties in shades of orange – like Sungold – or yellow – like Balconi or even paler -Snowberry. And you are right on its love of growing – it’s very much a vine!
I had decided not to grow it this year – to try Chocolate Cherry instead – but was regretting that decision – so was surprised and delighted to find it as a plant in a garden centre this week – which not only allowed me to add it back into this year’s collection – but made me think that it is gaining in popularity – and for all the reasons you have said – rightly so!
I hope you continue to have great success with it – and do let me know – it’s wonderful to think of us all enjoying home grown tomatoes the world over!
I too am growing Black Cherry tomatoes for the first time this year. I have so many it’s amazing. They are wonderful! I’m just waiting for all the other Heirlooms to ripen now
Hello,
Thank you for stopping by and getting in touch. Am very glad to hear you have a good crop. They have such a good flavour and add lots of colour and character to salads.
Hope you have a fully ripe garden shortly.
I grew heirloom tomatoes last year for the first time, and loved the Cherokee Purples. This year, I have 11 varieties in the ground that I got from friend and seed collector Al Anderson of Ohio. Al sent me Black Cherry seeds in the batch. We are in South Florida, so we planted the seed in early August and will grow them all winter. We picked the first Black Cherry tomato today, and cut it in half and ate it tonight. Tastes wonderful, just like a small Cherokee Purple. Can’t wait for the rest to ripen.
How Wonderful! I love that you are just picking your first “winter” tomatoes!!
I am a huge fan of Black Cherry. It’s interesting and versatile and gives a whole other colour dimensions when used in salads etc. Have you also come across “Sungold” – slightly smaller, a golden orange and the same vigourous growth as Black Cherry – a glass bowl – half filled with Black Cherry and half filled with Sungold is a heartlifting sight to the tomato lover!
Thank you for getting in touch and I hope you have a long and delicious tomato season.
Sally, we can plant two crops of winter tomatoes in South Florida, so I might try to find some seed for Sungold and try it after Christmas in crop 2. Picked our first Alice Roosevelt today. Can’t wait to try that for the first time. Have you tried Royal Chico, a plum tomato? We have those in pots this year for the first time and they seem to be fruiting heavily and the plant is gorgeous. Can’t wait until they ripen.
Two crops of winter tomatoes! You are really making me jealous. The temperature has just dropped here – today was the day for wooly hats and gloves! So I will have to enjoy the thought of tomatoes – and what great names – Alice Roosevelt and Royal Chico – I haven’t come across either – but then Alice in particular sounds like a very all American lady! So maybe that’s why!