Cherokee Purple
| Cherokee Purple | |
|---|---|
| Maturity | midseason |
| Growth habit | indet. |
| Leaf type | regular |
| Fruit color | black |
| Fruit shape | beefsteak |
| Fruit size | large |
| Fruit type | slicer |
| Variety type | open-pollinated, heirloom |
| Country | USA |
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B.C KO T
- Indet., regular leaf plant with dark purple beefsteak fruit, 6-16 oz. Outstanding producer. Excellent taste, no core. Fruits have clear skin and some green shoulders that do not affect texture or taste. One of our favorite black tomatoes!
Seed source:
- 1. Reimer Seeds
- 2. Dan and Val McMurray of Wynndel, British Columbia, Canada (B.C MC D) 05
- 3. James Yerxa, Canada 05
- 4. Jeff Fleming of Augusta, Michigan (MI FL J) 08
- 5. NESeed 12
- 6. Plant from a local Home Depot nursery 04
Year grown: 2003, 2004, 2005(1), 2008(all sources), 2009(4), 2010(3), 2011*(5), 2014(2)
Location: Zone 7b, PNW, Anmore, BC, Canada (760 ft above sea level)
MI FL J
- 80 days, medium sized plant produces medium to large (8-16 oz) smooth fruit, dark pink with purplish shoulders, incredibly delicious sweet flavor, one of my favorites. Fruit matures earlier than most large indeterminate heirloom varieties, and production is limited to about one month's duration - it does not keep producing into the fall season. Cherokee Purple is the parent of different variants such as Cherokee Green and Cherokee Chocolate.
Seed source:
- Reimer Seeds / PA LE C 91 (Craig LeHoullier of Raleigh, North Carolina) / J.D. Green, Tennessee
Year grown: 1991, 1992, 1996, and annually since 1999
Location: Augusta, Michigan
IL LO N
- 85 days, indet., regular foliage, 6-12 oz fruit, pink-purple wih green shoulders, fair taste, good yield.
Seed source:
Year grown:
Location: Oblong, Illinois
KY ST M
- Variable sizes up to one pound, deep red with a purple cast, 85 days, flattened beefsteaks.
Seed source:
Year grown:
Location: Sonora, Kentucky
MAN ST T
- The fruit of Cherokee Purple is a dark purplish pink color and often has green shoulders. The large fruit average 12 oz and are delicious. The plants are very productive and reliable. One of the best! Indeterminate, regular leaf foliage. (75-80 days from transplant).
Seed source:
Year grown:
Location: Carman, Manitoba, Canada
GERM SC K
- Pink-purple oblate fruit with green shoulders, indet., one of my earliest beefsteak tomatoes.
Seed source:
- Reimer Seeds / M. Hahm-Hartmann
Year grown: 2005
Location: Germany
MI MA D
- 89 days to maturity. Medium to large rose/purple colored. Average height: 2 1/2". Width: 3 1/2". Weight: 8.3 oz - 1 lb. 4 oz. This is a great tasting tomato with a balanced flavor...not too sweet and without the tangy aftertaste. This is our favorite tasting tomato. In our 3b/4a zone we will often have to ripen some of the Cherokee Purple tomatoes off the vine.
Seed source:
- Reimer Seeds / Plant purchased from Ace Hardware
Year grown: 2011
Location: Iron River, Michigan
TX GU R
- 80 days, indet., regular leaf, purplish pink dusky fruit to 1 lb, outstanding flavor, a favorite.
Seed source:
- Reimer Seeds / Glenn Drowns of Calamus, Iowa (IA DR G)
Year grown:
Location: Pasadena, Texas
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History
- Cherokee Purple was sent to Craig LeHoullier by John D. Green of Sevierville, Tennessee, in 1990 as an unnamed variety. The original letter sent with the seeds that describes all that is known of its history is referenced here [1]. Mr. Green got the variety from a woman who, in turn, received them from her neighbor. The neighbor claimed that they have been in their family for 100 years, originally receiving them from the Cherokee Indians. Craig named the variety and listed it in the SSE yearbook the year after he first grew them (1990). He also sent seeds to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, then, a few years later, Johnny's Selected Seeds.
- 60 commercial sources noted for 2004 in Garden Seed Inventory 6th edition.
- One of the varieties described in Carolyn J. Male's book "100 Heirloom Tomatoes for the American Garden".
See also
- Cherokee Chocolate,
- Cherokee Green,
- Cherokee Purple, Potato Leaf,
- Cherokee Purple, Pink,
- Cherokee Purple Heart,
- Cherokee Jumbo
Accidental crosses with Cherokee Purple as a parent
- Vorlon (Cherokee Purple X Pruden's Purple)
- Large Barred Boar (found in a Cherokee Purple patch by Brad Gates)
- Haley's Purple Comet (maybe?, Brad Gates)
- Berkeley Tie-Dye (possibly?, Brad Gates)
- Jeff's Purple (crossed seed from Jeff Fleming, F1 grown in Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T) garden in 2008)
Intentional crosses with Cherokee Purple as a parent
- Black Prince X Cherokee Purple F1 (Tom Wagner, WA)
- Gary'O Sena (Keith Mueller, MO)
- Liz Birt (Keith Mueller, MO)
- Dora (Keith Mueller, MO)
- Purple Haze (Keith Mueller, MO. F1 hybrid)
Picture Gallery
Klaus-Peter Schurz (GERM SC K). Cherokee Purple - ripe fruit. July 2011.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (2) - ripe fruit. 2014-08-18.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (2) - ripe fruit. 2014-08-31.
Klaus-Peter Schurz (GERM SC K). Cherokee Purple - ripe fruit. July 2011.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (James Yerxa) - ripe fruit. 2010-09-21.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (James Yerxa) - ripe fruit. 2010-09-21.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (James Yerxa) - ripe fruit. 2010-09-21.
Sherry Shiesl, Alaska. Cherokee Purple - ripe fruit. 2011.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (MI FL J) - sliced fruit. 2009-07-30.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (2) - sliced fruit. 2014-08-18.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (2) - sliced fruit. 2014-08-31.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (James Yerxa) - sliced fruit. 2010-09-21.
Sherry Shiesl, Alaska. Cherokee Purple - sliced fruit. 2011.
Jeff Fleming (MI FL J). Cherokee Purple, 2006.
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Ted Maiden (TN MA T): Cherokee Purple Blooms. 2009.
Donna Socci-Brown, Stratford CT. Cherokee Purple - leaf. 2008-06-27.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (James Yerxa) - plant. 2010-07-03.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (James Yerxa) - plant. 2010-07-11.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (MI FL J) - flower buds. 2009-06-13.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (James Yerxa) - flowers. 2010-07-03.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (James Yerxa) - flowers. 2010-07-11.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (MI FL J) - baby fruit. 2009-06-13
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (MI FL J) - baby fruit. 2009-06-13.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (2) - green fruit. 2014-07-19.
Tatiana Kouchnareva (B.C KO T). Cherokee Purple (2) - green fruit. 2014-07-19.
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Seed Availability
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Tatiana
| Country | USA + |
| Description | Indet., regular leaf plant with dark purple beefsteak fruit, 6-16 oz. Outstanding producer. Excellent taste, no core. Fruits have clear skin and some green shoulders that do not affect texture or taste. One of our favorite black tomatoes! |
| Fruit color | black + |
| Fruit shape | beefsteak + |
| Fruit size | large + |
| Fruit type | slicer + |
| Growth habit | indet. + |
| History | * Cherokee Purple was sent to Craig LeHoul … * Cherokee Purple was sent to Craig LeHoullier by John D. Green of Sevierville, Tennessee, in 1990 as an unnamed variety. The original letter sent with the seeds that describes all that is known of its history is referenced here [1]. Mr. Green got the variety from a woman who, in turn, received them from her neighbor. The neighbor claimed that they have been in their family for 100 years, originally receiving them from the Cherokee Indians. Craig named the variety and listed it in the SSE yearbook the year after he first grew them (1990). He also sent seeds to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, then, a few years later, Johnny's Selected Seeds.
|
| Leaf | regular + |
| Maturity | midseason + |
| Member code | B.C KO T +, MI FL J +, IL LO N +, KY ST M +, MAN ST T +, GERM SC K +, MI MA D + and TX GU R + |
| See also | Cherokee Chocolate +, Cherokee Green +, Cherokee Purple, Potato Leaf +, Cherokee Purple, Pink +, Cherokee Purple Heart + and Cherokee Jumbo + |
| Seed source | 1. … 1. [http://www.reimerseeds.com/cherokee-purple-tomato.aspx?ref=tatiana Reimer Seeds
|
| Variety type | open-pollinated + and heirloom + |
| Vendor | Tomato Growers Supply +, Tatiana's TOMATObase Seeds +, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds +, Gleckler Seedmen +, Johnny's Selected Seeds +, Pinetree Seeds +, TomatoFest +, Good Mind Seeds +, Sand Hill Preservation Center +, Skyfire Garden Seeds +, Totally Tomatoes +, Heritage Harvest Seed +, Reimer Seeds +, Casey's Heirloom Tomatoes of Airdrie +, Heirloom Seeds +, Heirloom Tomatoes +, Heritage Tomato Seed +, J&L Gardens Seed +, Solana Seeds +, The Sample Seed Shop +, Trade Winds Fruit +, Delectation of Tomatoes +, Double Helix Farms +, Fedco Seeds +, Gourmet Seed International +, Hazzard's Wholesale Seeds +, J.W. Jung Seed Company +, Knapp's Fresh Vegies +, Seeds of Change +, Snow Seed +, Swallowtail Garden Seeds +, Territorial Seed Company +, Twining Vine Garden +, Two Wings Farm +, Blue Ribbon Tomatoes + and Burpee + |
| Year grown | 2003 +, 2004 +, 2005(1) +, 2008(all sources) +, 2009(4) +, 2010(3) +, 2011*(5) + and 2014(2) + |