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CHEROKEE PURPLE

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CHEROKEE PURPLE

Product Description:

85 days. Similar to red-fruited Cherokee but much darker. Vigorous indeterminate plants produce slightly flattened, 13–14 ounce tomatoes with a purple cast and a good, rich flavor. Shoulders will remain green when ripe. One of the best-producing heirloom tomatoes we grow.
  • Key Features:

ORGANIC SEED

TRANSPLANT

$2.48

$2.48

  • Key Features:

Customer Reviews

Based on 5 reviews
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M
Mike
Five beautiful transplants

It is hard for me to believe these five plants traveled across the country. They look better than anything I could buy locally. What beautiful plants packaged wonderfully.

G
Gene
A great tomato

As another reviewer said this is a delicious tomato and it was productive. I did have a some problem with verticillium wilt, but the tomatoes started producing fairly early, so I Got a lot of tomatoes, (I'm still getting some but obviously production is down because of disease. And it resisted the wilt for several weeks.)

D
Diana
The best tasting tomato this summer

These are not very pretty tomatoes-they're dark red and green shouldered and prone to cracking-but the taste was phenomenal. I didn't give any of them away, just kept them for myself. I think they wanted more heat than my Portland, OR garden provides; I got an okay yield but not as many as others.

W
William M.
Good yield, good flavor

Didn't initially know what to do with this variety; too small for sandwiches, too big for salads! So I just sliced, paired them with some cottage cheese, and pigged out! Great snack or light lunch!

Soil Temp for Germ 70-90°F
Seed Depth 1/4"
Days to Emergence 6-14
Soil Temp for Transp 55°F
Plant Spacing See below
Row Spacing 3-4'
Fertilizer Needs High
Minimum Germination 80%
Seeds per Gram ≈ 280-320
Seed Life 3 years



Lycopersicon lycopersicum The first ripe, juicy tomato of summer is a delicious milestone of the season for gardeners. Each year we test and evaluate more than 250 tomato varieties to bring you the most flavorful, best performing selections, for every desired use. An array of nutrients and antioxidants including the especially potent lycopene, found in its highest concentration in tomatoes, supports healthy eyesight, cardiovascular health, cancer-fighting capacity, and more.

Days to maturity are calculated from date of transplant.

Culture
Determinate tomatoes: grow compactly, sprawling laterally, usually do not require staking, and fruit ripens over a short period of time
Indeterminate tomatoes: grow on long vines, generally require pruning to 1 or 2 leaders that need to be trellised
• Fertile, well-drained raised beds covered with plastic mulch promote early growth and better yields
• Tomatoes are high feeders and will benefit from regular fertilization with Age Old Bloom
• To prevent blossom end rot use a high calcium amendment
• Overwatering can cause fruit to crack

Direct Sowing
• Not recommended

Transplanting
• Sow seeds in trays 6-8 weeks before anticipated transplant date; up-pot into 3-4 inch pots when the first set of true leaves appears
• Strong light and cooler temperatures (60-70°F) prevent plants from getting leggy
• Fertilize with Age Old Grow every 10-14 days
• When transplanting work in compost, 1/2 cup of TSC's Complete fertilizer, and handful of bone meal
• Determinates can be spaced 18-24 inches apart, indeterminates 24-36 inches apart
• Tomatoes can be buried up to the top 2 sets of leaves
• Use Kozy-Coats or Victorian Bell Cloches to protect young plants

Insects & Diseases
Common insects: Flea beetles and tomato hornworms
Insect control: Pyrethrin or row cover for flea beetles, and Monterey B.t. for tomato hornworms
Common diseases: Early and late blight
Disease prevention: A strict 3-4 year rotation, remove vines at the end of the year, fungicide

Harvest & Storage
• Harvest when fully ripe, do not refrigerate for best flavor
• Green fruit should be ripened in a cool, dark area; make sure fruit are not touching

KEY TO TOMATO DISEASE RESISTANCE AND TOLERANCE
• HR indicates high resistance.
• IR indicates intermediate resistance.
• Aal | Alternaria Stem Canker
• AB | Early (Alternaria) Blight
• B | Bacterial Wilt
• F* | Fusarium Wilt
• FOR | Fusarium Crown and Root Rot
• L | Gray Leaf Spot
• LB* | Late Blight
• LM* | Leaf Mold
• N | Roundworm | Nematode
• PL | Corky Root Rot
• PST | Bacterial Speck
• RK | Root-Knot
• TMV | Tobacco Mosaic Virus
• ToANV* | Tomato Apex Necrotic Virus
• ToMV* | Tomato Mosaic Virus
• TSWV | Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
• TYLCV | Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus
• V* | Verticillium Wilt
* Numbers and letters indicate specific disease race.

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