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Cherokee Purple tomatoes are a beloved heirloom variety known for their unique dusky rose color and rich, slightly smoky taste. These beefsteak tomatoes are an indeterminate type, meaning they produce large, round fruits throughout the season until frost, with vines that can reach up to 9 feet. They are praised for their resistance to cracking and wilting and tend to produce abundantly. Although the fruits are safe to eat, the leaves and stems can be toxic to pets, so make sure your garden is pet-free.
| Cherokee Purple Tomato | |
|---|---|
| Common Name | Cherokee purple tomato |
| Botanical Name | Solanum lycopersicum ‘Cherokee purple’ |
| Family | Solanaceae |
| Plant Type | Vine fruit, annual |
| Mature Size | Vines to 9 ft. long, 2-3 ft. wide |
| Sun Exposure | Full sun |
| Soil Type | Well draining loam |
| Soil pH | Acidic |
| Bloom Time | Mid-summer |
| Flower Color | Yellow |
| Hardiness Zones | Grown as an annual across zones |
| Native Area | Andes Mountains, South America |
| Toxicity | Leaves and stems toxic to pets |
Cherokee Tomato Care
All tomato plants need extra attention, but the Cherokee purple is fairly easy to grow and a great old-fashioned variety to choose from if you’re new to growing tomatoes.
This plant tolerates mild drought, and its fruit resists cracking. Like other vining varieties, the Cherokee purple requires a good staking system, but vines can also be managed with early pruning.
The Cherokee purple is open-pollinated, which means seeds saved from your plant will produce the same delicious tomato next year. This makes it a popular choice for seed-savers and tomato connoisseurs alike.
Light
All tomato plants need lots of bright, direct sunlight. Six to eight hours during the growing season is sufficient. A good cover of leafy growth is important for shielding the fruits from sunscald as they ripen.
Soil
Tomatoes are susceptible to several soil-borne diseases, so good soil starting out is essential for healthy plants. A slightly acidic, well-draining soil amended with compost is ideal. A balanced pH level of 6.5 to 7.5 is recommended.
Water
The Cherokee purple will thrive with 1 to 2 inches of water weekly but can also hold up under short periods of drought. Installing drip hoses is ideal for watering tomatoes. Always water at the soil line since overhead watering can lead to disease issues. Tomato plants do not do well if allowed to sit in water so avoid overwatering, too.
Temperature and Humidity
Best temperatures range between 65°F and 85°F; however, extreme fluctuations can affect both fruit size and ripening time. Cherokee purple tomato plants can withstand an occasional overnight temperature drop into the low 50s but do not expect fruit to set until the thermometer stays steady at 65°F and above. At 85°F or higher, flowers drop and fruits fail to develop. A relative humidity of 65% to 85% is best. Extended periods of hot, moist conditions can lead to insect infestations and fungal disease.
Fertilizer
Fertilizing tomato plants can be a bit tricky and you will likely get a different answer from every expert and grower you ask. There are a few basic guidelines to follow regarding the best NPK ratios. The best answer will depend on the fertility of the soil starting out and this can be established with a laboratory soil test.
Tomato plants require less nutrition at first and more as they begin producing fruit. Use a low NPK ratio fertilizer, like 5-10-5, at planting. When flowering begins, choose fertilizers with more phosphorus and potassium, keeping nitrogen low to avoid excessive leafy growth at the expense of fruit. Consider mid-season feeding with an NPK ratio of 6-24-24.
Types of Cherokee Tomatoes
Since Cherokee purple is an heirloom, there are no cultivars, however, if you’re a fan of green tomatoes you might like to try ‘Cherokee Green’.
This cousin of the Cherokee purple produces medium size, 8-ounce, green fruits with a yellowish-orange hue. The fruits are slightly more acidic than the purple variety but just as flavorful. Cherokee green also is an heirloom and an indeterminate, vining type.
Harvesting Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
When the tomatoes have come into their proper size, the skins should be taught and have a full color. Pick them in the morning before the heat of the day, and before heavy rain if that’s in the forecast. Take pruners and clip the vine just above the connection to the tomato, making a clean cut with sharpened tools.
Pruning
The Cherokee purple benefits from both early and late pruning. Early pruning is done by pinching out suckers—leafy new growth at the junction of two existing vines. This tomato can be trained into a slightly more compact form by removing suckers for the first several weeks after transplanting. The fruits will need shade from the leaf cover as they ripen, so you’ll want to avoid too much suckering since this can lead to scalding on the fruits.
Pruning late in the season is done with a heading back pruning cut on the vines. As cool weather sets in, this practice stops the plant from producing more flowers and fruit and directs energy to ripen fruits already on the vine.
Remove non-productive vines and damaged stems and leaves throughout the season provided you leave enough shade for the fruits. Use clean tools and make sharp decisive cuts to avoid stripping and peeling the stems.
Avoid leaving tomato prunings in the garden. Remove and dispose of them. They can spread disease when left in the garden or composted.
How to Propagate Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
You can grow tomatoes from cuttings or suckers. Use a pair of hand pruners or sharp scissors to remove a 6 to 8-inch sucker or take a 6 to 8-inch cutting from the tip of new growth. Place the cutting in fresh water or soil. Roots will develop in about a week.
How to Grow Cherokee Purple Tomato From Seed
Cherokee purple grows reliably from seed and, because it’s an heirloom, you can save seed from your own fruits to plant the following year. Plant seeds indoors or in a greenhouse 6 to 8 weeks before the last frost.
- Fill a cell tray or 4-inch pot with seed starting mix.
- Plant seeds about 1/8 inch deep and cover lightly with mix.
- Water lightly or place the pots or cells in a solid bottom tray and add water. Watering from the bottom encourages root growth and also helps avoid damage to tender seedlings which will sprout in one to two weeks.
- Once the seedlings have developed true leaves, they can be potted into a soil-based potting mix with fertilizer.
Potting and Repotting Cherokee Purple Tomatoes
Cherokee purple tomatoes can be grown in pots, but this vining variety won’t be as easily managed as bush-type tomatoes. For each plant, you will need a pot at least 24 inches in diameter with (ideally several) large drainage holes, a good soil mix with compost or fertilizer, and some type of support system that can be anchored to the pot or an adjacent structure. You may need to water your potted tomato daily.
The only time to repot a Cherokee purple will be if you are moving it from the seed starting mix into a new pot with a soil-based potting mix. 4-inch pots are usually sufficient to support growth until transplanting into the garden.
Common Pests and Plant Diseases
Heirloom tomatoes like the Cherokee purple were not bred for specific disease resistance like many hybrid tomatoes. This makes them vulnerable to every tomato disease and insect infestation. The most damaging pests are aphids, blister beetles, tomato and tobacco hornworms, and fall armyworms.
Tiny aphids can often be knocked down with a strong spray from the hose or insecticidal soap. The best way to get rid of the large caterpillars devouring your plants is to handpick. The biological pesticide Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis) will target the worms before they get big enough to cause real damage. Blister beetle infestations can wipe out a crop in a few days and often require repeated applications of synthetic pesticides.
All tomatoes are vulnerable to numerous viral and bacterial infections. The best way to avoid problems is to grow a healthy plant in good soil. Tomato diseases overwinter in soil so crop rotation is highly recommended. Avoid planting tomatoes where other nightshade plants—peppers, eggplant, and potatoes—were grown the previous year. Use clean tools, stake your plants to keep the vines and fruit off the ground, water at soil level, and remove fallen leaves and prunings from the garden.
Common Problems with Cherokee Purple Tomato
Tomato plants are also sensitive to variable growing conditions which can result in several common problems.
Blossom End Rot
A black sunken spot develops on the bottom of ripening fruits. This is caused by insufficient calcium uptake and is amplified by inconsistent watering and hot, dry weather. Tomato vines grow quickly and an otherwise healthy plant can usually recover without intervention. It’s not uncommon to see blossom end rot on the first early fruits disappear on newer developing fruit. Remove affected fruit so energy isn’t spent on ripening a damaged tomato.
Blossom Drop and Poor Fruit Set
This is when flowers form but fall off before developing fruit. The culprit is likely the weather, inconsistent watering, or a combination of both. Cherokee purples are tolerant of short periods of drought, but they won’t produce if allowed to dry out in hot, sunny weather. Fluctuating temperatures result in poor fruit set, so wait until nighttime temperatures stay steadily above 55 degrees to plant your tomatoes in the garden.
Pale Green or Yellowing Leaves,
Tomato leaves should be deep green, and pale leaves with prominent veins may indicate nutrient deficiency or poor uptake. Test your soil before planting. While bottom leaves may yellow and fall off naturally, if it occurs at the top, check your watering schedule.
Sunscald on Fruit
Sunscald manifests as brown, scaly spots on fruit. This is caused by insufficient leaf cover which exposes the fruit to bright, direct sunlight. Leaf loss can occur with a number of tomato diseases or from a nitrogen deficiency, so growing healthy plants is the best remedy.
