Black Cherry questions

[austinnhanasmom]

I have to update my post -

I grew BC, Chocolate Cherry and Brown Berry.

Although the color was different between the three, the flavors were similar to me.
BC did have a slight edge, however, which is why I'll grow it again.

I have a few other black cherry types to try, so I may not grow it in 2010, but I won't trade all of my saved seed.

I've read that Haley's Purple Comet is the best...must see for myself and it makes sense to grow BC for comparison.

Deb who needs a bigger garden

[PaulF]

Black Cherry from Tomato Growers Supply was the first source I heard about and I have grown them for three years. Each growing year was different as far as temperature and rainfall. The flavor, size, texture and productivity has been fairly consistent for me. BC is the number one requested tomato I raise for family and friends surpassing Cherokee Purple, Kellogg's Breakfast/KBX and Stump of the World. It is the only cherry tomato I have ever cared for.

[Worth1]

I love black cherry it has a great flavor in any weather I have grown it in.
Mine are not mealy they are juicy and just bursting with flavor, my favorite thing to do is eat one first thing in the morning before coffee.
I grow in several soil types and have found no difference in the flavor from one plant to the next.
My seeds originated from TGS and I grow from saved seeds and TGS every year.

Worth

[Barbee]

I grew Black Cherry in a container on the deck last year. It was my first variety to ripen, and it was the probably the last tomato I picked of the season. It was a monster of a plant and was a large cherry. So large, that I even posted a photo here comparing it to a golf ball. I thought the taste was excellent, and used it as the T in several BLT's...since I didn't think the rest of my maters were ever going to ripen. It will be back on the deck this season for sure.

Probably my favorite thing about it was that it kept for so long. My seeds came from TGS.

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by austinnhanasmom

I grew BC, Chocolate Cherry and Brown Berry.
Deb who needs a bigger garden

Me too! For 2009, Chocolate Cherry was the sweetest and Black Cherry produced by far the most, and Brown Berry was ok but a distant third. The BC flavor was ok but not nearly as wonderful as it had been a couple previous years.

The Black Cherry I grew in 2008 was a dud -- not very productive and an unmemorable flavor. My 2009 plants were from the saved seed, so I'll get new seed when I grow it again. After the first couple times I grew BC I wanted it in my garden every year, but one year the seedlings I bought turned out to be a black plum that looked just like the Black Plum I'd grown one year, and another year I couldn't find it locally.

[dave]

we sell Black Cherry in a mix of Sun Gold, Sun Sugar, Dr. Carolyn and Sweet Million by the pint at our farmers market. No complaints. They sometimes crack in the heat of august when it rains, if it rains! Seeds come from TGS. dave

[Fusion_power]

So is everyone missing the description? Black Cherry should NEVER be 1.5 inches or larger in diameter as per the original poster's description. The correct description for Black Cherry is a nearly round very dark cherry of about 3/4 up to 1 inch diameter very juicy and sweet. It is not normally mealy and it does not tend to crack though it can do so under adverse conditions. It originated at TGS.

DarJones - who grows hundreds of Black Cherry plants each year to sell.

[Wi-sunflower]

i've only grown Black Cherry 2 years so far. The first year from seeds from TGS and last year from my own saved seeds from those original plants.

Both years we had less than great tomato growing weather. The first year I had a few plants also in bit nursery post in an open greenhouse with drip to keep them watered. Those plants produced better colored fruit than the field grown plants as Black Cherry seems to like heat to color up as most of the "black" tomatoes do.

This year they didn't produce or color up as well but they were still good. Both years they were just a typical cherry size. Nothing oversized like a golf ball that i can remember.

The original poster mentioned that other seeds they also got from Tradewinds turned out to not be as described. I also bought several varieties from Tradewinds for the first time last year. The "Tomatoberry" seed I got turned out to be nothing like it was supposed to be. Not a plant out of at least 30 plants produced a small tomato let alone the heart shaped small one. So with the various experiences with Tradewinds, I would conclude that what was grown was NOT the true "Black Cherry".

Get some seed from another source and try it again to see how it compares.

Carol

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

So is everyone missing the description? Black Cherry should NEVER be 1.5 inches or larger in diameter as per the original poster's description. The correct description for Black Cherry is a nearly round very dark cherry of about 3/4 up to 1 inch diameter very juicy and sweet. It is not normally mealy and it does not tend to crack though it can do so under adverse conditions. It originated at TGS.

DarJones - who grows hundreds of Black Cherry plants each year to sell.

No I didn't, mine are only 3/4 inch and I think that some of the folks may not know what the size of the tomato really is unless they measure them.
Not meant as an insult but a fact, many a time I have asked about a certain size of something and got the wrong answer after a true measurement was taken.
It is obvious that a 1-1/2 tomato is NOT the real TGS black cherry of common size.
It could be an abnormality though.

Worth

[Barbee]

Here is a photo from last year's Black Cherry plant. Tomato is blushing.

As you can see from the pic, it was what I would call large, but still a cherry tomato. We had an extremely wet year and while I did get an occasional cracked one, for the most part they were darn near perfect. To me, the taste was a perfect blend of meat and juice. 9 of these little devils, cut into 3rds, will cover a large slice of bread to make a BLT

To the original poster, I would try this tomato again from another seed source. What you are describing does not match the Black Cherry I grew.

[instar8]

No wonder Burpee wanted to try to claim this one...wonder if anyone has tried to grow out the seeds from that "Black Pearl" to see if it's really a hybrid?

Thanks all, I'll give it another try... hopefully with the right seeds next time!

[kimpossible]

My seed source for Black Cherry was Victory Seeds - and they were excellent - plus VS's prices are very reasonable.

[disneynut1977]

I will also be trying BC from another source next summer, TGS. I wasn't very impressed last summer with it, but we did have a bad weather and almost everybody raves about it. So it has a spot for 2010 and we'll see how it does.

Fingers crossed for good summer weather.


Melissa1977

[Ruth_10]

For those of you who have only grown BC once, and that once was 2009, please try the variety again. I'm not making any taste/productivity decisions based on my 2009 tomato crop--it was just too strange of a season.

Black Cherry is a great tomato, period.

[Blueaussi]

I grew it in 2007, which was a good tomato year for me. It not a great tomato for me.