Tasty Purple Tomatoes To Grow: Try These 8 Cherry, Beefsteak and Heirloom Tom Varieties

Tomatoes are amongst the most popular crops grown in the home garden – and with good reason. They come in a massive variety of sizes and shapes, heirlooms and hybrids, and each brings a unique flavor and aroma. Of all the hues you can grow, purple tomatoes may not seem like the most obvious – but they are certainly a delight to cultivate, with the potential for a bold season of flavor.

Until recently there were only a few purple heirloom tomatoes. However, recently, scientists have developed truly purple tomato varieties for more than just their striking tomato colors. This roundup of purple cherry tomatoes, beefsteaks and breeds high in antioxidants and disease resistance offers something for all tastes and growing spaces. Try these suggestions, plus some of the kits, seeds and pots, seeds available at the Gardening Know How shop, and get cracking with this year’s tasty toms!

Choosing the Best Purple Tomato Varieties

If you’re suitably intrigued at the prospect of cultivating a tangy harvest of plump purple toms, hopefully this selection will whet your appetite. While there are other purple tomato varieties to choose from, these are our current favorites.

Whether you’re a seasoned tomato grower or an enthusiastic newbie, you’ll love growing tomatoes in the deep purple category! With a wide array from heirloom to open pollinated to the newest genetically modified, we’re confident you’ll find something here to keep you busy for a while.

1. Cherokee Purple

One of the most popular purple heirloom tomatoes to grow is the Cherokee Purple tomato. This large, dark purple mottled red tomato is said to have come from Tennessee some time before 1890.

The large vines yield equally large tomatoes that measure about five inches (12cm) across. With their rich, full flavor, Cherokee Purple tomatoes are often compared to Brandywine tomatoes. You can harvest the fruits 80 days after sowing these purple tomato seeds.

2. Purple Boy

Resistant to nematodes, verticillium wilt, Fusarium wilt, and tobacco mosaic, Purple Boy is a tomato hybrid with obviously increased disease resistance. Symmetrical and slightly ridged, this indeterminate fruit has purple hues both inside and out.

These purple tomatoes combine the best of tomato juiciness with a bit of a tang. They are also full of vigor and will thrive in a range of growing conditions, as long as you give them at least six hours of sunshine per day.

3. The Big Purple

Unlike some of the tomatoes in this roundup, which may have splashes of red or other colors, this tomato is truly purple through and through. Developed for its high content of anthocyanins (that’s antioxidants to you and me), The Big Purple was developed by Norfolk Plant Sciences.

High antioxidant content being one of the most appealing tomato benefits, this purple variety is well worth growing. Not only does it boast superb color and antioxidant content, it also tastes great and has an impressively long shelf life.

4. Carbon

The Carbon tomato is a large beefsteak variety with a red and blackish-purple peel. Its rich, bold smoky taste and creamy texture make the Carbon tomato a favorite vining option for keen tomato growers.

If you’re looking for purples with high disease resistance, as well as cracking and catfacing, this heirloom variety has much to recommend it. Carbon tomatoes were introduced in 1998.

5. Indigo Rose

Before The Big Purple, the first truly purple variety rich in antioxidants came out of Oregon State University. Named Indigo Rose, it presents as a series of generously filled trusses of intensely purple-black fruits.

This stunning deep purple tomato variety is not genetically modified. It was created out of traditional cross-breeding and selection techniques. It is a cordon cherry tomato variety with a balanced sweet-tart flavor.

6. Purple BumbleBee

Another indeterminate, open-pollinated variety is the Purple BumbleBee tomato. Aside from the adorable name, the Purple BumbleBee is adorned with a striped peel. This indeterminate sweet cherry variety (also known as an artisanal cherry) grows in small clusters, shifts from maroon to purple in tone, and is very vigorous.

7. Purple Calabash

Purple on the outside, blushing red on the inside, the Purple Calabash tomato is an irregularly shaped, heirloom beefsteak tomato that is fantastic either eaten fresh or pureed and made into sauce. Large, indeterminate plants require sturdy stakes or cages.

This ‘true purple’ variety is high yielding, distinctively ruffled in shape and deliciously sharp to taste. Modulating between rich purple and chocolatey in tone, this is also one of the most drought-tolerant toms you can grow.

8. Black Cherry

Black Cherry tomatoes are purple cherry tomatoes perfect for snacking on right off the vine. Looking much like large, plum-colored grapes, these tangy toms are rich in flavor. The large vines of this indeterminate, heirloom variety yield well. These purple tomato plants are also extremely heat-tolerant tomatoes to grow.

Other Great Tomato Growing Ideas

• Want to know the most foolproof tomatoes to grow for fuss-free fruits? Here are the simplest tomato varieties for easy-peasy cherry, beefsteak and heirlooms.
• Growing for small spaces doesn’t mean you have to compromise in choosing prolific toms that are bursting with flavor. We reveal the best dwarf tomatoes to grow.
• If you want to stretch out the growing season and regulate temperatures, try cultivating under glass. Here’s how to grow tomatoes indoors for happy harvests.
• Can’t wait to taste those tangy fruits? Follow these seven tips on how to make tomatoes grow faster and harvest that eagerly anticipated bounty weeks sooner!

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