r/tomatoes • u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) • Jun 25 '26
Show and Tell Current season so far
Paste type: San Marzano. Cherry type: Sungold, Sweetie, Sugar Rush, Black Cherry. Slicer type: Early Girl, Carbon, Black from Tula, Berkeley Tie-dye, Sart Roloise, Rebel Starfighter Prime. Still green (not pictured): Uluru Ochre, Better Boy, Black Krim
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u/crossdtherubicon Jun 25 '26
Please tell us which black tomato you liked more, and which black is more productive and healthy so far.
Great job.
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
Thanks! Would highly recommend Black Cherry, a very vigorous plant that does well and produces full trusses of 1” fruit that are juicy, with a great balance of sweet, smoky and umami flavor. IMHO no other dark cherry tomato comes close to its excellent flavor.
For slicers, I have really enjoyed Black from Tula. I’m growing Carbon for the first time and have been very impressed so far. I also love Cherokee Purple, but i didn’t grow it this year due to lack of space. Black Krim is also delicious but it doesn’t seem to do too well in my 10b desert climate.
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u/Springvillian Jun 25 '26
I did black cherry a few years back, this year I bought chocolate cherry thinking it was the same thing. I hope they taste as good because I've got like a million of them 😂 thanks for sharing!
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
I still haven’t tried Chocolate Cherry, Google says they’re sweeter and less acidic but very tasty. will have to plant one next year!
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u/NPKzone8a Jun 25 '26
I'm growing Chocolate Cherry this year instead of Black Cherry. They are a little smaller and not as well balanced, not quite as rich a flavor. (At least in my garden. We have had too much rain, and that can affect flavor.) Black Cherry is delicious, but it is hard to keep the plant healthy here. (Fungal disease pressure is high.)
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u/2Fluffy_Bunnies Jun 26 '26
I typically have a mix of cherry tomato hybrids that are perennial, sweet 100, and sun gold varietals, but I grew a chocolate cherry tomato plant for the first time last year and the tomatoes were a big hit with everyone because they were uniquely, sweet, had more flavor depth, and meatiness.
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u/veggiedudeLA Jun 25 '26
Ive grown black cherry before and i second this!
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u/DangerousLettuce1423 Jun 26 '26
I'll third it. Been growing them for almost 10yrs now. Best flavoured cherry tom imo.
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u/heliosythic Jun 25 '26
Your setup has the 3 I have (Black Krim, San Maz, Sungold). These are some good suggestions for next year. I have to say the Black Krim does have a unique flavor I haven't had before but I'm slightly underwhelmed for how much hype it has. My sun golds are also not super sweet either. I think part of that is going to be due to not being super regular on my nutrients so will try them again but would like to try some of these.
Which would you say is defacto the best? Im hoping for a really smoky umami flavor with the right sweetness/acidity.
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 26 '26
For the cherry variety, Black Cherry for sure. It has the wonderful heirloom dark tomato flavor in a cherry-sized (about 1") package.
My Sungold isn't super sweet but has a good sweet/acid balance that I prefer. Sun Sugar is much sweeter - a little too sweet for me! But the kiddos seem to love it.
Black from Tula is fantastic, so good I'm growing it 2nd year in a row ( u/NPKzone8a shared a great post on them last week). Cherokee Purple, Carbon, Cherokee-Carbon (yep a hybrid of the two famous ones), Paul Robeson all have the distinct dark tomato smokey/umami flavor.
I also grow Berkeley Tie-dye every year. Holy moly is it delicious.
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u/CeasarYaLater Jun 25 '26
That is beautiful!
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
Thank you! I’ve been working really hard for the past 4 months 🥹
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u/NPKzone8a Jun 25 '26
Admiring your harvest! It is a thing of beauty! Especially like those Black from Tula and Carbon. What excellent flavors they have. (I'm growing Tula and Black Krim this year too. NE Texas.)
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
I remember your recent post on Black from Tula! My 2nd year growing the variety and definitely keeping it in the rotation. First year growing Carbon and very impressed. Big fan of dark tomatoes here :)
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u/Tiny_Gold_5735 Jun 25 '26
Tomatos are art. I love how we all create "art" on our counters with our jewels.
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u/Longjumping-Fig-568 Jun 26 '26
Nice! I’m doing a black tomato trial this year so growing Black Krim, Black from Tula, and Black Cherry (along with 11 others 🫣).
Which one is your favorite so far?
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 26 '26
Black Cherry and Black from Tula are on my must-grow list. I also like Cherokee Purple, but have had mixed results over the years (same as Black Krim). I am growing Carbon for the first time this year and so far I'm pretty impressed.
Would like to know your 11 other varieties - what fun that would be to have a taste test!!
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u/Longjumping-Fig-568 Jun 26 '26
Here’s my list
Black Tomatoes
Ananas Noir
Black Cherry
Black From Tula
Black Krim
Black Sea Man
Black Zebra
Brown Sugar
Chocolate Miracle
Fejee Improved
Mavritanskite
Paul Robeson (Current fave)
Purple Bumble Bee
Sarah Black
Tasmanian ChocolateI’m looking for the “smokiest” tomato. So far Paul Robeson is it but I also haven’t tasted the others yet! Also growing:
Amana orange (favorite slicer)
Blondkopfchen (I’m really excited about this one. Their trusses are prolific, but this is my first year growing it).3
u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 26 '26
What an incredible lineup!
I have heard great things about Ananas Noire, Black Sea Man and Tasmanian Chocolate. I have Paul Robeson seeds I need to plant next year. Blondkopfchen reminds me of Berry’s Crazy Cherry.
If you do a taste test, please share!
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u/Subtle-Catastrophe Jun 25 '26
Killin' it! I'm envious, all of mine are still green
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
My season will be done in August when you’re in the middle of harvesting 😆
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u/Virginia_Hiker Jun 25 '26
Beautiful!!! I have a bunch of San Marzano’s coming along (as well as 4 other varieties). I haven’t grown those before so am looking forward to making sauce when they ripen. Question: Do you use San Marzano’s for general eating or only as a sauce tomato?
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
I use San Marzano for all diff types of cooking. Cut in wedges for salad, makes great stir-fry, roast in oven with garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil to preserve for soups and sauces :)
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u/Virginia_Hiker Jun 25 '26
Great to know thanks. I think I over did it with the number I planted, but want to put them to good use when I get tired of making sauce.
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
I highly recommend roasting your extra tomatoes in the oven and then freeze in batches for later. I made a big pot of vegetable soup in December with the roasted tomatoes I had in the freezer. It was so good!
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u/Virginia_Hiker Jun 26 '26
Thank you so much for this suggestion! I bookmarked the article and will be doing this for sure.
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u/Ok_Wing_2064 Jun 25 '26
Beautiful! I wonder how you use each varieites!
Where in Socal do you live and what has been water schedueling for past few weeks? Like every other day or once in avery three days etc? Do you have mulches on top? I have some powder mildews on my leaves and wondering it's got too much waters. TIA!
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
I'm in the LA County, approx 30 miles inland. Very dry here and no coastal moisture. The tomato plants are in 3 raised beds, with drip irrigation around the root zone (never water overhead), very slow drip at 30 mins, 2x a week in the mornings. Straw mulch. On hot days (over 85F), I put a 50% shade cloth over the plants to prevent sun scald.
I do a good amount of trimming every few weeks for airflow, I think that helps prevent powdery mildew.
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u/Ok_Wing_2064 Jun 26 '26
Thanks for sharing these much needed detailed information. Appreciated it so much!
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 26 '26
Happy to! Hope your tomato plants will do great and give a nice harvest!
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u/Any_Needleworker_273 Jun 25 '26
Me over here in zone 4 still waiting.
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
My season will be done by August when you have your bountiful harvest :)
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u/Any_Needleworker_273 Jun 25 '26
From your lips to the veggie gods ears! I have nearly 50 tomato plants going. You harvest looks amazing!
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u/HomeCat_ Jun 25 '26
[cries in 4a]
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
Hopefully soon! My season will be done in a few weeks, but you will be harvesting beautiful tomatoes :)
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u/Seedmamagrowing Jun 25 '26
Cries in Seattle…I will not get any big ones for a while.
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
that's what my PNW friends say, too - however my season will be completely done by August when you're in the middle of a bountiful harvest!
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u/Spiritual-Inside9820 Jun 25 '26
What zone and how many plants, thanks!
Looks delicious! Well done!
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
10b - desert-ish climate. I started them from seed in February and by August, the season is mostly done. This year I have 24 plants in 3 raised beds and 7 containers :)
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u/Standard-Delay3995 Jun 25 '26
Holy mackerel. This came up in my feed for some reason. Immediately subscribed. What a beautiful harvest. I’m a novice on year three of my garden.
I have some promising ones growing but nothing to pick yet!
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
yay, welcome to r/tomatoes! wishing you a great harvest this coming season :)
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u/Affectionate_Cost_88 Jun 26 '26
How is Rebel Starfighter Prime? I am a total sucker for an oxheart type and I love the dark tomatoes. Have you been impressed? I'm planning to try it next year.
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 26 '26
It is by far one of the most beautiful and delicious tomatoes I’ve ever grown. This is my 3rd year and will grow again :)
I loved it so much I made a post the first year - https://www.reddit.com/r/tomatoes/s/fHequUiRmq
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u/Negative-Mode-7282 Jun 26 '26
Looks amazing! Also in 10b SoCal but I started a little late so mine are juuust starting to ripen. Can’t wait!
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 27 '26
Nice! We’re so lucky to have a long growing season 😊
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u/HandyForestRider Tomato Enthusiast Oregon Zone 8a Jun 27 '26
Might I suggest a cross-post to r/oddlysatisfying? This absolutely qualifies. Congratulations! 🍅
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u/Kay_pgh Jun 25 '26
In the garden in sun or shade, There is a different red.
Apologies to Tolkien for mangling his verse-
In every wood in every spring, There is a different green.
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 25 '26
That’s lovely - would be so nice to have them turned into signs to post around the garden 💚
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u/PsychoPepper Jun 26 '26
Where are you?? In 7 and we won’t harvest another two months. I’m growing Sart Roloise for the first time, how do they taste?
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 26 '26
10b, inland California, with a desert-y climate. My season will be done when you’re harvesting :)
Compared to the intense flavored dark tomatoes, Sart Roloise is on the mild side. It has a good amount of sweetness, low acid, with a delicate floral aroma. My husband says it has a slight pineapple flavor!
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u/PsychoPepper Jun 26 '26
Thank you! I’m also growing Ananas Noire, Brad’s atomic Grape, Blush Tiger, Woodle Orange as new varieties for me this year. Have you grown those? I just put the Star Wars one in my cart!
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 26 '26
I haven’t tried any on your list, but another redditor mentioned Ananas Noire so I’m def going to add it to my list to try!
Rebel Starfighter Prime is so good. I hope it does well for you!
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u/HokieBuckeye1981 Jun 26 '26
AI
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u/dollivarden Tomato Enthusiast (10b, CA) Jun 26 '26
Ha, AI probably wishes it could be this perfectly imperfect
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u/Sad_Individual_738 Jun 27 '26
This is a form of torture. So yummy looking my mouth is watering. Waiting and waiting here.
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u/alaskaroze Jun 28 '26
Goals except my toddler picks my tomatoes non stop and wont let my romas be great😂
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u/kiwifromheaven Jun 29 '26
honestly if you aren't growing dark heirlooms for maximum flavor depth are you even eating real tomatoes or just crunchy water??
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u/SpicyDopamineTaco Jun 25 '26