If earlier purple tomatoes were considered a curiosity, and you could meet them very rarely, today they are quite common not only in greenhouses, but also in open ground . Tomatoes in purple and black have many advantages over red and yellow varieties. Not only the skin, but also the flesh is painted in an unusual color. Hue can vary from light chocolate to purple, almost black.
Positive aspects
Purple tomatoes have many advantages:
- have an unusual balanced taste;
- able to cleanse the body of toxins, due to the high content of anthocyanins;
- perfect for making various pickles, sauces, tomato juice;
- mid-season varieties;
- are highly resistant to most diseases.
Disadvantages
The black tomato was bred as a result of a long selection in China, and adapted to Russian weather conditions, so it has practically no shortcomings. It is resistant not only to many diseases, but is also able to withstand even small frosts, bears fruit until late autumn. There are only a couple of minuses that gardeners give out: the taste is not as bright as in the descriptions and in the bank after rolling it becomes the usual red color. Compared to all the pluses, this cannot be called a drawback.
Violet Cognac
Violet Cognac produces beautiful raspberry-red fruits, large fleshy, each tomato weighs about , 400 g. The plant is tall, about 1 m in height. Recognized as one of the best in yield. The ripening period is 108-115 days.
Dark varieties of tomatoes bear fruit for a very long time, until the frosts. To extend the fruiting of cognac tomato, it is necessary to properly harvest. The ripened tomato must be immediately removed from the bush to enable all the ovaries to fully develop.
A modified tomato has the property of retaining its original appearance and taste for a very long time after tearing off the bush. All the same anthocyanins provide this. They make vegetables not susceptible to Botrytis cinerea mold, which affects all plucked fruits.The tomato, painted in blue or purple, is perfect for preserving all kinds of pickles and is often used for commercial activities.
Purple Wessel
Wessel’s purple pride is an early ripe variety. Bushes are indeterminate. Purple Wessel gives black and purple fruits, elongated, with a pointed tip. It has an unusual taste with sweet notes.
Tomato fruits have a sweet taste
To make it easier for Wessel’s seeds of pride to pass the earthen barrier, they are recommended to be mixed with seeds from crops such as oats, radishes or lettuce. The best feed for black tomato is granular superphosphates. Despite all the troubles when growing seedlings, purple tomatoes are disease-resistant crops. Even the harsh Russian climate does not scare them.
Transplantation into the open ground is carried out when there are 8-10 strong leaves on the stem. Hardening of seedlings is carried out gradually. A month before planting, pots with sprouts are put into a room where the air temperature does not fall below 10-12 ℃. Under direct sunlight, the sprouts should also be brought out gradually so that the leafy part does not get burns. You should not plant a blue tomato in areas where potatoes grew last year.
Purple Fairy
Purple Fairy is a mid-season tomato.The plant is tall, up to 2 m. The fruits are purple with green veins, the inside is burgundy with green chambers for seeds. It differs from other varieties with fruity aroma and high taste. The walls of the fruit are thickened, sugary, the pulp is very juicy.
All tomatoes grow from seeds. Before planting, the seed should be soaked in water with the addition of potassium permanganate. Keep the seeds in a glass of water for 10-15 minutes. This process allows you to sanitize the seeds, as well as to separate the empty seeds from the full. Seeds that have sunk to the bottom should be wrapped in a damp cloth and left as such until the first sprouts appear.
The fabric should not be too wet so that the seeds do not become moldy. When the sprouts reach 3-5 mm, they can be planted in cups. To do this, use peat pots or ordinary plastic containers. They begin to plant seeds with sprouts in mid-March. Pots should be filled with soil a little more than a third, and after putting the seeds, cover them with a layer of soil of 2 cm.
Glasses with seeds are placed in a room with an air temperature of 22 ℃. The first shoots appear in about a week. Transplanting seedlings is necessary when a stem appears with 2-3 leaves.
Jasper
Jasper is another early-ripening variety that can reach a height of 2 m. It grows in 1 or 2 trunks, characterized by high productivity. Delicate flesh, very pleasant in taste with sweet-fruity notes.Planting young sprouts of Jasper is carried out a couple of months after sowing seed material. Description of the main requirements for the care of young Jasper tomato sprouts:
- watering once a week;
- 2 months before planting in the soil, seedlings must go through 3 stages of feeding, starting with the moment of picking;
- one of the main factors affecting the growth and yield of plants in the future is hardening of seedlings, you should not plant sprouts immediately under direct sunlight;
- the greenhouse should be equipped with a good system ventilation;
- temperature range 15-18 ℃, with relative humidity not higher than 70%, ideally 60-65%.
Blue Dragon
The variety needs to be garter
Variety Blue Dragon grows in clusters of 6-8 pieces, in appearance resembles a plum, the structure of the fruit is smooth, glossy. The fruits have a fruity-spicy taste, without acid. Violet varieties are very hardy tomatoes and the Blue Dragon is no exception. First of all, you should take care of seedlings. This stage is considered the most important in the cultivation of Blue Dragon tomato varieties and is the key to their good immunity in the future. Fertilizer is not required prior to picking.
The former site for growing legumes is considered to be an ideal site for landing the Blue Dragon.Before planting in open ground, dig it and make fertilizers with superphosphates. To provide protection against fungal diseases, it is recommended to put chicken manure in each hole. The Blue Dragon is 1.8 m tall, so the bushes must be tied up. You can form bushes in 1 column or 2-3, it all depends on the area on which the crops will grow.
Cherokee
Cherokee purple heart belongs to mid-season varieties. The fruits resemble the shape of a heart, black and purple, juicy with a sweet note. Their unusual appearance allows you to use culture for landscape design, which many gardeners do.
Every lover of unusual cultivated plants, once seeing the purple tomatoes of the Cherokee variety, thinks about acquiring an outlandish vegetable. The main advantage of this culture is its high resistance to diseases, however, no matter how violet tomatoes are touted, if improperly maintained, they can still be attacked by whiteflies and spider mites and are susceptible to causative agents of fusarium and black legs. Greenhouse representatives will be less resistant to infections than those growing in open ground.
The attack of whiteflies is considered to be the most dangerous for Cherokee, it is quite difficult to get rid of it because the moth is insensitive to many chemicals. The main reason for the development of fungal diseases is waterlogging of the soil.A warm, humid environment is also a favorable factor for the spread of pests. With proper care and a humidity regime, there are no problems with growing this variety.
Violet Pumpkin and Bumblebee
Violet Pumpkin is a tall variety, medium ripeness, dark lilac fruits in the form of pumpkins. Fruit weight reaches 250 g, juicy tomatoes, with a sweet aftertaste. The Bumblebee variety is a stunted plant, the fruits grow in clusters of 2-4 tomatoes, raspberry pink with green stripes.
Among the reviews of those who grow blue tomatoes, especially Pumpkin and Bumblebee, there are practically no negative ones, the main the complexity is the care of planting material in the early stages. In order for tomatoes to acquire a beautiful shade, it is necessary to maintain the acid-base balance of the soil. If the soil is not rich enough in vitamins and minerals, the plant loses anthocyanins and then the fruits are not purple, but pink or red. To increase resistance to disease, Pumpkin and Bumblebee are fertilized with ash and chalk, once a month. It is possible to increase the soil acid balance with chicken litter or nitrogen.
Waterlogging should not be allowed, seedlings should be watered once a week, adult plants in dry weather – once every 4-5 days. It is recommended to mulch the soil to preserve moisture in it.In order for the whitefly to not start on the plot and in the greenhouse, you should not remove ladybugs and lacewing, they are the worst enemies of the moth.
Conclusions
Tomatoes of purple varieties look attractive and unusual . Varieties of purple-black color are distinguished by a high content of nutrients, resistance to the most common diseases, as well as high yield and long fruiting period. As a result of lengthy experiments, it was proved that the use of tomatoes of these varieties has a beneficial effect on the human body affected by oncological diseases.
Some people think that the unusual color of the fruit is the result of genetic modifications, but the varieties were bred by conventional selection. Many forums write that the tomatoes did not turn purple when grown, but remained pink or red. This fact is due to improper care. Anthocyanins provide a violet color, the amount of which decreases if the soil is not sufficiently fertilized and the acid-base balance is reduced.
In general, nothing bad can be said about the varieties. There are only pluses around. Tomatoes of purple varieties are often grown for decorative and aesthetic purposes in greenhouses and apartments.
