Black Cherry is an indeterminate cherry tomato variety. The fruits turn black-red when ripe, progressing from red to purple-black, taking a few days longer to change color than regular cherry tomatoes. When fully ripe, the fruits have a sweet-tart flavor with extremely juicy flesh. The skin is thin and the overall texture is very soft, with larger fruits reaching ping pong ball size. Due to their softness, they’re rarely found in markets because they’re difficult to transport, but you can buy seeds and save them for future seasons (they’re likely stable as they’re an heirloom variety). The taste is far superior to common firm, meaty cherry tomatoes and they can be enjoyed as fruit.

Tomato cultivation primarily requires early-stage pruning of suckers, fertilizing, and setting up support structures. Later stages involve controlling vigorous growth, leaf pruning, calcium supplementation, water management, and preventing late blight. It’s important to avoid planting in soil where other nightshade family crops were recently grown. If crop rotation isn’t possible, strict soil sterilization is necessary, or use disease-resistant varieties for grafting. Grafting is very common in nightshade crops. Early in the season, you can companion plant with peas for additional nitrogen. When peas are harvested mid-season, replace them with basil to reduce tomato pests. Avoid interplanting with other nightshade family crops.

Regarding store-bought seeds: if they’re labeled as F1 hybrids, don’t save seeds as they either won’t germinate properly or the next generation will show trait separation and quality degradation. This consideration is important when saving tomato seeds - only save seeds from stable, non-hybrid varieties that maintain consistent quality.