Every year I put all newcomers up against these two dark, full-flavored, umami-rich beauties to see if I’ve been somehow missing out. So far, however, Black Krim and Cherokee-Carbon remain the champs in my garden as exemplars of the “big-taste” slicers.
Both are tall indeterminates, 5 or 6 feet tall; both have 12-to-16-ounce fruit that matures mid-season. Both are heavy producers. This year I have one of each. The Black Krim has yielded 42 tomatoes, picked and in the basket, with 7 more on the vine. The Cherokee-Carbon is about the same, except that 9 more are still on the vine.
Both plants have been healthy. We’ve had a lot of rain; radial cracking and scarring is present on both. They probably would not sell well at Kroger or Brookshire’s. Both make a great tomato sandwich.
I grow them outdoors in 20-gallon fabric grow bags, trellised overhead. NE Texas, 8a.
by NPKzone8a
18 Comments
It’s incredible how you bred them to produce their names in a darker pigment 😵💫 They looks amazing though! What causes the lines to form in the skin? Is it like the stress marks on peppers?
Thanks for sharing some of the secrets of your success! I grew Cherokee Purple successfully for the first time this year. I’m going to have to give these varieties a try next season.
I’ll add Black Carbon to my list of varieties to try. I grew Black from Tula by accident (reached for Black Krim at the plant sale and picked the Tula instead) a few years back, and I remember it being very good.
Lovely. I’m growing both for the first time this year so we’ll see how they are under my conditions. I’m trying not to get too excited because I’ve had big disappointments in the past with other legendary varieties. I think local conditions matter a lot, and I think year-to-year variability can be large so I’m willing to give varieties a few years to prove their worth.
Love our black krims. Enjoy
I’m definitely growing Black Krim/Cherokee-Carbon next year, they look amazing and based on your posts seem to have great production.
What potting soil and fertilizer do you use, and do you just hand water or have drip?
So dang freaking good!!!
I didn’t have too much rain last summer and my black krims looked like that too. Made the best BLT of my life!
I have both of these, plus Rosella Purple and Dark Star – on my list for next spring, based on your feedback. Fingers crossed!
42 tomatoes so far from each, I assume you just like it go wild and don’t prune any suckers or do you keep 3-4 stems to manage?
Beautiful tomatoes. This year I am growing BKX which is a potato leafed version of Black Krim. Excited to try em
Haven’t found anything that beats the Black Krim for flavor. Black Krims with fresh basil, a good olive oil drizzle, and a dash of Maldon salt is perfection.
Ill have to give them a shot again next year. I tried them both ages ago and wasn’t that impressed for whatever reason.
But I know much more about growing tomatoes these days !
My favorite slicer that I grow a couple of every year is costoluto genovese, absolutely sublime.
Also shout out to Bloody Butcher, which i grow because they tend to be the first full sized tomatoes I get each year. I stare at them this time of year, calculating how long until BLT time.
Black Krims are my personal favorite for now. We shall see what I enjoy from this years harvest with some new varieties.
It makes my mouth water looking at them. 😋
🤤😋🤤🤤🤤😋
I couldn’t get Black Krim starts this year and was so sad! May have to do from seed next year.
THANKS for posting pics! They look aaaaaaaamazing!
Waiting patiently for ours to start the blush – 1st year with Cherokee Purple – we currently have one plant in 1/4wine barrel staked up and using the pulley string method with 2 leaders growing –
So Far we have about 9 fruit in various stages – with maybe 4 large ready to blush any day now!
Thanks again!