I grew them for the first time this year,and had very good luck,the plants grew very big toms and I've had good #s on the plants,have already collected seed from a couple of Toms for next year.I hope they grow well for you.I used wintersown.org's method of saving Tom seed

Here is a link that might be useful: Saving Tomato Seed

Cherokee Purple grows well just about anywhere but it is a rather small plant and small fruit.

I have linked several previous discussions about it below if you want to read them and in addition to the link on seed saving that Tom gave you, you'll find even more info over on the Seed Saving forum here. They have a great Seed Saving FAQ there with all the details.

My only concern would be about the viability of your seeds since you have kept the tomatoes in the fridge. That usually isn't recommended. Better would be, when ready to do your seeds, is to buy another fresh one to keep the seeds from and keep it at room temperature.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Cherokee Purple discussions

I tried Cherokee Purple in Tennessee when we lived there for two years in a row with no success. I think it was the high humidity. Here in North Carolina it is my most prolific and one of the few remaining healthy plants I have. The fruits range in size for me from 6-8 ounces, but it sets so many fruits it isn't a problem. And OH the flavor! You do need two on a BLT though of my fruits.
Jennie

My Cherokee Purple plants are about six feet tall. Fruit size is about twelve ounces. Not sure if that would be considered small but it is the best fresh eating and salsa tomato I've ever had. It also seems pretty drought tolerant.

I've grown Cherokee Purple for 3 years and have averaged 8 foot plus plants with 10 - 14 oz fruit. They do seem to diminish in size as the season ends, but so do all my tom's.

Dave, I always read your posts and have learned a lot from you, but I've never had a small CP plant or fruit. Could you elaborate?

Goes to show the diversity and truth behind localized weather conditions. Throwing it out there, down here in Texas, I simply cut my tomato, squeezed out pulp and seed onto newspaper, placed it on my front yard(layered with ants), and three hours later I had dried seed. Scrape, then plant. All in one.

Then again, your outside conditions may not allow that method. Always goes back and starts with the condition.

Take care,
Travis

Cherokee Purples 1st of August.

The top of the thermometer is 6'4"(76")These plants continued to grow and produce for almost 3 more months.
Has been pretty much the same every year except for 2010. All of my tomato plants struggled last year.

I do certainly agree that the area of the country can cause some pretty large variations in size and productivity.

This is my first year growing CP. It is what I would call an average sized plant (about 4 feet tall so far) and the fruit are delicious. Size of the fruit is similar to Brandywine; however, it is not making very many fruit (maybe 8 the whole season to date); and appears to have completely heat-checked in our July weather.

On the other hand, Black Krim is making several times over the number of fruit (I have picked 22 from one plant just this week), has much larger fruit than CP, is continuing to set fruit even in this heat, and to my tastebuds, has virtually the same flavor as CP. More BK next year. Probably no CP here.

Thanks for all the responses. The ones I bought were of the smaller variety. I realised when I threw them in the fridge that it was a mistake so I went out and purchased a few more.

Great link and I'm digging into all the information I can to prepare for next season. This years plants are fruiting but many have a shiny black bottom which I assume will ruin the fruit and I'm sure it's a form of blossum end rot so I don't expect a great crop as more rain and hot weather is forcasted.

I'm hooked on CPs for eating and will have to wait for next year to try salsa with them. Do they fare well in sauce?

Deb, most of my tomato friends use the best tasting tomatoes they grow for sauce and not specifically paste tomatoes which are not known for great taste and most are quite susceptible to Early Blight ( A. solani) as well as BER. Just cook down the sauce a bit more to the consistency you want.

So sure, use them for sauce.

It was Craig LeHoullier who first got the seeds for what he named Cherokee Purple from J. D Green of TN. Craig is my best tomato freind and has been for well over 20 years. So I've grown Cherokee Purple now and then since about 1992.

There shouldn't be different versions out there, that is, a pack of seeds that give plants with fruits that are all large and someone else selling seeds for CP where the fruits are smaller.

Variation in plant size and fruit size is due to CP being grown in different geographic areas in different years b'c no two seasons are the same, and then throw in the variables of HOW the plants are grown, what amendments are used and I think you can see that folks can clearly get different results.

And actually that applies to ANY variety.

At one time Burpee was selling just plain WRONG seeds for CP but that was, I hope, in the past.

There have always been problems when seeds are traded and it's one reason I don't trade seeds, with few exceptions. I give them away in an annual seed offer I make elsewhere

If you like CP why not try Indian Stripe which is probably a version of CP that was grown in isolation in Arkansas and many folks seem to like Indian Stripe better than CP itself.Indian Stripe has fruits that are slighly smaller than CP, the fruits are slightly lighter in color than CP and there are more fruits to the truss than CP.

And if you want to go beyond CP you can consider growing varieties that came about from CP such as Cherokee Chocolate, which is due to an epidemis mutation, CP has a clear epidermis and CC has a yellow epidermis. They taste and grow the same but CC is just a darker color.

But I think the best one is Cherokee Green, a green when ripe variety that I think is outstanding and one of the best GWRipes that I've ever grown.

Then there's Cherokee Purple Potato Leaf , found by Jere Gettle at Baker Creek and also Spudakee, which is also a potato leaf CP but I can't say, or should I say, that others who have grown RL CP and the two PLs ( potato leaf ones) in the same season don't always agree that the only difference between a PL and RL original is leaf form.

And right now Craig and I and a couple of others are growing what appears to be a Cherokee Purple heart, I don't know what the final name will be, maybe something as mundane as Cherokee Purple Heart. LOL

So lots of choices to make and that's part of the fun of growing tomatoes. ( smile)

Carolyn, and there are others that came about from CP but enough is enough for now, considering the fact that there are now available commercially thousands upon thousands of varieties. I've only grown about 3,000 varieties to date, and if I hadn't had to work full time, ahem, I'd be beyond that now.LOL But I'm retired now and that's good, very good indeed.

Great info! To me Cherokee Purple is a beefsteak w/decent sized fruit. I usually have good luck with them here in my Z5 upstate NY garden. This year is no exception. I'm growing a CP in an 18 gallon container, and currently it is my best plant.....lots of tomatoes! I'm curious to see how big the plant and tomatoes get.

Best tomato friend.

What a lovely phrase.

Good info on the CP variations. CC and CG I will to grow.

My CP is about 6 feet tall but unfortunately it's only produced two fruits. The first was eaten by a fruitworm, still waiting on the second to ripen.

But it's been incredibly hot here, 100+ since mid-June, so you may not have that problem in Zone 4. FYI I planted a Carbon black tomato right next to it and it's made about a half dozen or so fruits.

I have CP, Carbon, Black Zebra, Black Krim, and Ananas Noir growing, all have some green tomatoes so far, I would say BZ and CP are heading the race with the most tomatoes. I'm so excited to eat some soon.

I would love to get few seeds of CP Heart if have some extras Carolyn and Craig :)

Since some people winter sow seeds and store seeds in cold storage, I can't understand why storing a tomato in the refrigerator would hurt the seeds?
I sure wouldn't put my tomatoes in the fridge, though, it ruins the taste.