The color break on BK is showing dark purple, from light green base.It is not difficult to see. I just picked one couple days ago.

if in doubt....pick it!

I grew the black krim. Mine are all gone now. I thought it was a delicious tomato. I usually picked it when the top was all black.

As I said in a previous discussion of green tomatoes, learn to gently touch your tomatoes. Once they start to soften, notably, they are generally ripe. Whereas too soft is almost always beyond optimum ripeness, and very few tomatoes taste good when they are beyond optimum ripeness. Black Krims can look almost like standard red tomatoes, sometimes, but they USUALLY are darker, purplish or brownish or blackish, depending on the amount of sunlight and other conditions. So, learning to feel them and picking them just as they start to soften is generally your best bet.

Thanks Guys! I picked 2 at first color break (did I say that right?). Was a little nervous because they were quite green but had streaks of color. Following your instructions, I put them on the kitchen table, stem down. They ripened in about 5 days and they are SCRUMPTIOUS. Had some on a steak sandwich last night and it was too good. No more tasteless watery toms for me. I'll be growing these next season.

Love Black Krim but Cherokee Purple keeps a little better - doesn't get as soft. Hooked my dad on Brandywines last year, now he's had 2 of my BKs (or actually, I gave him a BK on Labor Day, not sure if he took a BK or CP from bin in garage the other night). Looks like he'll want 1 of those plants for his garden next year too ;-)

My mom still likes the firm hybrid beefsteaks, so instead of cutting back, they end up adding more tomato plants to their garden every year LOL!

Buy a Tomato hardness tester.

Dickie,
Where can you find one? Are they near the board stretchers?

Macbettz,

Yep, just down the aisle with the prop wash and sky hooks. *Grin*

"Milorganite seems to have kept the deer at bay"

How does that product keep the deer at bay?

Betsy