CP is mighty tasty but not prolific for me either … 3 years running

haha yeah, i worded it backwards.

thanks, will have a look.

I agree with Brago. CP is one of the best tasting tomatoe that I have growin but it limited in production. In fact, ALL of the dark tomatoes that I have grown tasted very good ; BLACK FROM TULA, INDIAN STRIP, BLACK KRIM, MY MYSTERy.

probably Black From Tula was the most productive and early as well.

here is a picture of a CP from 2016.

weighed slightly over one pound.

sey

Cherokee Purple is productive for me here in Southwest Ohio.

Cherokee purples are very good but I think I prefer black krim and Japanese trifele. The japanese trifele is so gorgeous!

The first year I grew CP it did well for me - loved everything about it. Tried Black Krim and loved everything about it, more so. Then I realized half (most!?) of my success was due to the weather. I'm going to try "Indian Stripe" this year. May put in a CP and BK cuz who knows what the weather will do. Even if I don't get the production, the taste is still there. :-)

CP's productivity in my Eastern Kansas garden is poor but the few fruits I do get are fantastic. I just can't keep it in the rotation because of its productivity here. Be careful with your seed sources for CP; IMO there seems to be lots of variety variability out in the market.

Some "dark" varieties that come to mind that do well for us most every year are Paul Robeson, JD's Special C-Tex, BKX, Indian Stripe RL and Spudakee to just name a few. We tried Cherokee Carbon last year and it was very productive as well.

Shell

It's important to grow similar varieties side by side to determine which produce best in your particular conditions. Also, it's good to repeat the experiment in different years, as you may discover that one will do better in a dry, hot year, while a different one will do better in a cooler, wetter year, etc.

My goal is to eventually come up with a "stable" of a couple dependable varieties in various favorite categories that I can plant to cover as many bases as possible. For example, come up with a black beefsteak that does well in my garden a hot dry year and one that does better here in cooler conditions and always grow them together. That way, whether it's a cool year or a hot year, I'll have one that's doing great.

Given that I have a small garden, it'll be a while before I'm done trialing varieties, but getting there is part of the fun.

I was actually rather surprised by how many fruit I got off my CPs, considering their reputation for low production and the brutal weather this year. Sadly, the plants collapsed suddenly from a wilt right before the killer heat this year broke. I'm experimenting with different varieties this year, but next time I grow them, I'll graft them. I expect good yield if they don't don't get taken out by soil disease.

I get the impression that they do well in the mid-Atlantic region and in places with similar climates. Makes sense, if they are a TN heirloom.

I used to think grafting of tomatoes was a bit silly; perhaps, a fad. I'm starting to get it now, but prefer by my choice, like you gorbelly. I hear another experiment calling me. ;-)

I think grafting for its own sake is probably not worth the trouble. But grafting against soilborne disease is not a fad. It's a technique that is used on a vast commercial scale in many parts of the world. No reason why home gardeners like me who don't have the space to properly rotate plants shouldn't use it, as it's not rocket science.