Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Tomato Tuesday

Indigo Rose

The tomato I will be spotlighting this week is "Indigo Rose". This tomato variety produces stunning dark purple 1-2oz. tomatoes.  This type of tomato is sometimes referred to as a "Blue" tomato. The dark purple color is due to anthocyanin which causes the tomato to turn dark when exposed to direct sunlight. They are green when unripe, purple red when ripe. Anthocyanin's are powerful anti-oxidants. This tomato was developed by Jim Myers at Oregon State University using traditional plant breeding techniques. The plants are compact indeterminate with moderate production. The flavor to me was not that great, just average. I consider this tomato a looker not a taster. In the last two years these anthocyanin varieties are becoming more popular and new varieties are being created. I will be trying two other anthocyanin varieties this year that are suppose to have better flavor. They are Clackamas Blueberry and Melanzane. I am hoping they will produce flavorful tomatoes for me, because I was disappointed with the flavor of Indigo Rose. I have heard that other gardeners have grown Indigo Rose and liked the flavor. Every one's tomato taste preference is different, I tend to like sweet with a little acid. My favorites are the dark and pink varieties.



 

 
 
Thanks for checking out my Tomato Tuesday post. Stop by next week to see which variety I will be spotlighting from my garden. When planning this years garden consider trying a "Blue" tomato. There are many seed companies now that carry an array of "Blue" tomatoes.






6 comments:

  1. I have heard the same complaint about the flavor. I believe this is why many vegetable seed companies continue to develop their own purple-colored tomato varieties - because of the taste factor.

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    1. I am hoping that this years varieties will taste better. I belong to a group called Tomato Depot and some of the members are working on some antho crosses to create better flavored tomatoes.

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  2. I hadn't heard of blue tomatoes prior to reading this - I will have to see if any are available in Australia. I think I probably share your taste in tomatoes so I too would probably be disappointed in the flavour.

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    1. There have been many more "Blue" tomatoes created since Indigo Rose that are suppose to have a better flavor. There are some gardeners that grew Indigo Rose and liked it, maybe it depends on environmental factors. They are definitely pretty to grow!

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  3. I have seedlings for Clackamus Blueberry & Melazane....imagine that ;)

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