Tomato - Indigo Rose

OP. We were gifted this tomato from our friend and seed saver Jenny Freemantle. Out of curiosity we grew this unusual tomato in both how it looks and how it was created. This striking deep purple tomato is different from the other purple tomatoes we grow, in that the compound that makes the skin purple is an anthocyanin, the same compound that is present in blueberries and different from pheophytin which is what makes Black Krim or Black Ethiopian purple. Anthocyanin, which until the creation of Indigo Rose, was only found in the leaves of the tomato plant and wild cultivars, has been bred using traditional plant breeding techniques into this tomato. Anthocyanins contain healthy antioxidants with disease fighting compounds that could help fight cancer, reduce inflammation, and slow the aging process. In 2011 Jim Myers, a plant breeder from Oregon State University, introduced Indigo Rose to the world after 10 years of breeding in the field, selecting for the traits. This work was done by crossing the two wild cultivars from Chile and the Galapagos respectively of wild tomatoes Solanum chilense and Solanum cheesmaniae with the cultivated tomato. Myers said. “We made selections in the field and choose tomatoes with the most intense expression, were more resistant to decay and verticillium wilt and will last longer in the field than normal tomato fruit. We found it.” A determinate variety with large cherry tomato sized fruit. A nice flavour, and fruit that stay ripe for a long period. The fruit interestingly turn purple from sun exposure long before they are ripe to eat, so to harvest please wait until the pinkish hue develops at their tip and they are soft to the touch.

Sow in August into trays in a glasshouse. Keep soil temp at 18-20°C for ideal germination. Prick out when true leaves appear to 4cm diagonal spacing. Pot on to small pots to further develop roots. Transplant after last frost to 40cm diagonal spacing into fertile ground in direct sun. Stake and de-lateral as needed.

15 seeds.