Black Strawberry Tomato

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Setec Astronomy
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Black Strawberry Tomato

#1

Post: # 63427Unread post Setec Astronomy
Tue Feb 15, 2022 5:52 pm

I came across this variety at Baker Creek Seeds, and of course it sounds wonderful in the description...found a lot of conflicting info while looking for reviews online. Anyone grow this one? The coloration looks a lot like Brad's Atomic Grape although this has a red interior.

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brownrexx
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#2

Post: # 63433Unread post brownrexx
Tue Feb 15, 2022 6:32 pm

I just received seeds for this from a friend so I will be growing it this year.

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guruofgardens
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#3

Post: # 63496Unread post guruofgardens
Wed Feb 16, 2022 9:25 am

@brownrexx I was gifted these same seeds, too. I don't usually grow cherry tomatoes, but will grow one plant and then gift others with the 'leftover' plants.

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Gthegardener
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#4

Post: # 63500Unread post Gthegardener
Wed Feb 16, 2022 10:04 am

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I grew black strawberry last year. Here is my review: it’s a very vigorous and productive plant with mild disease resistance, it produced large golf ball sized tomatoes that were absolutely gorgeous (green, pink, gold, red, black stripes depending on the tomato), the tomatoes themselves had a good but mild and juicy flavor. I would probably grow them again in more ideal conditions in the future to try for better flavor since they had such potential to be a winner!
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Gthegardener
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#5

Post: # 63524Unread post Gthegardener
Wed Feb 16, 2022 1:34 pm

625B11B3-50AC-433B-B563-1864E52AEBB7.jpeg
In this photo they are the first plant on the arch on the left hand side.
E28AFF26-5B29-462E-8846-395E16A2A8BF.jpeg
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brownrexx
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#6

Post: # 63537Unread post brownrexx
Wed Feb 16, 2022 3:50 pm

Great photos @Gthegardener . They look so pretty and it makes me look forward to growing them.

@guruofgardens they seem to be a big bigger than cherry tomatoes. The catalog description says 2 oz.

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Gthegardener
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#7

Post: # 63554Unread post Gthegardener
Wed Feb 16, 2022 5:57 pm

@brownrexx @guruofgardens I would estimate them at 2-4oz really a large cherry. They were similar weight to lucky tiger or blush.
“Life begins the day you start a garden” - Chinese proverb

Setec Astronomy
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#8

Post: # 63588Unread post Setec Astronomy
Thu Feb 17, 2022 5:52 am

Hmmm...Gthegardener, thanks for your insight on the Black Strawberry...I have plenty of cool-looking tomatoes, you sound less enthusiastic on the taste...I grow a lot of Artisan cherries which you sound familiar with, how does the Black Strawberry compare taste-wise?

I'm actually more interested in your pruning methods. It looks like you've got everything double-leader, check--but it looks like you have cut off any leaf branches as high as there is set fruit. I always thought you were supposed to cut off the leaf branches after the fruit was gone...so there would be leaf branches anywhere there was unripe fruit. I haven't finished my coffee so maybe I'm not being clear, but you have a lot less leaves than I would. That may also be what allows you to have your plants so close together, great-looking setup.

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Gthegardener
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#9

Post: # 63614Unread post Gthegardener
Thu Feb 17, 2022 3:06 pm

@Setec Astronomy
I do love artisan! Lucky tiger will always be my favorite GWR striped cherry, but I love the bumblebee series and maglia Rosa, which is a yearly must grow for me!!
As far as my pruning methods I did grow one and two stemmed last year. These pictures were from August and I had pretty severe blight which is why I had to aggressively prune all my tomato plants. They were basically topiaries! Thank you for your kind comments about my new set up! It was new to me last year and did really well! Not for hot climates though, since the wire gets hot when it’s over 90 degrees and can burn the tomatoes.
“Life begins the day you start a garden” - Chinese proverb

Setec Astronomy
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#10

Post: # 63633Unread post Setec Astronomy
Thu Feb 17, 2022 5:34 pm

So how does the Black Strawberry compare in taste to some of your favorite Artisan tomatoes?

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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#11

Post: # 69740Unread post Setec Astronomy
Sun May 15, 2022 10:14 am

Just a quick update on this--I did decide to grow it, it was perhaps my strongest seedling and has already set fruit. Was planted out a little less than 2 weeks ago:
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#12

Post: # 69745Unread post pepperhead212
Sun May 15, 2022 11:47 am

That is one artisan I haven't grown, though I've grown almost all the rest. Looks like Bumblebee, though maybe a little larger. I have Sunrise growing this year - the only artisan variety.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

Setec Astronomy
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#13

Post: # 69747Unread post Setec Astronomy
Sun May 15, 2022 12:14 pm

Black Strawberry is not an Artisan tomato--as I noted in the original post, I got it from Baker Creek Seeds. That's a(n Artisan) Benevento behind it, however.

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LindaJean
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#14

Post: # 69951Unread post LindaJean
Wed May 18, 2022 12:43 pm

The Baker Creek photo looked stunning but there were no reviews yet so i waited to see about the taste. End of summer we should get a good cross sampling of what people think.

Setec Astronomy
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#15

Post: # 74557Unread post Setec Astronomy
Sat Jul 23, 2022 6:22 pm

Well, so far the early fruit on my plant tastes terrible. I'm not getting the deep purple or "black" coloration, even though I've tried keeping them on the plant longer. They're sour; perhaps the ones further up on the plant will taste better.


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NarnianGarden
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#16

Post: # 74781Unread post NarnianGarden
Wed Jul 27, 2022 9:13 am

Wow, it looks gorgeous... but I already got seeds for several striped varieties. whose taste was not consistent.

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brownrexx
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#17

Post: # 74797Unread post brownrexx
Wed Jul 27, 2022 11:57 am

@Setec Astronomy Wow, that's strange. Mine are mostly black with green at the bottom which is starting to turn dark pink. I have only had a couple of ripe ones so far so no opinion yet. I will take a pic for you later.

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brownrexx
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#18

Post: # 74821Unread post brownrexx
Wed Jul 27, 2022 2:29 pm

I just snapped a couple of photos. As you can see mine are fairly black at the tops. I have only picked a couple so far so can't really comment on the taste. I did see 2 or 3 that were all pink like yours but most have the dark tops.

ImageStrawberry by Brownrexx, on Flickr

ImageStrawberry Cherry by Brownrexx, on Flickr

Old chef
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#19

Post: # 74843Unread post Old chef
Wed Jul 27, 2022 10:39 pm

This was the first plant to show disease in my garden. Plant are 40”apart Haven’t tasted yet
FYI. I grow 75 plants
Old chef

Setec Astronomy
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Re: Black Strawberry Tomato

#20

Post: # 92887Unread post Setec Astronomy
Fri Mar 24, 2023 5:57 pm

Just wanted to follow up on this--my Black Strawberry was very prolific, but the taste was terrible (to me). Not growing it again.

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