Senga's Blog
Eco-chic Outdoor Living & Exterior Design
January 6/2010 – The Planning Stage The Heritage Tomato: ‘Black Russian'
Always one for the unique and unusual – especially when it comes to designing garden spaces and accents it came as no surprise to me that during my research of Heirloom Tomatoes I would be adding to my edible green roof the very popular ‘Purple Russian’. The stylish name plus the inference that it is a black coloured variety of tomato has me intrigued.
In the Black - Whats in a Name?
Black tomatoes, like so called black flowers are not actually black. When we use the term "Black Tomato", the color we are actually referring to ranges from a dusky red color to brown to a kind of smoky mahogany color. Though very, very dark specimens that are near black are always strived for, you can expect to see a wide range of colors, including smoky reds, browns, mahoganies, greenish-purples.
The color is also influenced to varying degrees by individual climate, as well as your type of soil. In our experience, a slightly more acidic soil than normal is beneficial and as well, most varieties tend to get darker in color with an increase in the temperature. In our Vancouver weather who knows what I will get in the end but we shall see.
Heirloom Tomato ' Purple Russian' Infomation You Need to Know
Botanical name: Lycopersicon esculentum 'Purple Russian'
Country of Origin: Ukraine
Description: Fleshy purple/black medium sized fruits, seldom splits and less suspeptible to diseases
Time to Sow Seeds: Early Spring - February 15 indoors (6 weeks before last spring frost)
Where to Grow: Start indoors and transplant to prepared bed with well rotted compost/manure in full sun. Space 30 cm apart and trellis. In case of late frost protect plants under cloches which can be made from old clear plastic pop bottles.
Maturity: 100 Days
Tip: Keep well watered to avoid splitting. Lightly mulch root zone and protect from slugs/snails.
Taste: Sweetness scale 4 (0 sharp – 5 sweet/rich), Acidity scale 3 (0 low – 5 high)
Uses: Sliced fresh, Salads, side dishes - refer to my blogs this summer when my husband chef will cook up a and epicurean and optical feast.
Place in Square Foot Garden: In the vertical vegetable section of the square foot garden on my edible green roof. As these edibles are slow growing, faster maturing crops such as can be inter planted with such things as leaf lettuce, radishes and onions. The latter being harvested by the time the plants grow into that space. By month’s end I will have this nicely slotted into a master plan of the vegetable garden and post it on my blog.
More information on heritage tomatoes: http://www.heirloomtomatoes.bizland.com/
