I'm new to growing tomatoes and I'm curious about whether Cherokee Purple tomatoes do poorly in high temperatures. I live in North Georgia where it doesn't usually get too hot (though this year has been an exception). Now that the weather has cooled down, my tomatoes have been thriving with a surge of new growth! Meanwhile, my heirloom beefsteaks have been growing even faster and producing tons of fruit despite the blistering heat over 90°F earlier. What's the consensus on Cherokee Purples and heat?
3 Answers
I'm in the high desert southwest, and this year was my first attempt at growing Cherokee Purples. They took a while to flower and fruit compared to my other types like Yellow Pear and Romas. It felt like they were about a month and a half behind in production. I think they're just naturally slow in growing, regardless of the heat.
Here in Atlanta, I planted Cherokee Purples this year, but they didn't seem to grow as quickly or produce well for me. I think I might skip them next year—they're just not as prolific compared to my beefsteaks which always give me a great harvest. Seems like those are the winners for my garden!
Most tomatoes aren't fans of temperatures rising above 94°F. The heat can make their pollen sticky, which means that while any fruit that's already on the plant might still ripen, new fruit won't really develop until things cool down a bit. I've noticed the same in my garden—once the temperatures dropped, both my plants started looking much healthier and the new fruits seemed to be coming in much better!
Same here! Once the heat wave passed, my plants finally started to perk up and the fruit looks way healthier.