Cherokee Purple, Cherokee Green and Cherokee Chocolate - favorites for decades

Moving on through the 2025 tomato efforts, it’s time to cover the tried and true - for many years, or for a few. These are the workhorse varieties, the ones we avidly look forward to slicing and eating. It was a great year for tomato flavors - we miss them already!

Cherokee Purple (top left), Cherokee Green (right), Cherokee Chocolate (bottom) showing the interiors

Let’s start with old favorites, heirlooms, stable newer OPs - but not results of my breeding projects.

Cherokee Purple - After last year’s blossom end rot disaster, things returned to normal this season and Cherokee Purple was totally up to par. It did have septoria disease issues and didn’t provide as high a yield as we would have liked. The pictures above show exactly what Cherokee Purple should do. I used seed vial T24-20, which was saved from plants grown at the Veterans Healing Farm last year. T24-20 came from T22-3, which was from T16-104, which was from T02-3, which was from T91-27, which was from the JD Green seeds #287. The fruit grown this year was 6 grow outs removed from receiving the seeds. Oh yes - the flavor was superb.

Cherokee Chocolate - Last year it grew red (which led to the Bee project); this year it was exactly as it was supposed to be. I used seed T24-21, saved from plants at the Veterans Healing Farm. T24-21 came from T22-2, which was from T16-119, which was from T11-13, which was from T96-3, which was from T95-47 - the plant that showed the mutation of skin color from Cherokee Purple. The fruit grown this year was 6 grow outs from discovering the variety. This is just one super delicious tomato.

Cherokee Green - I love this variety. I grew the highly productive plant from T23-22, which connects back through several seasons to seed from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in 2015. This tomato is gorgeous, and yummy, along with a tomato machine.

Captain Lucky - This tomato zoomed to the top of my list for flavor very recently. Grown from seed saved in 2024, it didn’t disappoint. Yield was fine, flavor was spectacular.

Brandywine - It was a very good, not great year for Brandywine yield-wise (grown from seed saved in 2024), but was certainly among the best flavored tomatoes in my garden. This is simply a very special tomato.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom - It was late, but it was great! This may have been the best year yield-wise for this tomato since we moved to Hendersonville. Flavor was superb. I grew it from seed saved in 2019, our last garden in Raleigh.

Lucky Cross - 2025 was a struggle for Lucky Cross, sadly. Bedeviled by an unruly plant, blossom end rot, and low fruit set, the few tomatoes I got from the plant were great. Alas, there was just not enough of them. I grew the plant from seed saved in 2024. The fruit were large, oblate, yellow with red swirls, as expected. I didn’t get a good picture of it.

Sun Gold - 2025 was certainly better than 2024 for my favorite cherry tomato. You can see pictures of it in the prior blog (next to tomatoes from the Captain project). It did battle septoria leaf spot, but produced well enough before it went down. It shared a straw bale with Rosella Cherry.

Rosella Cherry - My friend Justin implored me to try this productive, purple cherry tomato and sent me seeds. He was correct - this is a fine cherry tomato, perhaps my second favorite after Sun Gold. You can find pictures in the previous blog next to Captain project tomatoes.

OTV Brandywine - I finally returned to this tomato that I really enjoy, but don’t grow often enough. It is really my favorite red heirloom, after Nepal, with superior flavor to Andrew Rahart and Aker’s WV. I grew it from seed saved in 2018. It is a potato leaf variety with large smooth scarlet tomatoes, named by Carolyn Male for our defunct newsletter. It went down earlier than I would have liked to what looked like pith necrosis.

Potato Leaf Yellow - This wonderful tomato is now available from Victory Seeds. It is a pale orange, not yellow, but prolific and delicious. The plant for the 2025 garden was from seeds saved in 2024.

Dester - Though not a great year for this favorite variety, it was the best since my Raleigh driveway gardens. I grew it from seed saved in 2023. The large oblate pink fruit have everything one would want in tomato flavor. I received seed from the Seed Savers Exchange in 2013, after attending the tomato tasting in which this was clearly the best tomato there.

Tomato volunteers in my driveway - Mexico Midget, Egg Yolk and Coyote

Mexico Midget - There is no surprise here - the tiny scarlet fruit were plentiful and delicious. It is actually still growing in my garden, in a 5 gallon container, doing successful battle with septoria all year long.

Surprise - This was my biggest challenge to grow, as seed lot T16-113 germinated very poorly. I grew it to get fresh seed, as well as to simply observe its weirdness. I didn’t get a picture, unfortunately. The plant has the same yellow leaf characteristic as Honor Bright, and the tomatoes go through the same type of color transformation- pale green to snow white to orange to red. It is a good sized tomato - approaching 8 ounces - and has good flavor. I would love some of you to give it a try.

Brandywine left, Mullens Mortgage Lifter right

Mullens Mortgage Lifter - My T22-58 seed was of poor quality, but one seedling did eventually emerge. I also got a few seeds from my friend Adam. I grew one plant here, and one in my daughter’s garden. The very large oblate, ribbed pink fruit were characteristic as can be seen in the pics. The flavor was very good, with more sweetness than I enjoy, but was very typical for Mortgage Lifter. I believe this to be the Estler strain and was shared with me by Charlotte Mullens of WV back in 1990.

Brandywine left, Mullens Mortgage Lifter, right, sliced

Nepal - Grown from seed lot T24-18, this was grown in my daughter’s garden. The round, 8 ounce, smooth scarlet tomatoes were delicious.

Halladay’s Mortgage Lifter - Grown from seed T22-57 in Caitlin’s garden, it performed as expected - large pink tomatoes that are similar to the Mullens strain. This is likely the M. C Byles (Radiator Charlie) version.

Earl - grown in Caitlin’s garden from seed T24-12, Earl was typically productive and delicious. The potato leaf plant produced medium to large pink tomatoes.

Dwarf Sweet Sue - This has shown some variability with respect to seed source. The plant in my garden is from seed T23-72, from the Veterans Healing Farm greenhouse, which looked just right. The medium sized bright yellow tomatoes were delicious. The pink blossom end blush didn’t show as much, as I took the tomatoes from the plant prior to full ripeness.

Rosella Purple - It’s been some years since I grew this favorite dwarf. It didn’t disappoint. The tomatoes were not as large as I’ve experienced in past gardens, but the yield and flavor were just fine. I planted seed lot T23-107, which was grown in the greenhouse at the Veterans Healing Farm.

Moving on, we now get to newly created/named varieties that will be or should soon be released - consider them tomorrow’s heirlooms

Lucky Bling - I love this tomato! The starting point was my cross between Blue’s Bling (essentially a variegated leaf version of Cherokee Purple) with Little Lucky, made in 2021. I grew out 2 plants in 2002 and hit the jackpot with both. Lucky Bling was selected for potato leaf variegated leaves. The tomatoes that resulted were yellow with red swirls and even some lingering green - a tricolor - with superb flavor and great production. That is exactly what I got this year from the plant from seed T24-31. This has quickly become one of my favorite tomatoes. I will confirm that Victory has seeds so that they can release it soon.

Polish Bling - I hit the jackpot again with my 2021 cross between Blue’s Bling and Polish. My single plant grown in the F2, selected for potato leaf variegated foliage, was a winner with its large tasty purple fruit. This year my plant was from seed T22-17. Behind Triply F1, Polish Bling was the most productive plant in the garden, with medium large, smooth, nearly round purple tomatoes with outstanding flavor. This is also a priority for Victory Seeds for a release by them soon.

Mary’s Favorite - This lovely large bright yellow variety was discovered as a regular leaf selection from seeds saved from my cross between Cherokee Purple and Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom, by Mary Revelle. She suggested the name, as it was a new favorite for her. The variety struggled a bit with blossom end rot, but the tomatoes were as hoped - good sized, lovely color, and wonderful flavor. This is another destined for Victory Seeds.

Rufus Rainbow - This variety gives Lucky Bling a run for its money. The year it was selected it was very good, but this year it was truly outstanding. Along with Polish Bling, it was just behind Triply F1 for yield champion for my 2025 garden. This is a sister tomato to Lucky Bling; it originated from the same cross (Blue’s Bling X Little Lucky); in this case, the variegated foliage is regular leaf and there is a bit less red coloring in the flesh. The flavor was outstanding. The plant I grew this year was from seed 8068, shared with me by tomato friend Reece Kim. This is yet another destined for Victory Seeds in hopes of a release within the next few years.

Don’s Delightful Heart - I’ve really experienced a lot of luck in the varieties I’ve chosen to cross, and the selections I’ve made when growing out seeds. This variety originated when I crossed Don’s Double Delight with Cancelmo Family Heirloom in 2021. The hybrid itself was not great in terms of texture or flavor. I had a feeling something good was hiding in the genetic material, and this potato leaf selection turned out to be a star. The plentiful tomatoes are medium sized, heart shaped, and pink with gold stripes. The flavor is delicious - in line with the excellence of the two parents. Yet again, this will be sent to Victory for near term release. My 2025 plant was from seed T23-28.

Sullivan Rose - My cross between Cherokee Purple and Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom made in 2021 gave one of the best flavored tomatoes of my experience. F2 generation selections from saved seed have proven to be a real treasure chest. Much work needs to be done on one of my favorite selections, Lillian Rose, which has proven to be stubborn to stabilize. Tomato friend Mike Stigler selected this gem, a lovely potato leaf pink (reminiscent of the hybrid in quality), and named it Sullivan Rose. You guessed it - this will go to Victory so that it can get in line for a future release.

Rufus Red Stripe - This tomato appeared in a grow-out of Dwarf Hannah’s Prize in 2023. Rather than medium sized scarlet tomatoes, the plant I grew produced scarlet tomatoes with gold stripes - attractive and delicious. Seed T23-93 produced plants grown in my garden, as well as Caitlin’s. The stripes showed up and a new tomato, which I named Rufus Red Stripe, joins the Dwarf Tomato Project list of successes. It is on its way to Victory in hopes for future release.

Finally, are the odds and ends growing my garden - unstabilized or new crosses, varieties grown to do breeding work - things that don’t fit into any specific category.

Cherokee Purple X Potato Leaf Yellow F1, ugly multilobe fruit

Cherokee Purple X Potato Leaf Yellow F1 - my friend Alex decided to make this cross so that we could search for indeterminate tomatoes of the color of Uluru Ochre. It was a tomato machine in my garden, with medium to huge and ugly pink tomatoes with a delicious, full flavor. I saved lots of seeds - next year the fun will begin.

Cherokee Sunburst - Alex crossed Cherokee Green with Earl (two wonderfully flavored varieties) a few years ago. One of his selections was a potato leaf, large yellow/red bicolor tomato with delicious flavor that he named Cherokee Sunburst. He shared seeds with me. What I got was potato leaf, prolific, but bright yellow with very little red swirling. The flavor had an unusual tart, nearly piney note that caught my attention. It clearly needs a bit more selection work, which will be up to Alex.

Honor Bright - Some varieties in my 2025 garden were grown for use as pollen for new crosses. Honor Bright is a very odd historic variety from the Livingston Seed Company in the late 1800s. The flowers are nearly white, the foliage goes from green to yellow, and the medium to medium small tomatoes go from pale green to white, then to orange and finally red. I saved seeds, and ended up using the pollen in a few cross attempts. I didn’t get a good photo of the plant or fruit and didn’t taste it either.

Blazey selection - Similar to Honor Bright, which is a parent of the Blazey family (crossed with Dwarf Blazing Beauty), I grew this dwarf potato leaf selection for its green changing to yellow foliage. I ended up not using it in crosses. The tomatoes were medium sized and went through the pale green to white to orange to red color changes. I didn’t take pics or taste.

Cherokee Green X Caitlin’s Lucky Stripe, from potato leaf plant at home

Cherokee Green X Caitlin Lucky Stripe F4, two selections - I made 8 crosses in 2021. This one didn’t get the attention that some of the others did. (Ferris Wheel X Striped Sweetheart is the cross with the least attention so far). A few years ago I got a really good result with the ChG X CLS F2 selection. The potato leaf plant produced delicious green fleshed tomatoes that were green skinned with light striping. I planted seed T23-26 and grew two plants - one in each garden. The plant at Caitlin’s house gave round, medium sized green fleshed tomatoes that ripened with a yellow skin. The one at my house was the real winner - 4 ounce oblate distinctly patterned striped light and dark green tomatoes with a nice, balanced flavor. It is worth refining and pursuing with a possible future release. I should start to ponder a name for it.

Cherokee Green X Caitlin’s Lucky Stripe, potato leaf, from plant at Caitlin’s House

Carrot Like - I grew this odd ball variety for its pollen for crosses only. The determinate plant has fine, nearly carrot like leaves. Productivity is high - small to medium scarlet tomatoes of no great flavor. It also got diseased quite early in the season - something not at all new for this variety in my experience.

Agatha - This was probably the most fun mini project in my garden. In late winter, I was reading a Hendersonville library acquired Agatha Christie book called “Peril at End House” to Sue. On 2 pages of the book were dried tomato seeds. I scraped them off the page and kept them until spring, when I would see if they would germinate. Both seeds did germinate, much to my delight. I grew one plant in my garden. My friend Elijah took the other, but it was a rough season for him, so the plant in my garden is the only specimen. I expected it to be a cherry tomato. Imagine my surprise when the lovely smooth medium large globes started to ripen. The plant was productive, and lots of seeds were saved. The flavor was very good. I named the tomato Agatha’s Mystery and hope to share seeds for others to test. If I were to guess which variety this is, possibilities are Rutgers, Marglobe, Break O’Day, or offspring of Big Boy or Better Boy. Gardening is even more fun when one gets to have adventures like this - pure serendipity!

Fuzzy Pink Fruit - This begins three varieties grown just for pollen donating or receiving. Grown from T21-96, this proved to be a productive determinate, very fuzzy plant with small to medium pink tomatoes. I didn’t take a pic of the fruit.

Fuzzy Purple Fruit - Grown from T21-95, this very fuzzy plant produced medium purple tomatoes. No pics were taken.

Dwarf Mocha’s Plum - Grown from #7572 (from Bill Minkey), this dwarf produced lots of 3 ounce long paste shape purple tomatoes with a dark blue black shoulder (an antho variety). I didn’t take pictures.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom regular leaf, cross, blossom end

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom regular leaf selection - I will end with a real head scratcher. The plant that produced this unexpected, but excellent green when ripe tomato is 8054 - which came from T23-10 - a regular leaf seedling from saved Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom. I grew one plant of the regular leaf from T23-10 last year, and it produced a very unusual oblate, medium sized yellow tomato with some solid patches of red on the skin. I can’t really confirm what is happening here. It is going to take growing out of seeds saved from this green tomato to see if this is stable. If it is, it is worth pursuing - the clear skinned green fleshed fruit are delicious, and the plant was very productive (grown in Caitlin’s garden).

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom, regular leaf off type, sliced

Pale Perfect Purple - I grew this years ago, from a plant mailed to me by Carolyn Male - it is a variety created by Tad Smith. My own saved seeds were too old to germinate. A tomato friend named Christy got seeds from Dale Thurber and shared a few with me. Germination was very slow - I grew a plant in Caitlin’s garden, and my friend Adam grew one as well. The variety did not come true to type - the small to medium round tomatoes were pink instead of purple.

Here ends my 2025 Tomato Update Part 2. Part 3 will soon follow, and focus on family heirlooms recently sent to me but yet to be grown out, as well as other odds and ends, and my 2025 attempted crosses.