Plant Care Library

Group/Class:  Slicer-Indeterminate

Description:

A lovely slicer variety to add to patio containers and sunny gardens; vigorous indeterminate vines produce high yields of stunning orange tomatoes with true purple blush at the shoulders; mild sweet flavor, perfect for snacking, salads and salsas

Edible Qualities

Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge Tomato is an annual vegetable plant that is typically grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. It produces orange round tomatoes (which are technically 'berries') with a purple blush and orange flesh which are usually ready for picking from mid summer to early fall. This is an indeterminate variety, which means it produces fruit throughout the growing season. The tomatoes have a delicious taste and a juicy texture.

The tomatoes are most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Eating When Cooked/Prepared
• Cooking
• Baking
• Canning

Planting & Growing

Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge Tomato will grow to be about 7 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. When planted in rows, individual plants should be spaced approximately 24 inches apart. Because of its vigorous growth habit, it may require staking or supplemental support. This fast-growing vegetable plant is an annual, which means that it will grow for one season in your garden and then die after producing a crop.

This plant can be integrated into a landscape or flower garden by creative gardeners, but is usually grown in a designated vegetable garden. It should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in rich soils. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone over the growing season to conserve soil moisture. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Orange Fleshed Purple Smudge Tomato is a good choice for the vegetable garden, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.