Growing Indigo Rose Tomatoes

You've probably seen purple or black tomatoes before. They're usually neither purple nor black. If you're lucky, they are quite dark, with a purplish-brown hue. If not, they're just plain brown. Indigo Rose tomatoes are different!

Aren't those cool tomatoes?

Indigo Rose tomatoes contain anthocyanins, the same beneficial pigments found in blueberries. The Indigo Rose tomato is the first garden tomato to contain these healthy and striking pigments in its fruit. It's the result of decades of breeding between wild tomatoes, some of which naturally contain anthocyanins, and food crop tomatoes. Unlike other lines of anthocyanin-rich tomatoes, the Indigo Rose also produces high levels of anthocyanins in its foliage, tinting the leaves and even the stems of the plant a dusky, glittering purple.

It's great that these tomatoes are packed with healthy goodness, but in all honesty what drew me to them was the cool color. I'm a sucker for a shiny, eye-catching vegetable. The Indigo Rose tomato delivered! Despite my remarkably poor treatment of this year's garden, my little tomato plant is covered in shiny, almost-black purple tomatoes. Even the foliage has a purple tint to it, and both leaves and fruit have a glittery sheen that's really striking when the sun hits them.

All photographs taken by the author.

The Indigo Rose Tomato FAQ

The question I hear most frequently about these tomatoes is, "How do you know when they're ripe?"

The normal color cues are largely absent, as the fruit assumes its purple hue while still very small. The pigments that make this tomato so special are concentrated in the skin as a sort of botanical sunblock. Any part of the tomato that is shaded by leaves will remain green, and will turn red when the tomato is ripe.

The bottom of this ripe tomato got less sun than the rest, and shows a hint of red.

Where Did this Cool Tomato Come From?

The tomato breeding project that produced the beautiful, purple-black Indigo Rose tomato began in the 1960s, when two tomato breeders began crossing edible tomatoes with some of the wild strains that contain anthocyanins. The resulting strains of tomatoes were then interbred by researchers at Oregon State University until the lines were stable and produced tasty fruit with high levels of anthocyanins.

The larger tomato in this picture is almost ripe. See how it's lost most of its glittery sheen?

One Puny Plant

That's right. I'm growing Indigo Rose Tomatoes for the first time this year, and all I've got is one plant that fails in a downright embarrassing fashion to live up to the expectations of its towering tomato cage. So why am I so excited about them?

This poor Indigo Rose tomato plant took a lot of abuse.

A Full Confession

The details of the abuse this plant suffered are as follows. First, I bought it as a poor, shrivelled seedling, which I almost never do. I'd heard about this tomato, though, and was eager to try it, and it was too late to start one from seed. I brought it home, set it out in back of my house, and forgot about it for about a week and a half.

Fruit looks almost metallically shiny.

The plucky little thing put forth new, green growth, so I stuck it in a pot in front of my house. It started to thrive. Then, in early July, my dog, Inigo, developed a mast cell tumor in a very undignified place. Life that month was one prolonged assault on his rear, my wallet, and both of our good cheer. Once more, the Indigo Rose tomato was left unloved and largely unwatered.

About two weeks ago, I noticed that the tomatoes on it were looking pretty great, all things considered, and took a moment to appreciate how hard the plant was trying. I resumed regular watering, and the tomatoes are looking cooler every day. I've only tried one, and it wasn't ripe yet. I knew it wouldn't be, I just had to try.

So, you see, this little plant has been thoroughly stress tested, and passed with flying colors. Unless the fruit turns out to taste bad, which my one unripe taste indicates is unlikely, this plant scores five stars and a larger scale, better cared for place in next year's garden. Updates to follow!

Update October, 2012: They're tasty!

Indigo Rose tomatoes are a stable heirloom line, not a hybrid, so I'll save some seeds from this year's plant. Since I'm dead set on growing more of these gems next year, I'll probably order some seed, too, just in case my saved seeds don't germinate. Much as I love to save seeds, sometimes I'm a bit of a slob about it, and seeds packaged before being thoroughly dried just turn into a dead mess long before planting season arrives.

The Right Way. Not the Way I Did It.

The short answer is: You grow Indigo Rose tomatoes just like any other tomato. They like full sun, regular, deep watering, and lots of room. If you're using containers, you'll want to give an Indigo Rose tomato plant at least a 15 gallon container so it has plenty of room for a healthy root system. I like smart pots or homemade containers lined with coconut fiber or landscape cloth, and have had much better results in them than in plastic or terra cotta pots, but the most important thing is just to give the plant's roots plenty of room to grow. Use a good, rich soil mixed with plenty of compost.

This tiny tomato already shows dusky purple where exposed to the sun.

For a relatively new variety, the Indigo Rose tomato already has quite a following. Here's what gardeners and agriculturalists around the web are saying about this striking and tasty tomato.

Will you be trying Indigo Rose tomatoes in your own garden? Have you already grown some? If so, did you take better care of yours than I did of mine? Perhaps you've grown another purple or black tomato you loved? I'd love to hear your thoughts! I've only grown them once, though I'm looking forward to round two this year. That being said, please feel free to post any questions you have. I'll do my best to answer, or to point you to someone who can.