This video is my review of the world’s first purple tomato inside and out, simply called The Purple Tomato. This is a GMO tomato cultivar bred by Norfolk by taking genes from a purple snapdragon flower, and inserting them into a tomato. This video is my experience growing this tomato, including how I grew it from seed, how it compres with regular heirloom tomatoes, and finally what it tastes like.
I got The Purple tomato seeds from Norfolk Healthy Produce: https://www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com
I’m not sponsored by them or anything. I purchased this seed with my own money. This video is my honest review of The Purple Tomato.
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🍅Black Beauty heirloom tomato seeds:
How to sow tomato seeds tutorial: https://youtu.be/imIFbCSuvBU
How to transplant tomato plants into the garden tutorial: https://youtu.be/v0Di0vXnv9Y
How to fertilize tomato plants for maximum production tutorial: https://youtu.be/PHaXNGErTJ0
🌿Basic Seed Starting mix: https://amzn.to/3z7lTrv
🍀But this is the professional seed starting mix I use – ProMix: https://amzn.to/4eGKOmb
🍅Espoma Tomato Tone Organic Granular Fertilizer (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3uKKL6I
🌸Element Nutrients Flower Fuel Bloom Booster (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3ydUqE5
🌿Fox Farms Grow Big liquid fertilizer (Amazon):
🌱4 inch sized pots for sowing seeds (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3XqvIL5
💡My favorite grow lights – Mars Hydro 3×3 Grow Lights (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3vNTi94
🌱10 gallon size grow bags (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3z5bT1U
♨️Heat mats that I use when sowing tomato seeds: https://amzn.to/3t0NO9N
Other amendments I put into the planting hole when I transplant tomatoes:
🦀Crab Meal (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3uYqZok
🌿Azomite Rock Dust (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3wEta0J
🍀Dynomycho Mycorrhizal Inoculant (Amazon): https://amzn.to/3Kye00M
💮Organza 5×7 size bags (Amazon): https://amzn.to/4cr1LPn
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hey there Gardener I’m so excited because today I’m harvesting my very first tomatoes from the highly controversial world’s first all purple tomato inside and out Simply called the purple tomato I’m going to bring you along every step of the way from sewing the seeds to planting and now harvesting with a taste test and review of this unique and one-of-a-kind purple tomato if you’re new here hello and welcome my name is Jara I’ve been gardening all of my life and I’m a professional seed and plant nursery I love to share my knowledge and teach others how to garden and grow food so you’ve come to the right place if you want to improve your gardening skills I’m going to start with showing you how I grew my purple tomatoes from seed my thoughts and how it compares to regular Tomatoes then we will harvest and taste them lastly I want to end this video with a discussion on genetically modified seed or GMO and why I decided to grow this because personally like a lot of other gardeners I’m very anti-gmo I welcome you to share your opinion and provide other research-based information as I learn a lot from your comments and so do a lot of my viewers so please let’s exchange information not fight or debate about it please pleas respect everyone’s opinions I honor your opinion on the matter even if we don’t agree so this is the plant that has caused such a stir within the gardening Community you may have heard about this tomato as its release in the fall of 2023 made headlines and caused much debate in the world of gardening this is the world’s first tomato that has purple skin and purple interior flesh it is an indeterminate cherry sized tomato up until now the darkest most purple tomato was an arlam cultivar named Black Beauty which I also grow in my garden Black Beauty has a very dark almost black colored skin due to high amounts of anthro syins which is an antioxidant however when you slice into it the flesh is a dark reddish color it is not purple throughout the purple tomato was bred by the Norfolk healthy produce company they are a team of scientists that breed various edible crops to have higher nutritional content they bioengineered this tomato by taking jeans from a purple Snapdragon flower and inserted them into a tomato this caused a tomato to have purple coloration inside and out this kind of genetic manipulation means that the purple tomato is genetically modified this is not the same as an heirloom or hybrid seed these are completely different things I will have to make a video discussing the differences so more to come up until now GMO seed was highly regulated and only available to large- scale commercial Farms think commercial corn and soybean Farms regular people like you and me could not simply buy these seeds so no worries you’re not going to accidentally buy GMO seed from a nursery or online Seed Catalog and nothing that I sell on my website is GMO just saying I sewed the seeds in Solo cups about 8 weeks before my last spring Frost I put the Solo cups over heat mats to speed up germination they germinated in about 5 days as soon as they germinated I put them under grow lights I really like these Mars Hydro 3×3 grow lights they help my tomato ceilings grow very quickly once the first set of true leaves grow I start fertilizing with Fox Farm’s grow big liquid fertilizer in 8 weeks my purple tomato seedling look like this and it’s time to plant if you want more detailed step-by-step instructions on how I sew seeds for all of my tomatoes check out my how to sew tomato seeds tutorial which I will link below I planted the purple purple tomato in a spot that gets full sun as in 8 hours or more per day in a 10 gallon size grow bag that I filled with just compost I added espoma tomato Tone fertilizer azomite Rock Dust crab meal and Dino micro risol inoculate into the planting hole these are the products I like to use when transplanting tomato plants I have a YouTube video tutorial that provides more details on how I transplant tomatoes and why I use these products which I will also link below in the description once I’ve SE New Growth I start fertilizing with a/ four cup of this bomma brand tomato tone I repeat this every 2 weeks until I see the first set of flowers forming on the plants at that point I switch to fertilizing with a high potassium and phosphorus fertilizer that supports flour and fruit production I continue to fertilize every 2 to 3 weeks alternating between espoma tomato tone and the flow booster high potassium and phosphorus fertilizer I have a tutorial that goes into details about my tomato fertilizer schedule which I will link below if you want to learn more about that so I wanted to quickly just summarize how I grew the seed and planted this in case you wanted to copy that at home so let’s talk a little bit about what I noticed in terms of growth and how this compares to Growing regular Tomatoes since this is a dark colored tomato I expected it to do pretty well here in Florida it’s really hot but typically the darker colored fruits and veggies do a lot better than the standard colors so I kind of already had an opinion or idea that this would really just take off and thrive in my garden but it really hasn’t it’s just okay the leaves are kind of on the thin side so are the stems it’s not like the most vigorous looking tomato plant compared to a lot of the heirlooms that I have growing just on the other side of this Garden as far as disease resistance it seems to be on par with everything else that I grow a lot of these leaves have light and spot already on them for that I just spray with one cup of hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water to treat all the leaf diseases I haven’t sprayed in a while so it’s looking kind of rough but it just seems in general it experiences the diseases just about the same as any other tomato I would grow as far as trellising this is a big like toost trellis right here behind me I buy rolls of 4ft wide fencing because it’s kind of hard for me to fit a cattle panel trellis in my car I can definitely fit a roll of fencing a little bit better so I just zip tied a piece of that fencing onto these toost and then as this plant grew I just kind of tucked the vines into the squares and spaces of the trellis just to keep it together since it’s a cherry tomato I don’t prune I don’t prune any of my cherry tomatoes they tend to ramble and grow wild anyways you don’t really need to stay on top of pruning like you would if it was an indeterminate or something like that I do prune off heavily disease leaves though so there are a couple here they tend to be like the bottommost leaves that are heavily diseased with just about everything you can think of but that’s totally normal and expected when you’re growing tomatoes in Florida at the time of filming this video it is the month of June which is the very end of my tomato season the heat comes through and just wipes them all out they cannot live through that so I’m not surprised that it just doesn’t look that great these Tomatoes did form pretty decent clusters though as in the entire cluster with flowers almost every single one did pollinate and fill up with tomatoes as far as color I mean these certainly are very darken color but they look more like a dark brown than a purple to me and again that could just be growing in the extreme heat of Florida right now like every single day is 95 or above already in June so I’m not sure if that’s what triggered it to be more of a brown color or it could just have been the genetics and chance of the one plant that I grew I grew only one plant this season because I got the seeds in early spring and spring isn’t like the best tomato season for me it’s actually fall through winter so I didn’t want to use up all my seeds so I just hurried up planted one this is what I got so not sure if this dark brown color is more just the genetics of this one plant or maybe the high heat and stress situation I’m definitely going to try growing it again in Fall just to see if there’s a different outcome but it definitely is very dark like I mentioned before I grow the Black Beauty tomato which gets almost black and the more that the skin of the tomato is exposed to the Sun the darker that it gets it really develops more of those anthros syins that give it that dark color so these seem to do the same thing the tomatoes start out very very light green they start turning kind of a yellow color and then they finish off like this deep dark brownish purple color this is like a large size cherry tomato in my opinion so let’s cut into it and taste it all right so after cutting into this I’m actually very surprised it looks very deep dark purple I don’t know how well you guys can see that here on the camera it’s like a violet dark purple color all right so it is really cool and it is purple inside just as promised but does it taste good let’s see wow I’m actually really surprised I’ve grown hundreds of tomatoes at this point and I have tons of videos tasting them and the commentary about them so trust me when I say something tastes really good it’s very Savory and it’s pretty sweet I’m actually kind of surprised most of the time the darker color types of veggies purple or black or something like that have more of like an earthy type of flavor not so much sweetness for example black carrots are more earthy not as sweet as like the orange carrots but this has a pretty good amount of sweetness to it if I was tasting this blind I definitely would have thought it’s just any regular kind of sweet cherry tomato so far I’m pretty impressed it looks cool it tastes good and apparently has higher nutritional value because it has higher amounts of antioxidants which gives it that purple color all right so a pretty cool tomato now I’m going to discuss what are GMOs why many of us including myself don’t like them and why I made an exception to grow this one I’ll be honest right up front I do not like nor do I want to grow GMO seeds but I made an exception with this tomato and let me explain why the issue I have with GMOs is one no no one really knows if GMOs make a negative impact on our health we simply have not been growing and consuming them long enough to really understand the effects of eating them and I do feel this way even with this purple tomato which by the way Snapdragon flowers are edible so to my logic it seems pretty safe but in all honesty who really knows if this combination of genetics is good for us it could be great it could have a very positive impact by contributing something healthy to my diet in the form of higher antioxidants or it could not it could have some bad effects no one knows for sure it is that uncertainty that makes a lot of people anti-gmo and anti- this purple tomato and I totally get it and agree the other main issue number two is that the majority of GMOs are genetically modified to be resistant to heavy industrial chemical fo pesticides and herbicides these crops like corn for example are grown on millions of acres of land that are doused in pesticides and herbicides to make it cheaper to grow these things so corn is genetically modified to not die if sprayed with these chemicals only the weeds and insects around them will die this heavily pollutes the land destroys ecosystem pollutes our waterways depletes soil fertility and the list goes on I personally do not use any herbicides or pesticides in my garden except for a few organic sprays like BT for example that’s the decision I’ve made for my garden which could differ from yours and that’s okay the other thing to note is that the purple tomato is patented and that’s a whole other controversy like why are we patenting food I believe we should all be able to grow whatever we want freely share seeds and plants without rules or regulation that’s like putting rules on the air we breathe or water we drink I understand why this company patented I mean they probably spent a lot of money trying to develop this but you know it just doesn’t sit right with me and this is not the only plant that is patented there are tons of other plants flowers Etc that are patented I’m in the nursery trade business so putting patents on Plants is not new there is a lot of plants that I just can’t propagate or sell seeds on my own if I wanted to sell that thing I would have to buy it from an authorized seller that actually pays royalties back to the company or whoever that bred the plant or seed and has the patent on it the Norfolk healthy produce company is selling the seed to the public at the time of this video one packet was $20 which is crazy and definitely the most expensive seed I have ever bought which brings to mind the whole debate of why do we have to pay so much for healthy food you can grow this in your garden and save seed to plant again and again as long as it’s for personal use you can’t sell or profit off the seed or plants like I cannot sell seeds or plants for this on my website because of the patent I will put a link in the description below to nor folk if you want to buy some seeds there are many more reasons why there is so much hate towards GMOs these are just my top reasons I decided to make an exception and grow the purple tomato because it was genetically modified with the goal of containing more nutrition instead of resisting pesticides and herbicides Etc so it caught my attention for this reason tomatoes are my favorite thing to grow so yeah I’m curious about this one I am growing this tomato in total isolation though I don’t want its genetic material as in pollen to mix with my other tomato plants so it’s growing in this grow bag at the edge of my garden I put organza baggies over the flower clusters before they open up and Bloom to make sure the pollen doesn’t spread once I see Tomatoes forming I remove the bags all right so thank you for coming along with me as I grew out this tomato and just checking out my thoughts and experience with it this was a fun experiment and I actually really like the flavor so I do think I will continue growing it until I run out of seeds more or less if you have grown this tomato before please let me know your thoughts in the comments there’s not a lot of information about it so far don’t forget to subscribe to my channel and give me a big thumbs up that helps my channel a l more then you know happy gardening and I’ll see you in the next video
33 Comments
What was the colour stability like when processed e.g. cooked, pH altered (vinegar)?
Intriguing video.
I have some Norfolk Purples growing as well. I'm pretty excited, they've been doing pretty well, better than my other tomatoes. I'm growing in North West Arkansas. One thing I've noticed is the roots are purple too! I'm growing the plants in hydroponic kratky style buckets, and straw bales because the soil sucks here. They seem to really like hydroponics, doing better than any of the other tomatoes. One thing I'm curious about is the breed that was edited to make the Norfolk Purple, it must of been an heirloom. So far mine are still unripe but I'm really excited to try them for myself.
Recently discovered your channel, and learning a lot
Hybrid plants have to be crossed pollinated by hand, usually outsourced to third world countries where child labor is the norm. All hybrid plants/seeds are a no go for me once I learned that, I don’t want to contribute to forced labor just for “better” plants.
Whelp, engineered… Lost me there lol. BUT. Thanks for your thoroughness. Bye
They are sooo beautiful on the plants , I just love them
I, too, was curious. I ordered the seeds. Planted 3. All three came up, but l lost one almost immediately to damping off. Planted the others out later than I normally do because of weather and other issues. Everything was wonderful until we had horrible hail storms. The plants are growing again but we have hit the time when daily highs are in 90s. I don't think I'll have any produce until fall. Just hoping I can keep plants alive until then. (TX zone 8a)
You've opened my mind to a potentially useful and acceptable GMO. Still on the fence about it ethically though. I would try it, maybe not grow it, but never thought about GMO options as more nutritional. It's a shame most corn and soy is GMO for disease resistance, and I believe there are many studies about how they affect our health along with livestock that consume it.
Dont think I could sacrifice $20 usd for a seed pack.
Sure almost nought them when seen on the baker creek catalog, then came all this patent drama with norfolk.
Im a home grower so i learn to settle with heirlooms.
In love with the midnight snack tomato atm.
I thought this was interesting. There are plenty of other options than a GMO tomato. I can’t find a reason to grow it. How much healthier can it be? Have you seen any statistics?
I grew purple tomatillos. Got the seed at Lowe’s or Home Depot. Are those GMO too? I really didn’t like them.
8:19 What an AMAZINGLY KOGGNIZANT, THOROUGH, FAIR & HONEST ANALYSIS!!!!
I miss these levels of genuine transparency, honesty, & commonsense in humans!!
$20 bucks is too much for me , beside they are a lot of tomatoes I havent try yet. I`ll pass.
maybe if they get to regular price I would give it a try..
I would love to know if you save the seed, try to grow from the saved seed, what the tomatoes look like and taste like.
I grow two variety side by side – SunGold and Norfolk, they both similar: vigorous and have about the same amount of fruits. I am in California zone 9b and currently it is our prime growing tomato season. If they taste good I plan to save seeds. But I agree that these were the most expensive seed I bought and I only had 8 seeds in the package
With the pest bags, your stake looks like a giant purple snapdragon 😂
Thank you for the thorough and civil discussion.
Thank you for your honesty. I too typically don’t grow GMO seeds but I’ll be growing this one in fall.
Hi Jerry! Awesome video! How do you prevent cross pollination with other cherry varieties? I noticed that my tomatoes varieties will sometimes cross pollinate. Does having a gmo tomato in the garden jeopardize the future of other tomatoes?
Thanks!
I’ve been growing these since March. I’m in NW Florida. They are growing great and like you I’ve had some spot but all in all they are doing very well. I’ve been harvesting and find the taste just ok. My favorite tasting tomatoes are Brandywine Pink and Aunt Ruby German Green so I like the acidity. These had none. Mine when ripe are almost black and beautiful inside. I’m already saving seed and giving to friends to grow and eat. I like you wanted to grow because of the nutrients and was just curious about they would taste. The GMO part didn’t really bother me. It was just a flower they modified it with. Anything that has more cancer fighting nutrients was a win for me. Thanks for sharing your experience so thoroughly. Happy gardening!
Thanks Jerra I bought these seeds too but am waiting until Fall to grow them. To me, GMO is like money in that it’s not bad by itself but can be used in responsible and irresponsible ways. As a lifelong type-1 diabetic I do like to remind people that GMO can be a net positive. All synthetic insulin – which is what we all use – is GMO. To each their own, but consider all of the possibilities.
Soon everything will be GMO !!!🤬
💚💚💚Thanks for this video. Will this tomato also be like this in the second and third generations? I grow a lot of beans and I know that sometimes they split and in three years they are completely different plants than they were before?💚💚💚
I like how she has nets around the flowers to make sure that her other tomatoes don’t accidentally get pollinated.
I receved 10 ahd grew 5 of them, all came up and all arexhealthy and very productive. The flvaor is extremely unique, unlike any other tomatoes i grow. I will definitely grow them again next year.😊
This reply is left before i start your video.
Great and interesting😍😍😍😍😍😍
GMO's have truly amazing potential that could be an absolute game-changer around the world… but of course big corporations are just going to find all the WORST ways to use them to maximize their profits and screw farmers and gardeners over…
I am fine with regular tomatoes to eat instead of wasting money to grow oddities that are patented by some large company with little long term testing. I don’t have enough plant space to be a Guinea pig but certainly appreciate your dedication to showing them to us!
Are they GMO?
Try growing the plants that can't take the summer heat underneath a shade cloth. This will help those plants combat the heat.
Thank you for sharing, I am interested because I want the food I eat to be as nutritious as it can be, I also like to eat purple foods. Growing black cherry tomatoes from an heirloom seeds and black carrots. I much prefer purple foods taste as I am intolerant to sugar so don’t want my food very sweet. I didn’t understand that they were not as sweet but know I prefer the taste. I was disappointed last Christmas when I bought purple carrots from my local supermarket to find they were orange inside.
Hu, thats cool that yours had good flavor. Mine came out like you had assumed they would. Kind of earthy tasting, not very sweet. Sort of bland. Also had a very dark brown look to them on the outside. I will say the few seeds i planted germinated very well.
No longer available 😢
How was the texture?