Black Krim Tomato Seeds - (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)

Black Krim Tomato - Taste Test Winner

Black Krim is an heirloom tomato and considered one of the best tasting tomato varieties, consistently winning top awards and rave reviews at taste trials. Its name comes from the dark maroon to deep red-purple outer skin turning almost black with heat and sun, and Krim is the Ukrainian word for Crimea, the peninsula where this tomato originated.

Its taste makes it famous - intense, with a rich, clean, earthy, almost smoky flavor that delivers a sweetness balanced by notes of acidity, giving it a distinct, slightly salty taste. “This is the best tomato I’ve ever tasted” is often heard after the first bite.

Black Krim grows big - with fertile soil and steady moisture, it can grow six feet or more and collapse standard tomato trellises. Heavy gauge cattle panels work well for this indeterminate variety. It is heat-tolerant and exceptionally hardy as long as there is a good supply of moisture to the roots - ideal for a drip system. Shade helps reduce production slowdown during the summer in very hot climates. Tomatoes mature a bit later than some varieties, but come on strong and produce prolifically until stopped by frost.

This is an extremely popular variety with home gardeners in the western United States and is a favorite of chefs worldwide. 

History

The history of Black Krim is a bit murky, but what is known is seeds of this and other tomatoes were gathered by British, French, Italian, and Turkish soldiers of the Crimean War (1853-1856) as they were returning home and were grown, passed down and shared through the soldiers’ families. They were valued enough to be kept in circulation until being discovered by Lars Olov Rosenstrom of Bromma, Sweden who introduced them to the wider public in 1990. 

Tomatoes were grown as a crop in Mexico and Peru in pre-Columbian times, but the early history of domestication is not well known (most likely in Mexico). In Europe, tomatoes were grown as ornamentals (thought to be poisonous) and became popular as a food only in the 18th century. 

Uses

Raw or cooked the tomato is one of the most widely used and versatile foods from your garden. Use fresh in salads, sandwiches, and salsas. Cooked in sauces and stews. Can be stuffed, dried, puree, paste or powdered. The uses are endless!

Growing Tip

Tomatoes take about 3 - 4 months from direct seeding in the garden to start producing fruit; about 70 days from transplanting 6 - 8 week-old plants to start fruiting; and about 40-50 days from the flower opening to producing ripe fruit.  

Tomatoes suffer more transplant shock than other vegetables, but you can minimize this by hardening them off for a week or two first. This means setting them outdoors in their pots in a protected place so that they get some warm sun, a little gentle wind, and even some cool (not freezing) nights. This will help them adjust to some of the stresses of real life before having their roots transplanted into the ground. 

Tomatoes begin the ripening process by producing ethylene, a natural growth regulator, and releasing it. The fruit ripens from the inside out, meaning the center matures and turns red before the color reaches the outer skin. Faint white lines crossing each other at the bottom or blossom end of the fruit show that ripening has begun. Soon afterward, the blossom end starts turning pink – indicating ethylene is being produced. When the pink blush reaches the stem, the fruit is about 75% ripe. The pink color deepens to red, starting from the blossom end and working its way upward. 

Harvest Tip

A tomato’s flavor increases as it ripens, due to the increased nutrients and sugars pumped into the fruit by the plant. For a home gardener, harvesting when there is just a touch of pink at the stem end or when the fruit is completely red gives the best flavor. The fruit will be fragile, won’t tolerate shipping and must be used or cooked within a few days to enjoy peak flavor.

Once the tomato is ripe, test by giving it a gentle pull or twist. If it slips easily from the vine – with little to no effort – it is ripe, juicy, and delicious!

Ripe tomatoes can be injured by cool temperatures and must be stored at room temperatures, never refrigerated to avoid chilling injury, which leaves pockmarks or pits on the skin leading to early rotting.

If you need to harvest early due to weather or the end of the season, those fruits with a pink blush at the blossom end will ripen with almost full flavor. Those with the faint white lines can still ripen but won’t have the full flavor. 

Learn More

• Growing Tomatoes 101
• Determinate and Indeterminate Tomatoes - What's the Difference?
• Heirloom Tomato Growing Tips
• Heirloom Tomato Leaves - Potato Leaf vs Regular Leaf
• Blossom End Rot - What To Do
• Fermented Tomato Conserve
• Sicilian Eggplant and Tomato Sauce

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