Illustration of Black Plum tomato
Illustration based on known variety traits. Appearance varies by growing conditions.

No. 062 · heirloom

Black Plum

Black Plum is an indeterminate heirloom paste tomato with deep mahogany-brown, oval plum shape fruit. It ripens in about 80 days.

Typepaste tomato
Habitindeterminate
Days to maturity80
Fruit size2 to 4 oz
Colordeep mahogany-brown, oval plum shape
Difficultyeasy

Flavor

Described as sweet, meaty, and complex with the earthy depth typical of dark tomatoes, good enough that some prefer it to Roma for sauce. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.

Origin

A prolific Russian strain that ripens to a deep mahogany-brown, grown both as a sauce tomato and for fresh use.

What it does well

  • Dusky, complex flavor unusual in a paste tomato
  • Meaty and sweet, good for sauce, salads, or drying
  • Very prolific

Where it frustrates

  • Tall indeterminate vines need staking
  • Late at about 80 days for the coolest zones

Like Black Plum, but...

Sold out, or after a change? The closest alternatives, and how they differ.

San Marzanobut a dark, sweet plum rather than a classic red Italian pasteBlack Cherrybut a larger oval paste fruit rather than a round cherry

Where to buy seed

Sources