Pruden's Purple Tomato

I used to grow Pruden's Purple when I lived back east. Didn't think they could grow here in the lower desert. The first tomato I got off my plant was large and tasty! It did catface, but that didn't impact the flavor! A light reddish-purplish color, it was slightly larger than the palm of my hand. I got one tomato on the first bloom and am now waiting for more blooms to turn to fruit. The plant is about 3 feet tall and grown in a pot. A bit spindly, but that could be because of our too hot, too early spring.

Grown in my raised beds, these were my very favorite variety. Reasons: they were totally DELICIOUS, huge, early, juicy, excellent for slicing and raw eating, a lovely red color and prolific with lots of tomatoes per bush. The tomatoes ripened very well off the vine inside on my counter since I pull part of each crop for 'insurance' against extreme weather crop failures. The vines kept producing great tomatoes even when the bush looked dead. The tomatoes freeze extremely well, with a simple rinse, rough chop and into a Ball jar (I leave skins on). They make a lovely, lighter tomato sauce (not the chunky paste tomato type sauce) that's very versatile for using in recipes. I'm ordering more even though I saved my seeds. This will be the top priority tomato for us for 2024. I grow about 30 to 40 different varieties each year.