Tomato 'Black Krim'

Planted five Black Krim in my garden in Central Texas in Spring 2014. The plants produced an average of 30 tomatoes per plant. A minor ...Read Moredisappointment was the skin cracking on many tomatoes.

Lots of fruit, many had a mealy texture and most had little flavor. When I let it ripen until the shoulders were yellow prone to rot spot...Read Mores. Drip irrigation only, no sprinklers.

We have had daytime temps in the low 80s. Disappointing, would not plant again..

I planted a Black Krim last year that I found at some nursery. It was
in partial shade and outgrew the Early girl next to it.
...Read More> It produced pretty good sized fruits, until the blue Jays found
it so enticing. I lost 5 fruits to those birds before I could put netting around the plant. When I did get 4 or 5 more fruits, I could not believe the taste. Hands down the best tomato, and well worth growing.
This season I have 3 in 5 gallon pots, they are loaded with blossoms
and one has 9 fruits set on it, It averages 95 degrees F here.
I will continue to grow this variety. The seedlings were strong and
this tomato is one that resists disease as long as you add
potassium, calcium and manure to the soil. Grows almost 9 feet tall!

Best tasting tomato I've ever grown. Slightly smokey, very sweet, rich tomato flavour. Started indoors in late March, put out in mid May,...Read More harvesting large fruits in late July until mid September. Not an abundant crop, but fruits were all about 1 lb, so must be caged. In our northern location, matured to dark red with mahogany and green shoulders, very meaty and average amounts of seeds. Not a good keeper, but excellent slicer.

One of the best but very low production with small tomatoes that did not come n until very late in the season.

I have no i...Read Moredea why, the black brandywines and Cherokee purple did great and where planted right next to the krims.

Everyone in our small town experienced the same thing so maybe is was bad seeds used by the nursery.

this is a must grow in my tomato garden. i find it the best tasting of the blacks. i no longer grow black from tula as it doesn't have th...Read Moree taste i am looking for.

A Facebook friend here in San Antonio, TX grew Black Krim for the first time and said it tasted like dirt. She tried several and they all...Read More had the same disagreeable flavor. She was so disappointed that she pulled up the healthy plant! Could this have come from an issue with too little/much water or too little/much of a mineral? Was it just that she had never grown a black tomato before and wasn't prepared for the intense, smoky taste that I see in several comments here?

Black Krim is the first black tomato I've grown or tasted. It is best tasting tomato I've ever grown. It has a real tomato taste very goo...Read Mored with a little salt. I consider them gourmet and would only eat them by themselves and not buried in a sandwich. I call it a 'tasting' tomato. Compared with my other tomatoes the neighbors always ask for this. I made a mistake of spraying with an organic mix of olive oil, water and too much detergent 1 Tbsp. I sprayed it because of 15 aphids-not worth it. The leaves curled the next day, the other tomatoes were fine. Do not spray it with anything.
For support I just stuck tree branches as stakes into the ground and rested the plant stems on those as it grew. The big mistake I made the 2nd year was to use fencing with 2x4 inch holes and wrapped it around the plants when they already grew 3 feet tall thinking it would be easier than a bunch of stakes. But I squeezed the plants into themselves and two weeks later they started dying from a rust colored disease. Just stake the plant where it is, don't move the limbs and it should be fine. I think the problem was air circulation.
The other thing I did recommended by Bonnie Plants [see their website] was when transplanting it, to bury 3/4 of the plant to grow stronger and more roots. You can snap off all the leaves that would otherwise be buried under ground or not. It worked both years, a very thick and sturdy stem.

I had one top out at over 12 ounces and several other were in the half pound range. This sweet tomato makes very good pizza sauce, save ...Read Moreyour other varieties for the salad.

Hillsboro Oregon near Portland, and Galesburg Illinois a few years ago

When I grew Black Krim in Illinois, the plants were...Read More huge because it rained every week or so all summer. The fruit cracked a lot, and I had better luck with another black tomato called Carbon.

This year in Oregon, the plants are much smaller, but I am having a very heavy crop, with a lot of ripe tomatoes. We had rain in June and a light shower a week ago, but I have not watered the plants at all this year. No cracking here, because it is dry all summer.

I love the taste of black tomatoes. The only tomato that equals their taste is Early Cascade, which I can't get anymore.

Giving it a Positive even though the whole vine died after producing about a dozen tomatoes because-1) This was my first producer-I grew ...Read Moreit from seed, 2) it tastes marvelous!, 3) it is beautiful-green at the top, and burgundy at the bottom, 4) wonderful texture-velvetty smooth-slices beautifully.
I read somewhere that one should pick heirlooms when they first start to turn color and that has really saved my tomatoes this year. I did not have a single one crack or get insects or bird damage. These ripen up perfectly inside in about a day.

Hasn't put out a ton of fruit, but the vine has stayed healthy/attractive and isn't half dead or going wild like a lot of other varieties...Read More in my yard. I prefer this to cherokee purple, which it seems to be compared to a lot. Very good tasting fruit. Update: this plant lived and produced longer than the other plants in the yard last year. .

I'd like to be able to report a "positive" experience, but I'm not sure yet. My garden is raised beds with Netafim subterranean drip wit...Read Moreh odd-day watering -- everything is lush and doing nicely with full sun exposure.

I have two beautiful, seemingly healthy Krim plants, each now about 24" - 32" tall (in the ground almost 2 months), dutifully pruned to eliminate the "armpit" scions (some of which I have rooted in water), and they are making lots of flowers. But none of the flowers are setting fruit.

Our weather here in the Los Angeles, CA area has been rather bizarre. We've had days in the past couple of weeks into the 90s followed by overcast days in the 70s, with warm to cool -- and even a few chilly -- nights.

I am routinely foliar feeding kelp, and have recently begun adding a bloom enhancer (Fox Farms "Tiger Bloom") to the spray.

Are the bizarre weather days to blame or is there something I'm not doing right? My other tomato varieties are several days behind the Krims because they were all planted from seed rather than small starts. I was really looking forward to some nice 1-pound-plus fruits.

Grows great in the volcanic soil of this town. Late planting helps it keep away from the frosty mornings and snow of spring at our house,...Read More part way up the mountain side. Cracks easily but still gives a large yield. Wonderful flavor and plenty of seeds from the cracked tomatoes. It will be on my list for years to come. BEWARE the deer love to munch on these beautiful plants...
poison or not it does not seem to effect them. The local market has potted one gallon starters for sale and the seeds are great for starting the next year. The best years are the ones with cooler summers and long falls found often in this area. Last year they were producing up to the first snowfall.

Not a great self-watering container plant. The stalks seemed more brittle than other varieties I've seen which is important if you need ...Read Moreto move the containers around a lot. Some sort of barrier is needed to prevent roots from getting into the reservoir since this variety is highly prone to cracking. Not great for cooking.

This is hands down the best heirloom Tomato on the planet (and I have grown many other 'black' tomatoes including Cherokee Purples, Black...Read More from Tula, Black Sea Man's and others). I still have plants from May of last year that are still going strong, and with the warm snap that came through during January - more fruit with just a spike of some epsom salts and bone meal. I'd recommend this as a great add to anyone's veggie garden. You will not be disappointed!

This is possibly my favorite heirloom tomato. Aside from it being a great tasting tomato, production is above par every year. Krims hav...Read Moree a spot reserved in my garden every season.

Black Krim is a great tomato and is growing well in my garden in drought stricken South Dakota. No problem with the blight this year pro...Read Morebably because of the heat. In July we had less than 1/2 inch of rain for the entire month, so I water a lot. I had to keep my eye of the fruit because when it is ripe, it needs to be picked right away because it can split easily. The fruit is beautiful, green on the top and the rest is a dark black red. The taste is fantastic and I enjoy eating Black Krim right after I pick it. I will definitely grow it again.

One of the best tasting tomatoes I've ever grown. Not as productive as modern hybrids, but delicious.

I have a small backyard container garden and I make sure I grow these every year. They taste AWESOME. I usually plant them at the end of...Read More April and I have learned that they tend to struggle a little in the heat of the summer (August especially) but they perk up in late September and for the past few years I've had fresh tomatoes well into November. (central Georgia zone 8b)

Hello...I am growing Black Krim and Bla ck Russian and they are very near planting out...what size pots should I choose for their final p...Read Morelanting place...I believe they grow to 4-5 ft but would I need the same size pot...could someone please advise...thank you so much....I have no information on this on the seed packets...BTW

Black Krim tomatoes are real winners. They have a strong, sweet, smoky flavor that I love. Production far exceeded any other tomato var...Read Moreiety in my garden this year. Also, along with Stupice were easily my first to produce ripe tomatoes. Tomatoes are small to medium in size and consistently perfect in shape. The plants are large and do require staking. In the spring, I had some problems with wilt, but the plant survived it and then thrived. No problems with blossom end rot or sun scald. My two favorite tomato plants from this summer were Black Krim and Brandywine Sudduth.

Agree with most other positive reviews. This is a winner, my second favorite black (after Black Russian). Has a full-bodied flavor, I fee...Read Morel like I am eating wine. That is the best way I know to illustrate the richness of the flavor.

Purple pink in my estimation. Some people say it is brownish red.
Grew well for me two years ago ,even in a pot! Good flavour.
...Read More/> Growing again this year.

Great disease resistance and production. The tomatoes are wonderful with a very rich taste. One of the best tasting blacks I have grown...Read More. Continues to set fruit in very hot and humid weather which is a big plus down here.

This is my first time growing Black Krim. I use an Earthbox. The plant is large and lush and is producing many tomatoes. The tomatoes ...Read Moreare large and splitting. The Earthbox is watered daily but the reservoir is dry every night. The fruits are delicious. My other heirlooms have had the fruit worm damage but the Black Krim does not seem to be effected. Any suggestions about how to prevent cracks?

Yes, you can actually grow in a decent purple/black tomato in the Central Valley. This one did very well for me. What a flavor. My fav...Read Moreorite tasting tomato of all time. This is a real winner!

I grew 5 Black Krim plants this year, and all but one succumbed to blight, so I am reporting on a rather small statistical sample! (The o...Read Morene that lasted was in an HEB, but I don't think that made any difference.) The taste is better than average, but not as good as Cherokee Purple. Yield was average. Birds or squirrels loved them too and I had to put up netting to protect them. I'll hope for better luck next year.

Great plant, When I grew them in the ground or in plastic pots I always had cracking, now I use large Italian clay or terracotta pots wit...Read Moreh a small bag of pea gravel over the drain hole and I don't get cracking any more, I think its because the roots do not have to stand in water that they don't crack. any way its a great tasting plant with beautiful tomatoes. Almost forgot I use a nice light potting soil, You do have to water twice a day but like I said For me I don't get cracks.

It is for sure a winner in my garden, I love the flavor, out of 30 varieties I grew the only one I liked better is Black from Tula, but not by far.

Black Krim is one of my favorites. It is very prolific and has a wonderful rich, earthy flavor. It produces early and continues all seaso...Read Moren into fall. BK is best eaten fresh, as it is somewhat soft and doesn't can well. A "must grow" tomato for me.

This was my first year with Black Krim. I was looking for Black from Tula which I grew several years ago and found this one. The taste ...Read MoreI think is great and the plant produced quite a lot and pretty early. It does look pretty weird with the green and dusky pink and you have to pick it before it looks ripe. Gets very soft quickly, and does tend to get cracks.

This seemed like an awsome and fun tomato variety to put into my "global" garden. I have my sprouts under the grow lamp. Already, I can ...Read Moretell the deep green and purple foliage. How does one pervent the cracking of fruit (before mine start) that seemes to be a problem with other growers in this variety?

Slightly flattened 4-5" globes with dark greenish-black shoulders, turns almost black with enough heat and sun.

Black Krim generally makes my grow list about every other year. Good flavor, typical of some of the better darks. It does tend to crack...Read More occasionally in my garden, even when I am careful with the watering.

The Black Krim was by far my favorite this year. Delicious taste and lots of fruit. The tomatoes split like crazy though, but maybe I w...Read Moreas more inconsistent with my watering than I thought I was.

Will definitely grow this one again.

The negative has been the squirrels like to take a bite or two out of the BK's. We wanted to take those bites! The taste is excellent not...Read More exactly smokey, as ofdten described but defionitely more than most red tomatoes. The flavor may not be as intense this year because of the erratic rain. Size was very good as several approaching a pound. Not that many fruit but most have been blemish free.

These are very good mild tomato. They weigh approx. 6oz., dark red and blackish color. I at first thought I didn't like the flavor but ...Read Morehave decided that I do like it. The plant has held up very well. The only thing I found about this tomato is that it gets cracks on the stem end that don't go all the way through and have not hurt the flavor at all.

Sweet taste, a good producer. Soft flesh, not a good canner.

Unique fruits from the Crimean Sea area of Russia. (Krim is Russian for Crimea)

Dark brownish red tomatoes with darker gel...Read More in the locules. They look almost rotten, but have a wonderful smokey/sweet taste totally unique to the variety.

Large blemish free fruits that produce well in the South. I like them and they are in my rotation to grow every few years.