By Jennifer Poindexter
Are you interested in growing a unique but tasty variety of tomato? Look no further than the black krim tomato. This tomato is known for producing a rich and delectable taste. It contains a mixture of sweet, tart, and smoky flavors.
Plus, it’s a relatively low-maintenance variety of tomato. If you’re interested in adding this option to your garden, follow along with me.
I’m going to walk you through the necessary growing conditions, planting instructions, care, and other tips to provide a good jumping off point when growing this crop. Here’s what you should know about how to grow black krim tomatoes in your home garden:
Growing Conditions for Black Krim Tomatoes
The black krim tomato is an heirloom variety which originated in Russia. This plant produces large, beefsteak sized tomatoes which appear as a deep purple with a red hue.
When in direct sunlight, the fruits take on a rich black color. These tomatoes are great for juicing, enjoying raw, or for canning.
This is an indeterminate variety of tomato, so they’ll grow and produce until frost kills the plant. Black krim tomato plants grow to be approximately four to six feet in height, so ensure you have enough room in your growing location for these plants.
Should you decide the black krim tomato is a good fit for your garden, be sure to select a growing location with full sunlight. This is a space which receives a minimum of six hours of sunlight but ideally eight or more hours of direct sunlight.
These tomatoes need soil that’s rich in nutrients and well-draining, too. Otherwise, if you live in planting zones three through eleven, you should be able to supply everything the black krim tomato needs to thrive under your care.
Now that you understand what black krim tomatoes need in a growing location, let’s discuss how you can plant this variety in your garden.
How to Plant Black Krim Tomatoes
You may choose to start black krim tomatoes indoors to either get a jump on the season or to ensure your plants have a long enough period in your planting zone to produce abundantly.
Should you wish to start these plants indoors, fill a growing tray with loose, well-draining, nutrient-dense potting soil. Start the seeds six weeks prior to the final frost date.
Plant two seeds per cell in the growing tray and ensure you don’t plant the seeds any deeper than 1/8 inch deep.
The reason being is the seeds are tiny. If planted too deep, this could harm your germination rate. Ensure you place the growing trays in a warm location as the soil should be between 65- and 90-degrees Fahrenheit.
Spritz the soil with a spray bottle of water to keep it evenly damp. This should help avoid oversaturating the seeds. If you supply the seeds with the appropriate growing conditions, they should germinate in one to two weeks.
Once the seeds sprout, provide a warm and sunny growing location with indirect lighting. Continue to water the plants without oversaturating them.
When the plants form their third true leaves, you may separate them in the tray cells. Some people pick the strongest plants and discard the others.
However, if you’d like more plants, you can take the weaker options and place them in their own growing containers. They may strengthen when provided separate care, nutrients, and water from the plants they once shared a growing cell with.
Once all threat of frost is over and the soil has warmed, plant your tomatoes outdoors in their permanent growing location. Be sure this space has well-draining soil, has been amended with compost prior to planting, and receives full sunlight.
You should provide two feet of space between each plant. If you have multiple rows of plants, ensure there’s two to three feet of space between each row.
Another way of growing black krim tomatoes in your garden is by directly sowing them in a growing location.
If you live in an area with plenty of warm days, this may be the easier method. If so, till the area where you’d like to grow your tomatoes.
Sprinkle the seeds into rows in this growing location. Remember to amend the soil with compost prior to planting.
Place the seeds six-inches apart. Keep the soil evenly damp and expect the seeds to germinate within one to two weeks.
Once this occurs, continue to supply care to the new plants and wait until the plants have grown to be one foot in height.
When this happens, thin them. There should be two feet of space between each plant and each row.
You now have two different methods of growing black krim tomatoes in your garden. Pick the option which works best for you and add these unique tomatoes to your growing space when the time is right in your planting zone.
Caring for Black Krim Tomatoes
Black krim tomatoes are a lower-maintenance option. They’ll need only a few minor things from you to ensure they have what they need to produce abundantly.
The first thing you should do when caring for black krim tomatoes is to water the plants deeply. This means you’ll water the plants for a longer period, fewer days of the week.
This allows water to reach the roots of the plant while also saturating the ground around and beneath the tomatoes.
As the days progress, and the tomatoes need more water, they’ll dig their roots deeper into the ground to retrieve it.
Not only is this less work for you, but it also encourages stronger plants as this helps them develop stronger roots.
Before watering your tomatoes, always test the soil. When the soil is dry to your first knuckle, it’s time for another deep watering session. If it’s still damp, wait a day or two and test the soil again.
Black krim tomatoes are known for being hardy. Therefore, they shouldn’t be deeply impacted if you’re a little late on watering them.
The next thing you should do is apply a balanced fertilizer to your tomato plants a few times per month. You don’t want to select a fertilizer too high in nitrogen as you’ll have healthy plants with no fruit.
It’s important to add a balanced fertilizer, so you not only have lush foliage but also plants which produce the fruit you desire.
Next, apply a layer of mulch around your plants. This will help them retain moisture between waterings and also keep the weeds down.
Finally, ensure you stake your tomato plants. You can provide actual stakes, a tomato cage, or even practice the Florida weave. It doesn’t matter how you keep the plants off the ground as long as they’re supported with something that’s four to six feet tall.
It’s important to keep your tomatoes off the ground to avoid disease, pests, rotting issues, and it makes for easier picking.
This is all your black krim tomatoes need from you to grow and produce a vibrant and flavorful harvest right in your backyard.
Garden Pests and Diseases Which Might Impact Your Black Krim Tomatoes
Black krim tomatoes are known for being disease-resistant. The main things which impact these plants are blossom end rot, cracked fruit, fusarium and verticillium wilt, and fungal disease.
You may avoid blossom end rot by ensuring the plants receive even moisture and nutrients. Should blossom end rot develop on your tomatoes, add a sprinkle of powdered milk to the base of the plants.
A boost in calcium usually resolves the issue. Should you see cracked fruit, it means the plants received an uneven amount of moisture and nutrients.
Avoid this by leveling these things out. You may also harvest larger fruit sooner to avoid cracking as the size of a fruit can sometimes impact this as well.
Fungal issues develop when plants are grown in the wrong conditions. Therefore, ensure your tomato plants receive plenty of sunlight, are pruned if they become too large in the growing area, and are grown in well-draining soil.
These steps should help you avoid any potential risks of fungal disease. If fungal disease forms, be sure to treat the plant with a fungicide and remove damaged parts of the plant.
Should your tomatoes develop fusarium or verticillium wilt, it’s best to discard the plants as there’s no cure for these diseases. Don’t compost the plants as this will only spread the diseases further.
The most common pests which threaten black krim tomatoes are whiteflies, aphids, and mites. They can all be treated with an insecticide.
Keep an eye out for these common issues and treat them upon first sight to avoid serious damage to your black krim tomatoes.
How to Harvest Black Krim Tomatoes
Our last thing to discuss when growing black krim tomatoes is how to harvest the fruits of your plants. Black krim tomato plants reach maturity in approximately three months.
They’re producing at their full potential at months four and higher. When the fruits appear ripe (by displaying their full color and feeling slightly tender), gently pluck them from the plant.
Should you leave the mature fruit on the plant too long, they may begin to split. Once your fruit is harvested, you may store it on your counter, in your refrigerator, or preserve it.
You now have the basic information needed to attempt growing a new kind of tomato in your garden. Black krim tomatoes are not only beautiful to look at, but they’re also a lower-maintenance variety of tomato.
Be sure to supply the appropriate growing conditions and care. Then follow-up by staying alert to potential threats and harvesting your fruit in a timely manner. These steps should help you enjoy your black krim harvest to the fullest.
Learn More About Growing Tomatoes
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/tomato/
https://extension.unh.edu/resource/growing-vegetables-tomatoes-fact-sheet-1
https://extension.umn.edu/vegetables/growing-tomatoes
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