The wild and crazy Cherokee Purple tomato plant featured a couple of posts ago continues to grow much faster than my other tomatoes. The vines are twice as tall and extend beyond the top of the cage. The other three tomato plants don’t even come close.

The giant plant is covered with clusters of fruit. Each little tomato is purple on top with a green bottom. Looks like I’m in for a bumper crop. I don’t recall ever seeing so many fruit on one plant.

A visitor who works with local farmers thought the robust plant was a chocolate grape tomato. The name refers to the size and color of ripe fruit — not the flavor. I despise cherry tomatoes, but the grape varieties I’ve tried have been pretty good. I decided to let it live.

Earlier this week I noticed the tag at the base of the plant while pulling weeds. Had to fetch my glasses to read it. Turns out, the mystery tomato is a variety called Midnight Snack.

Doh!

That’s so me. I love Cherokee Purples so much I got two plants. I double-checked the label on the other and was happy to see it’s definitely a Cherokee Purple. At the garden center, I must have assumed the one beside it would be the same variety.

Learned via Google that Midnight Snack is a 2017 All America Selection, meaning it’s a stellar performer just about anywhere in the U.S. The purple comes from anthocyanin, an antioxidant also found in blueberries. They’ll be ripe when the bottoms turns red.

Midnight Snack is a hybrid. The creator wanted a good-tasting indigo cherry tomato. We’ll see if I agree. I’ll keep you posted.