What do Gardeners Think about the New "Purple" GMO Tomato?

[@cindyinpcola]

I purchased and grew these last year and saved many seeds. I initially wanted them for the nutritional value. The beauty of it is phenomenal. It was prolific and was easy to germinate and grow. However, the taste wasn’t what I was hoping for. I was disappointed in the flavor. It lacked classic tomato flavor but I have not given up and I’m currently germinating now to put in my spring pots(Zone 9A). It had low acidity in which my mother loved so I’m growing for her. I have no issue with growing GMO foods in which the research and development has been done in such a manner as this company. The seeds were expensive but I saved so many seeds I won’t need to purchase again. I respect and appreciate the work that went into this tomato.

[@casualgardeningwithdustin]

My only complaint about purple tomatoes is that they're so purple it can be difficult to tell when they're ripe. When picked ripe, they're candy. Picked too soon they're meh. I had great germination and good growth from my seeds. I saved 10 seeds for this year and gave away about 170 seeds from my harvest. I love that they defined their patent the way they did so I can share these seeds with whoever I like. I'll be sharing a LOT more seeds this year. I'm super jealous that you managed to get an interview with someone from Norfolk! They turned me down.

[@stephentueller899]

The purple tomato made the best pico de gallo I've ever had last summer.

[@ronaldthoms2147]

I grew them last year an taste was better if not to hot an better with a little shade An if cut in half much better taste So I enjoyed them

[@nealgrant7727]

I knew it was possible but I didn't know anybody was making good GMOs. A rare bit of good news. Thank you. Master 🙏

[@DarinCraven]

I grew these last year and they were great! I found the darker and more ripe they got the better they tasted. They grew like crazy and I failed to keep them trimmed so they got away from me. I tried them in my salsa and they made it noticeably darker. I will be growing at least one plant each season going forward to see how this works out.

[@mrwormtester]

Hi, I'm a cheerleader for The Purple Tomato👋I grew these last year and they did great in northeast PA. For me, they're a must-grow due to the color alone. It's stunning. The potential health benefits are a great bonus. I had fun making purple tomato sauce, salsa and even made a purple pizza with the sauce, lilac bells and purple basil.

[@averagejoesbackyardgarden2249]

My package just arrived. I’m excited to get these planted here at zone 10b. My wife’s favorite is the sungold. Thanks for providing this content

[@bearfoot561]

I grew them last year I was disappointed in the size they tasted like a paste tomato so I cooked them and made a tomato sauce it was sweet but very dark I will grow them next year

[@labcat647]

I grew them and they did okay despite it being a very hot summer with very little rainfall. Very productive. Flavor was good, though hard to judge garden produce flavors last year because everything was stressed under the extreme heat.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

The taste of the "Purple Tomato" is decent. The seeds had a really good germination rate, over 90% in my seed packet grew out. I kept them in pots. Over watering delays their flowering. They did produce fruit, which were fairly decent flavored but I would not say that the pot grown plants taste any better than a store bought red cherry tomato. However, the color is a very good deep purple. I can verify that the "seeds" of the "Purple Tomato" also germinated, and they are growing well in containers under light. I think the issue with GMO is making sure not to spray them with tons of pesticides and fungicides. Since I can control for what I put on my plants, I don't have to worry about it.

[@tmtrikosko9060]

I grew them in pots in western WA, not best best tomato growing environment. Don't expect classic tomato taste. This tomato is sweet with "fruity" notes more akin to the general public's definition of "fruit". This tomato will have its own culinary niche. I love them.

[@Ashas.Garden]

This was a fantastic discussion! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 I bought a packet and am looking forward to growing this variety. 🪴

[@englishe1]

Great video. It answered many questions. I bought these seeds last year but decided to wait for more information. I was trained by the great research physician Arvid Underman, MD to wait to use a new medicine until it was reviewed in the Archives of Internal Medicine "5 Years Later" review. I now feel comfortable to plant Purple this year.

[@がうがうわんこ]

I got one more reason to live longer, waiting for this cultivar in Japan.

[@shawnsg]

I'll add my experience. *Taste* My SO and I both liked the way they taste. That said, we don't really like tomatoes that much so we probably liked the thing that a lot of people dislike which is that they weren't overwhelmingly "tomato-y". They had a bit of earthiness to them as well. We always grow a couple tomatoes every year and then never eat them. This was the first time we actively ate some of the tomatoes. I'll definitely grow some again this year. Also they do seem to last forever relative to other tomatoes once they are picked. They were very tough plants. They continued to produce through the hottest part of the year albeit it was much reduced. I live in the southeast fwiw. I even put one in the ground and just let it sprawl everywhere. It got massive but it is a cherry tomato type plant. *Pests* the stinkbugs and leaf-footed bugs seemed to enjoy them but no more than usual. No other real disease or pest issues I noticed. They did split a little early in the season when we had more rain than usual. During peak summer the ones on my trellis did get sun scald but it wasn't many. In general I like them. They fit what I like in terms of taste. They are interesting just from a science perspective. They are worth growing just for the novelty. On the list of things I worry about for the planet, GMO as it is ranks very low.

[@DragonflyenAmber]

I wish this was available in Canada, I love growing different colours of tomatoes.

[@bradliston8990]

Ugh... plants are so cool. So are scientists, and farmers, everyone involved! Good job folks, how exciting. I'm going to have to keep my eyes out for some of those seeds, those look gorgeous and would be fun to grow.

[@domenicomonteleone3055]

Garden Fundamentals a purple 💜 Tomatoe sounds very interesting, but cut the tomato 🍅 be made into a sauce or only eaten in a tomato 🍅 salad 🥗 ?

[@upupandaway5646]

Thank you 😊

[@joannecordone6831]

As a gardener, I grow what I want. I do not have an educated position on those tomatoes. I neither think it is good or bad. I already have my favorites. My only concern is that hybrids do not grow true when saving seeds. Since I am a seed saver, I prefer heirloom and open pollinated.

[@nocobirds]

This video convinced me to at least to try the Purple Tomato.

[@kristinel6352]

I'm very intrigued and just ordered a pack of the seeds from the company

[@blenderbenderguy]

Like others..... I was very underwhelmed with the flavor. I dried some thinking that would concentrate and improve the flavor. Didn't really help much. They were seriously prolific and suffered little from blight(s). I will see what comes from the seed I saved, but I won't dedicate as many plants in the ground this time around.

[@joannecordone6831]

Not worried about harmful. Worried that the overall nutritional values of food is dropping. I do not know if hybridization is the issue, or large farming techniques. The reason I grow my own.

[@BirdieBlrrrd]

Too late to worry 😢

[@Junzar56]

Curious to how it would do in our area. I wonder what the taste is like.

[@Dev-lc4cd]

21:37 The listeners that are still concerned, they're not the type to listen to reason, so I think it would be better to stop trying to address the them.

[@GARDENER42]

I care little for a tomato's colour or shape. What I look for are: Flavour Texture pest & disease resistance Ease of cultivation I don't see nutritional value as a major issue for home growers, as I'm pretty sure what I grow is at least as good as anything commercial. Here in the UK, I grow Sungold cherry tomatoes, Shirley & Alicante salad tomatoes & Roma for cooking & sauces. IF these tomatoes have significant effects on cancer which I can't find naturally elsewhere, then that's a different matter entirely. ETA Not available here in the UK. 😐

[@pumpkineater_69557]

It’s of note that Canadians cannot buy these seeds. Just grow normal tomatoes and purple cabbage. Solved a problem that didn’t exist.

[@shawnsg]

I've seen some variation of this argument before and it fundamentally just doesn't make sense to me. The idea is we should eat more foods with anthocyanins but there are already plants that have this covered so there's no need to create new ones. In other words creating a GMO is fixing a problem that does exist, i.e., a lack of plants with anthocyanins. Except the supposed issue is that even with the plants we currently have, people aren't consuming enough anthocyanins. So the issue is people aren't getting enough with what we already have. You could argue the solution is more awareness, changing people's diets and so on but creating a GMO isn't viable as a solution due to supposed dangers. That's not the same though as saying the solution to the problem is the status quo when the literal problem is that the status quo isn't working.

[@mikee33oo]

red tomatoes need 6 to 6.5 pH to thrive & blueberries need acidic soil about 4.5 to 5.5 to thrive in... would these purple tomatoes need lower pH for the Anthocyanin to produce more efficiently?

[@stephentueller899]

FWIW, my soil is slightly alkaline and when I grew these last summer and my wood cutting boards are still slightly stained from the purple tomatoes.

[@questforbalance]

Are these on amazon?

[@marcfruchtman9473]

no, you have to contact Norfolk directly. the packet is a small packet with seeds. The Link if you want to purchase is in the description of the video. I tried these, and like them, but they are kind of slow to grow in a pot. Mine did produce fruit even into late fall early winter. They produce seeds that you can plant next year.

[@OGAsianKaren]

How will they do in zone 9? I’m in Phoenix AZ and would love to give these a try!

[@79PoisonBreaker]

So next year they could be available in Canada, does that mean 2025 growing season or 2026? I would like to try growing them here in Manitoba.

[@mustardtiger9265]

personally i have no issues with GMO from a health/process/end product perspective, i really just dont like the fact that it is being used by corporation where profit rules all else. given the nature of humans and the documented history of bad, sometimes intentional decisions where know consequences were tossed aside for the sake of profit. being how important crops are to our existence i dont think i can ever trust that process in the hands of CEOs making the calls.

[@jw4879]

This, I also agree with. GMO can be helpful in the right hands, and not when abused by people with only greed as their motivator.

[@jw4879]

Grew well, somewhat disease susceptible to blight, didn't taste very sweet. Not growing again this year.

[@guylenz7113]

Have they done human trials wit the purple tomato?

[@jw4879]

What do you mean? To see if people grow three heads and an extra big toe? It's a plant, eat it. I bet you didn't know that GMO were first found naturally occurring? A bacterium was injecting DNA into a plant causing its cells to multiply and mutate. Nobody is running around with their hair on fire that nature is making GMO's and we all might die from them! You're only scared of them because you haven't educated yourself on what they really are.

[@Marcus-Brutus]

Open source the tomato. Allow everyone to make new cultivars. I want to make a high sugar purple tomato.

[@blenderbenderguy]

I guess I'm confused. What's not open source about it? You can purchase the seed and do anything you want.... or am I wrong on that note?

[@marcfruchtman9473]

The "license" as I understand it is... You can give these away... you just can't sell them. (But check it on their website for yourself). There are several terms, like USA only... etc.

[@casualgardeningwithdustin]

You're allowed under patent to hybridize these with other tomato varieties if you wish. I'd recommend clearing resale of your hybrids with Norfolk, but they won't come after you just for growing them.

[@Marcus-Brutus]

@ Thank you for the clarification.

[@alcesario1848]

I gave up growing different colour tomatoes. I've found that unless you grow them in an exclusive environment where cross pollination can't occur, different colour tomatoes (especially yellow) alters the colour (significantly) and taste profile (slightly) of traditional tomatoes if grown in same vicinity.

[@nevermore7185]

You mean from seed you’ve saved any grew the following year. Cross pollination does not affect the fruit of the current year.

[@SovereignYogi-e5y]

Never buy seeds with terms and conditions.

[@casualgardeningwithdustin]

The patent on purple tomatoes is quite reasonable- a lot less restrictive than the patents on some non-GMO produce.

[@sophieiremonger4885]

Of course it's harmless. But once the attitudes to G.M.O are normalized these people will take us to some dark places...and I'm not talking dark purple.

[@stianbogevik3805]

@@sophieiremonger4885 How can one determine this fast that it's harmless? Being from a country were GMOs are illegal, this seems totally crazy to me.

[@clearz3600]

Id love to get my hands on some of seeds in Ireland to see how they get on in this climate. Is there anywhere I can order them? Thanks. EDIT: I just saw the bit about the regulatory hurdles, and since we're in the EU, they'll never be allowed to be grown here. Ah well I'll just have to get someone I know in the US to send me on a packet.

[@SovereignYogi-e5y]

“25 years of gmo and feed…” The glycosphate poisoning alone from just a few of our gmo crop designs have caused irreparable damage to our soil so it is a problem.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

This has nothing to do with that. You buy these tomatoes and decide whether or not you want to spray anything on them. These are not Genetically modified for Glyphosate. They are modified to produce more of their own natural anthocyanin.

[@TheNewMediaoftheDawn]

@@marcfruchtman9473 True, but his overall point is still valid, just not for this plant.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

@ But this is not about Glyphosate and GMO that allow Glyphosate abuse... this is about a Genetically modified Tomato that has more antioxidant Anthocyanin, so making factual statements that basically instill fear by putting all GMO in the same bucket is the wrong way to think about it. However, I am glad that you mention that is not valid for this plant... well done there.

[@jw4879]

@@marcfruchtman9473 I absolutely agree. People have an illogical fear of GMO because of their lack of knowledge about them. Learn more and you won't be afraid of the wrong things.

[@SovereignYogi-e5y]

The science experiment cannot take place in the garden. Food science is missing YEARS of closed research. Stop hoisting this on us…please, for the love of God!

[@casualgardeningwithdustin]

Nobody's forcing anyone to grow these. Being able to participate in an experiment if we wish to is MORE freedom, not less.

[@jw4879]

Who's hoisting it upon you? Don't you have free will to not buy it if you don't want to?

[@juneramirez8580]

No one is going to stop science! I won't be trying this myself though. People ARE supposed to be able to make their own choices. So PLEASE STOP TRYING TO END CHOICE HERE. Hasn't enough of our choices been already taken away. I don't have to like something, but I don't have the right to stop the choices of others! Stop the censorship already.

[@shawnsg]

Did you miss the part where this has been in development for around 20 years?

[@robertlindlau8817]

NO. Tampered with God's creation. HEIRLOOM is tge way.

[@BirdieBlrrrd]

Humans have always played a role in genetic selection. This is diff though and now those plants can cross pollinate ours 😢😢😢

[@callistourseides]

Heirloom tomatoes have also tampered with "god's creation". Have you seen what wild tomatoes look like? They're tiny. We have been genetically modifying all of our edibles for millenia.

[@BirdieBlrrrd]

@ yep, and lately for flavor and other dumb stuff. That’s why there’s no nutrients in our food anymore hardly 😂

[@brettfelter6259]

Ha ha you make funny,

[@brettfelter6259]

With the exception of seafood, none of the items in the produce section are as they were found in nature thousands of years ago. ALL are artificial constructs shaped by the hand of man. Genetic modification is the very goal of all plant breeding and animal breeding methods. Brassica oleracea is the family of cultivars bred by the hand of man from their common ancestor the wild mustard plant. When one eats any of the varieties of cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, turnips, or collard greens, conventional or organic, they are eating artificial, genetically modified constructs of man. There is nothing natural about any of it. Bananas, conventional or organic, are all clones. There is nothing natural about bananas. When one eats an organic banana, they are eating a cloned organism that was crafted by the hand of man. i.e. not natural. Cattle, poultry and swine have all been bred into forms that are far removed from their ancestors God gave us. Just like pugs and Mexican chihuahua dogs have been bred so far away from their ancestors God gave us they no longer resemble wolves. The rennet in all cheese, organic or not, is a product of bioengineering.

[@SovereignYogi-e5y]

I really hope these are CLEARLY labeled so we know what to avoid.

[@casualgardeningwithdustin]

Norfolk does a great job labeling their products as GMO. When I share my purple tomato seeds I also label my seed packets as GMO. But since seed sharing isn't regulated, there's no guarantee that everyone sharing these seeds will label them GMO.

[@SovereignYogi-e5y]

Please don’t call gmo seeds heirloom. Transparency would indicate pride in ownership. It is not holistically healthier or “just like” every other tomato. Some people just don’t want this in their diet but it’s smoke and mirrors at the store. Call it science, not food and sell it with a label.

[@SJGardener]

i grew it last year,, $20. you get ten seeds, i had 18 in mine so i felt special. I started the seeds about two weeks after my other tomato starts. They popped up in a few days and within a couple weeks they caught up to and passed the growth of my other seedlings. This was the last hurrah for them, i lost all but a few of the initial 10 seeds, they looked healthy and then gone next day one after the other, idk why, could be my fault, idk. anyways fast forward to two i planted in containers on the deck, and two that went into the garden. They grew very similar, and grew pretty well, no real issues. Finally the fruit, i had believed that they would be salad tomato size, Most were the size of a typical cherry tomato, some twice that size, but none ping pong ball size. they ripened to a purple almost brown color, and the taste was not bad, but not worth growing again. i did save seeds, but i don't plan on growing them. Edit: i purposely wrote this in comments before watching the video, i just wanted to write what my actual memory of growing these was, and not what the video might get me too recall, memory can be a tricky thing and my thoughts before being reminded, i think is the important part of my reaction to the purple tomato.

[@marcfruchtman9473]

Odd. I did not have that experience at all. BUT, I did not give my tomatoes water from tap either. Just rain water (or distilled if it did not rain).