You may have heard of Tomato Fest Garden Seeds of Carmel, California.

Gary Ibsen started the company more than 30 years ago after a neighbor introduced him to the tasty wonder of heirloom tomatoes. Gary has been dedicated to developing and growing heirloom tomatoes ever since, and he is offering more than 600 different heirloom varieties for 2009.

After crunching the numbers of his tomato seed sales to home gardeners and commercial growers, plus factoring in the sales of their fresh tomato sales to retailers and restaurateurs, Gary has concluded that black tomatoes were more popular in 2008 than ever before.

What are black tomatoes?

According to Gary, black tomatoes aren’t really black at all, but cover a range of darker hues including purples, dark browns, greenish-bluish browns—think the color of a bruise, but much more enjoyable to plant.

The higher the soil’s acid and mineral content, the richer the coloring. Black tomatoes got their start in the Ukraine back in the 19th century. Nearly 200 years later, we’re enjoying a bumper crop of these tasty tomatoes nearly a hemisphere away.

Gary is predicting these dark heirlooms will again be popular for 2009. He’s even formulated a Top 10 Heirloom Tomato list, and the black tomatoes figure prominently in it.

Top 10 Heirloom Tomatoes for 2009

Brandywine (pink)
Paul Robeson (purple/black)
Aussie (red)
Julia Child (pink)
Cherokee Purple (purple/black)
Black Cherry (purple/black)
Kellogg’s Breakfast (orange)
Gold Medal (yellow/red striped)
Aunt Ginny’s Purple (purple/black)
Carmello (red)