It’s been a strange season for tomatoes.

How so? Well, not because I planted too many this year. I planned to plant nine in a 3 x 3 grid pattern and lace them up with a Florida weave technique. Not only did I plan it that way, I actually planted it that way—and it’s worked well. (I did have two extra tomato plants, which I planted in a separate section of the garden so as not to overcrowd the grid.)

The reason it’s been a strange season for tomatoes is because my tomatoes are growing so inconsistently. One tomato will be growing like gangbusters and the other next to it will be gasping for life. It’s not an heirloom vs. hybrid tomato issue, nor is it a light issue as far as I can tell. And it’s not an issue of indeterminate vs. determinate or cherry vs. slicing. And I have watered and fertilized all similarly.

My best-performing tomato plant thus far is one called Indigo Sun. It’s from the folks at Burpee Home Gardens and produces cherry tomatoes somewhat on the larger side. It ripens to a sunflower yellow.

How Indigo Sun Tomatoes Ripen

The ripening issue is the interesting part. If you didn’t know the tomato changes to yellow, you’d be a bit confused about when the fruit were ready. The tomatoes start off on the dark side of green. Then they turn a darkish purple—the “indigo” in the name. But does that color change mean they are ripe? No. The purple color stays around the “shoulders” of the fruit while the rest of the skin goes through various shades of yellow, finally ripening to a gorgeous sunflower color.

Flavor of Indigo Sun Tomatoes

Indigo Sun’s flavor is on the sweet side with a low acid content. The indigo coloring on the shoulders and crown is an indicator of good news too—it means healthy anthocyanins are present.

Sun Exposure and Watering

Like I said, it’s grown incredibly well for me this summer. I caged it early, as it was growing vigorously from the start. Flowers and fruits are being produced from bottom to top and consistently so. It receives about 8 hours of sun a day, 2 hours more than the recommendations. And it’s growing well despite my inconsistent watering—sometimes every day, sometimes every four days.

No complaints from me about this variety, that’s for sure. I can’t even complain that I only planted one of these. It’s producing so much fruit, one plant is enough!