Tomato 'Purple Calabash'

Solanum lycopersicum

How to grow Tomato 'Purple Calabash'

  • Full Sun

  • Medium

Enjoys a full sun position in your garden and remember to water moderately. Keep in mind when planting that Purple Calabash is thought of as tender, so remember to wait until your soil is warm and the night time temperature is well above freezing before moving outside. Purple Calabash needs a loamy soil with a ph of 5.0 to 6.0 (moderately acidic soil to weakly acidic soil).

Growing Purple Calabash from seed

Start seeds indoors six weeks before last frost date.

Try to aim for a seed spacing of at least 2.60 feet (80.0 cm) and sow at a depth of around 0.78 inches (2.0 cm). Soil temperature should be kept higher than 12°C / 54°F to ensure good germination.

By our calculations, you should look at sowing Purple Calabash about 42 days before your last frost date.

Transplanting Purple Calabash

Transplant out when around 15cm (6 inches) high.

Plant to the first set of true leaves to promote strong root growth.

Ensure that temperatures are mild and all chance of frost has passed before planting out, as Purple Calabash is a tender plant.

Harvesting Purple Calabash

This variety tends to be ready for harvesting by mid summer.

Purple Calabash folklore & trivia

Reportedly developed in Mexico by the Aztec people, however other sources say that all black/purple tomatoes originate from Russia and Eastern Europe.