Blue Beauty Tomato
A tasty blue tomato: inky blue black shoulders over a red base, with sweet, smoky, satisfying flavor and tough, crack resistant fruit.
Flavor & performance
The honest verdict
What's great
- Dramatic blue and red color
- Sweet, rich, smoky flavor, tastier than many blues
- Crack resistant, clean fruit
- Good disease tolerance
- Open pollinated, so you can save the seed
Watch out for
- Blue shoulders form early, so ripeness is easy to misread
- Medium fruit, not a big beefsteak
- Color only develops where sunlight hits the fruit
- Disease tolerance decent but not total
- Late, wants a long warm season
Grow it in your zone
| Trait | Blue Beauty Tomato | Indigo Rose | Cherokee Purple |
|---|---|---|---|
| Color | Blue black over red | Purple black over red | Dusky rose |
| Flavor | Sweet, smoky | Mild, plummy | Rich, smoky |
| Fruit size | 4 to 8 oz | 1 to 2 oz | 8 to 12 oz |
| Days | 75 to 80 | 75 to 80 | 80 to 90 |
| Color source | Skin anthocyanin | Skin anthocyanin | Black tomato genes |
| Crack resistance | Good | Good | Fair |
| Save seeds | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The Color of Blue Beauty Tomato Is Not the Ripeness Clue You Think It Is
A grower who tried this variety left a simple tip: look for deep crimson color underneath the blue tops. That tip turns out to be backed by real plant science, not personal preference alone.
Oregon State University’s breeding program, which developed the anthocyanin tomatoes this variety descends from, explains why. The blue and purple color comes from sunlight hitting the fruit. It can show up long before the tomato is ripe.
A green, rock hard tomato sitting in full sun already looks blue on top. Relying on that color alone to judge ripeness leads to a lot of picked fruit that is nowhere near ready.
This guide covers the real ripeness signs for a blue tomato. It also covers everything else you need to grow this variety well.
What Blue Beauty Is
Blue Beauty comes from Wild Boar Farms, a modern breeding operation known for striking, flavorful hybrids and stabilized crosses. It was created by crossing Beauty King, a pink beefsteak from the same breeder, with a blue tomato line.
That blue genetics traces back to a bigger breeding story. Oregon State University released the first widely known anthocyanin tomato, Indigo Rose, in 2011. Vegetable breeder Jim Myers developed it using traditional crossbreeding, not genetic engineering.
Wild Boar Farms is known for releasing striking crosses under playful names, and this variety fits that pattern well. It combines a serious flavor pedigree with a color nobody would guess just from tasting it blind.
Myers and his program crossed cultivated tomatoes with wild species from Chile and the Galapagos Islands that naturally carry anthocyanins. That trait had previously only shown up in tomato leaves and stems, never in the fruit itself.
Before planting any tomato, a simple soil test is worth running. Knowing your soil’s pH ahead of time, ideally between 6.0 and 6.8, saves guesswork later in the season.
Blue Beauty is part of the wave that followed, combining blue anthocyanin genetics with traditional beefsteak size and flavor. The result is a pink fleshed tomato with a dark blue cap where sunlight hits the shoulders.
What It Looks Like
Fruit runs medium to large, typically 4 to 8 ounces. Shape is a classic rounded beefsteak, meaty and substantial for its size.
The top, where sun exposure is strongest, develops a deep blue to near black cap. The bottom and shaded sides stay a rich pink to red, creating a striking two tone look on the plant.
Cut open, the flesh is the pink beefsteak color from its Beauty King parent, not blue. The anthocyanin pigment sits mainly in the skin, so the dramatic color barely shows once you slice into it.
A ripe fruit sits comfortably in your palm, closer in scale to a large Brandywine than a small salad tomato. That size is easy to forget in photos, since the blue color tends to grab all the attention.
Flavor and Best Uses
Grower reports describe the flavor as very good, with firm structure and a solid balance of sweetness and juiciness. One detailed grow report compared it favorably to Brandywine, though not quite matching that variety’s depth of flavor.
Texture holds up well too, with growers noting very few cracks or soft spots even under heavy production. That combination of good flavor and reliable texture is not something every novelty colored tomato manages.
This is a true dual purpose tomato. It works well sliced fresh on sandwiches. The same grower who praised its flavor also froze a large batch for sauces and curries.
How to Grow Blue Beauty
Our guide to growing tomatoes covers the fundamentals every variety shares. Here is what this variety needs specifically.
Seed Starting
Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last expected frost date. Use a seed starting mix rather than garden soil, since garden soil compacts and can carry disease. One grower reported this variety germinates faster and more reliably than most tomatoes they have started.
Once true leaves appear, move seedlings under strong light right away. Weak light causes tall, leggy growth that struggles after transplanting. A small fan running for a few minutes daily helps seedlings build sturdier stems.
Transplanting and Spacing
Harden off seedlings over about a week before moving them outside. Give them a few hours outdoors at first, gradually increasing sun and wind exposure. Skipping this step often stunts early growth.
Space plants roughly 2 to 3 feet apart to give this beefsteak sized plant enough room. Bury the stem deeper than it sat in its pot, since roots will form along the buried section.
Support and Staking
This is a vigorous, productive plant that needs sturdy support. A tall cage or stake set at planting works well. Adding support to a loaded plant later is much harder.
Tie the main stem loosely as it grows, adding new ties every foot or so. Strong support matters more here given how heavy a full crop of beefsteak fruit gets.
Mulching
A layer of mulch around the base helps keep soil moisture steady between waterings. Straw, shredded leaves, or a landscape mulch all work well for this. Steadier moisture supports the consistent watering this variety needs to stay crack resistant.
Watering and Fertilizing
Water deeply and consistently, aiming for about 1 to 1.5 inches weekly. Extension guidance ties inconsistent watering to fruit cracking, though this variety is reported to resist cracking better than many others.
Work a balanced fertilizer into the soil at planting, then feed every few weeks once fruit sets. Extension guidance recommends a complete fertilizer with moderate nitrogen, since too much nitrogen favors leafy growth over fruit.
A tomato specific fertilizer applied through the season keeps plants fed without pushing excess foliage. Check a soil test first if you are unsure what your garden actually needs.
Our guide to watering tomatoes covers the rhythm in more depth. And our guide to fertilizing tomatoes handles the feeding schedule.
Pruning for Color
Most tomato advice tells you to keep enough foliage to shade fruit from sunscald. This variety flips that logic a bit, since sunlight is exactly what produces the blue color.
Oregon State University’s breeding team recommends trellising and light pruning to expose fruit to more sunlight. That extra light deepens both the color and the antioxidant content. Wild Boar Farms also notes this variety resists sunburn better than most, making that extra light exposure safer here.
Remove suckers as usual to manage plant size and airflow. Just do not bury developing fruit under heavy foliage the way you might with an all red variety.
Grower's Picks for Blue Beauty
The gear that matters most for growing Blue Beauty well, so you can buy the right thing once.
Knowing When It Is Actually Ripe
The blue top develops from sunlight, not ripening, so it can mislead you badly. Oregon State University’s own guidance on their anthocyanin tomatoes is direct about this exact problem.
As the fruit ripens, the color on top shifts from a shiny blue purple to a duller, more brownish purple. That shift in shine and tone matters more than the blue color showing up in the first place.
The real signal is underneath. Extension guidance says the shaded bottom of the fruit should shift from green to deep red as it ripens. The fruit should also soften like a normal tomato.
If you pick early by mistake, do not worry too much. Shaded areas exposed to light afterward can still darken, since the anthocyanin reaction keeps responding to sunlight even after harvest.
Problems to Watch For
This variety is reported to resist both sunscald and cracking better than average, likely tied to its sun tolerant genetics. That is a real advantage for a beefsteak sized tomato, since both problems are common on large fruited varieties. Our tomato problem guide walks through the most common ones.
Extension sources describe blotchy ripening and catfacing as other physiological issues, caused by environmental stress rather than disease. Consistent watering and steady temperatures reduce the odds of both.
Watch for the usual foliar diseases in humid, poorly ventilated conditions. Removing lower leaves and spacing plants well both help airflow and reduce disease pressure.
Because this is a hybrid cross, do not save seed expecting the same plant next season. Hybrid seed does not breed true, so buy fresh seed or transplants each year instead.
Grafting onto disease resistant rootstock is an option for growers who want even more resilience. It takes practice, but combining a hybrid’s genetics with a tougher root system can push yields even higher.
For identification and treatment, our tomato disease guide covers the full list.
Companion Planting
Basil grows well nearby and shares the same sun and water needs. Some gardeners believe it improves flavor, though the bigger benefit is simply making good use of the same bed space.
Marigolds are a popular companion too, often planted to help deter certain soil pests. They also fill in bare soil around the base of a tall, productive plant like this one.
Avoid planting near fennel, dill, or brassicas like broccoli and cabbage, since these compete for nutrients or slow growth. Give this variety its own dedicated space instead.
Container Growing
This variety performs well in containers despite its beefsteak size. One detailed grower report describes two plants in a single 12 gallon container producing at least 100 tomatoes. That made them among the most productive plants in that garden all season. Our guide to growing tomatoes in pots covers the container basics.
Use a quality potting mix rather than garden soil, ideally amended with a bit of perlite for drainage. A 10 to 15 gallon container gives the roots enough room for a plant this productive.
Water every 2 to 3 days once the plant fills out, adjusting for heat and container size. Feed regularly through the season, since container nutrients wash out faster than they do in garden soil.
Set the container somewhere it gets a full 6 to 8 hours of direct sun daily. Since sunlight drives this variety’s color, a shaded corner leaves you with duller fruit than full sun does.
Harvest and Storage
Pick fruit once the shaded bottom turns deep red and the top shifts to that duller, brownish purple tone. Squeeze gently too, since ripe fruit should give slightly under light pressure.
Store ripe tomatoes at room temperature, never in the refrigerator. Cold temperatures dull flavor and break down texture fast, especially on a thin skinned variety like this one.
Given how productive this variety can be, plan for extra fruit beyond fresh eating. It freezes well for later sauces and curries, and the low cracking rate makes it a solid canning candidate too.
How Blue Beauty Compares
Against Indigo Rose, the original OSU anthocyanin variety, this one trades smaller, cherry leaning fruit for full beefsteak size. Flavor reports also favor Blue Beauty for depth, closer to a classic beefsteak than a novelty tomato.
Against standard red beefsteaks like Brandywine, growers rank the flavor close but not quite equal. Production and disease resistance often favor Blue Beauty instead. That tradeoff makes it an easy pick for gardeners who want strong yields without giving up much on taste.
Against other anthocyanin varieties bred since, like Midnight Roma, the differences come down to shape and use. Midnight Roma leans toward sauce making, while Blue Beauty stays a fresh eating slicer first.
Midnight Roma also carries verticillium wilt resistance bred in by the OSU program. That is worth checking for if disease pressure is a concern in your garden. Blue Beauty leans instead on its reported sunscald and crack resistance.
The Verdict
Blue Beauty earns its place for genuinely good flavor, not simply a striking color. The blue cap gets attention, but the productivity and crack resistance are what keep growers planting it again.
Just remember that blue top is not your ripeness signal. Check the color underneath instead, and this variety will reward you with a heavy harvest of good, good looking tomatoes.
This variety suits gardeners who want a real conversation piece in the garden without sacrificing dinner table quality. It also rewards anyone willing to prune with sunlight in mind rather than against it.
For gardeners who want something visually different without giving up flavor or yield, this is a strong pick. Give it sun, steady water, and sturdy support, and it will not disappoint.