Blue Berries Tomato
A small anthocyanin rich cherry tomato from breeder Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms, built on real wild species genetics, honest about a flavor reputation that leans tart rather than the sweet billing some sellers use, and about anthocyanin levels far below what the blueberry comparison implies.
Flavor & performance
The honest verdict
What's great
- Genuinely striking color backed by real, well studied plant genetics
- Good, heavy production reported through late season
- No fruit splitting reported even in wet weather by one independent grower
- Contains measurably more anthocyanin than a standard red tomato
- Open pollinated, not a hybrid, so seed can be saved
Watch out for
- Flavor reported as tart leaning by multiple independent sources, not the sweet billing some sellers use
- Anthocyanin content is real but only about a tenth of a true blueberry's, despite the marketing comparison
- Ripeness is easy to misjudge by color alone since the fruit stays dark even when ready
- Exact breeding lineage back to university research is not publicly documented for this specific variety
- Little current forum or Reddit discussion exists specifically about this variety
Grow it in your zone
| Trait | Blue Berries Tomato | Indigo Rose | Sungold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Cherry, indeterminate novelty | Cherry, indeterminate novelty (original) | Cherry, indeterminate hybrid |
| Breeder | Wild Boar Farms, Brad Gates | Oregon State University, Jim Myers | Independent Japanese breeding line |
| Days | 74 to 75 | 75 to 80 | 55 to 65 |
| Fruit size | 1 to 2 oz | ~2 in, round | Small, very sweet cherry |
| Flavor | Tart leaning per grower reports | Mild, sometimes described as bland | Very sweet, widely loved |
| Color trait | Anthocyanin, wild species genetics | Anthocyanin, wild species genetics, the original release | Standard carotenoid orange |
| Save seeds | Yes | Yes | No, hybrid |
The Blue Berries tomato is a small, striking cherry tomato. It owes its near black purple color to genuine wild species genetics, not a filter or a marketing trick. The name oversells the flavor a little, though.
Most growers who have actually tasted it describe something closer to a tart, solid tomato than a sweet novelty. This guide traces where Blue Berries tomato actually came from, and explains the real plant science behind its color.
That science uses the same genetics that built the whole modern blue tomato category. This page also reports honestly on flavor and ripeness, rather than repeating the sweeter claims found on some seed pages.
What the Blue Berries tomato actually is
This is an indeterminate, open pollinated cherry tomato. Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms in California bred it, introducing it around 2014. Several retailers sell it both under its plain name and under the trademarked label Indigo Blue Berries.
That places it inside a broader family of anthocyanin bred tomatoes, rather than making it a one off variety. Our tomato growing guide covers the indeterminate versus determinate distinction if that terminology is new to you.
Fruit is small, roughly 1 to 2 ounces and about an inch across, clustered in trusses typical of a cherry type. Days to maturity run 74 to 75 days from transplant, consistent across the sellers who list it. The plant grows as a standard indeterminate vine, 3 to 5 feet tall.
It benefits from pruning to one or two main leaders, plus a trellis or cage for support. No formal disease resistance is documented, though the breeder’s own listing describes general crack, sunburn, and disease tolerance. Read that as a breeder claim, not an independently verified trait.
The real genetics behind the color
Blue and purple tomatoes get their color from anthocyanin. This is a genuinely different pigment system. Chlorophyll and lycopene combine instead to make other dark heirloom tomatoes, like Cherokee Purple, look nearly black.
Anthocyanin does not occur naturally in cultivated tomato skin at meaningful levels. It entered modern varieties through decades of breeding work, using genes pulled from wild tomato relatives.
Oregon State University’s own breeding program combined three separate wild species genes to build the modern blue tomato. Horticulturist Jim Myers led that program. One gene came from Solanum chilense, which turns on anthocyanin production in response to ultraviolet light.
A second came from the Galapagos species Solanum cheesmaniae, which boosts pigment further when paired with the first gene. A third came from Solanum lycopersicoides, which intensifies the effect again when stacked with the other two. That combined genetics work led to Indigo Rose, released around 2011 to 2012 as the first widely available anthocyanin tomato.
Roughly fifty related varieties now exist worldwide. Five came from OSU directly, and the rest came from private breeders working with the same wild species genetics. No source we could find documents the exact link between them.
Blue Berries may trace its own lines directly to OSU’s original material. Or it may have been developed independently from the same public wild species resources. Treat the connection as part of the same broader breeding movement, not a confirmed direct lineage.
The anthocyanin gene switches on by ultraviolet light. Because of that, only the sun exposed shoulders of the fruit color up deeply. The shaded underside stays green, then ripens toward red or maroon underneath.
That is also why the fruit looks dark and unripe well before, and well after, it is actually ready to eat. That is a genuine source of confusion, covered further below.
Is it actually as healthy as blueberries suggest?
Anthocyanin is a real, peer reviewed antioxidant compound. Purple tomatoes do contain measurably more of it than standard red varieties. A 2020 review published in the journal Antioxidants documents that high anthocyanin tomato lines can reach meaningful concentrations.
It shows anthocyanins scavenging reactive oxygen species and inhibiting some cancer cell lines in laboratory studies. The review is careful to note this is lab evidence, though, not proof of a clinical effect in the human body.
Scale matters here, and this is the fact most catalog copy leaves out. Oregon State’s own research places purple tomato anthocyanin levels far lower than blueberries. The density is roughly a tenth to a twentieth of what actual blueberries carry.
That means you would need to eat around ten purple cherry tomatoes to match a typical blueberry serving. Even Jim Myers, the breeder behind the original research, has been quoted describing anthocyanins as powerful antioxidants “in the test tube.”
He is honest, though, that the real world effect on the human body remains uncertain. Treat the health angle as a modest, genuine difference from red tomatoes, not a reason to expect a dramatic nutritional upgrade.
Our tomato nutrition guide covers the nutrition profile a standard red tomato already offers, including vitamin C, potassium, and lycopene.
What growers actually report about flavor
This is where Blue Berries tomato diverges most clearly from its marketing. The seed company TomatoFest, unusually, undercuts its own sales copy directly. It describes the fruit as leaning acidic and tart, with a bitterness that can mask the sweetness.
TomatoFest files the variety under novelty, valued more for looks than taste, though it still notes that other growers call it sweet and flavorful. An independent grower blog described a similar solid tomato flavor that is more acidic than sweet.
That blog called it not a top pick next to a genuinely sweet cherry variety. It still praised it as a decent performer in salads and cooked dishes, with no fruit splitting even in wet weather. A wholesale plant information listing aimed at professional growers independently landed on the same characterization, calling the flavor pleasantly tart and slightly acidic.
Three separate, mostly non marketing sources converge on “tart leaning, solid but not sweet.” That is a meaningfully different picture than the “sweet and flavorful” sales copy some listings use. We think it is more useful to set that expectation honestly, before you plant a whole trellis of these.
How to tell when it is actually ripe
The purple pigment develops from sun exposure, not from ripening itself. Because of that, color is not a reliable ripeness signal here, unlike almost every red tomato you have grown before. The fruit shows purple on its shoulders from relatively early in development.
It stays dark, near black to deep maroon, even once fully ripe underneath. The practical fix is to judge readiness by a gentle squeeze rather than by sight.
Independent grower reports confirm this approach. Ripe fruit gives slightly under light pressure, the same test used for any cherry tomato regardless of color.
Problems to watch for
The breeder describes general crack and sunburn tolerance for this variety. One independent grower report confirms no splitting even in a wet season. Neither claim is backed by a formal trial, though.
Treat it as a reasonable expectation rather than a guarantee. Watch for the same general issues any cherry tomato can develop. Our tomato fruit problem guide covers diagnosis for cracking, blossom end rot, and other common disorders, none specific to this variety.
Growing the Blue Berries tomato
Starting and transplanting
Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date. Move plants outside after frost danger passes, once nights hold reliably above 50 F. Harden seedlings off over about a week first.
Support and spacing
Give plants 24 to 36 inches of space and set a trellis or cage at planting time. Pruning to one or two main leaders is commonly recommended for this variety. It tends to concentrate energy into fruit production rather than excess foliage.
Water and feeding
Water consistently, rather than letting the soil swing between dry and soaked. Our guide to watering tomatoes covers keeping moisture even through a heat wave. Our guide to fertilizing tomatoes covers a feeding schedule that supports steady cherry tomato production through a long season.
Grower's Picks for Blue Berries
The gear that matters most for growing Blue Berries well, so you can buy the right thing once.
Blue Berries vs Indigo Rose vs Sungold
Indigo Rose is the OSU bred original that started the modern blue tomato category. Against it, the comparison is largely about refinement within the same genetic family, not two unrelated approaches.
Indigo Rose itself has a reputation among growers for mild, sometimes underwhelming flavor. Choosing between the two mostly comes down to fruit size and personal color preference, not eating quality.
Sungold is a completely different, universally loved sweet cherry hybrid with no anthocyanin trait at all, and against it the contrast is stark. Sungold is bred purely for sweetness and matures faster, typically 55 to 65 days.
Blue Berries is bred for its color trait first, and carries a documented tart leaning flavor profile instead. If a sweet snacking cherry is your main goal, Sungold remains the more reliable choice. Grow Blue Berries instead for the color and the genuine plant science, not to replace a sweet variety in your garden.
Who this tomato is actually for
This variety suits a gardener who wants a genuinely science backed novelty, and who values the deep color for salads and garnishes. That gardener should not expect a candy sweet snacking experience.
It also suits anyone curious about modern tomato breeding. The genetics behind it are real, well documented university research, not a marketing invention.
Skip it if sweetness is your top priority for a cherry tomato. Skip it too if you want a large, well established grower community to lean on for troubleshooting. Current forum and community discussion specifically about this variety remains thin.
It is also worth planting alongside a proven sweet cherry, at least for a first season, rather than in place of one. Independent flavor reports lean tart rather than sweet.
Growing Blue Berries next to a reliable performer gives you a fair comparison in your own garden conditions. It also gives you a backup supply of the sweeter snacking tomato most households reach for first.
The verdict
Blue Berries tomato earns its place as a legitimately science backed novelty cherry tomato. It is built on real wild species anthocyanin genetics, not a marketing gimmick. Its antioxidant content is genuinely elevated but modestly scaled compared to standard red tomatoes.
Grow it for the color, the conversation, and the real plant science. Keep your flavor expectations set to tart leaning rather than sweet, based on independent grower reports. Judge ripeness by feel, not by how dark the fruit looks.
Frequently asked questions
Is Blue Berries tomato the same as Indigo Rose?
No. Indigo Rose was Oregon State University’s original anthocyanin tomato release. Blue Berries is a separate variety bred by Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms, part of a wider family of related anthocyanin tomatoes.
Does Blue Berries tomato actually taste like blueberries?
No. The name refers to size and color, not flavor. Independent grower reports describe a solid, tart leaning tomato flavor rather than a fruity or berry taste.
How do you know when Blue Berries tomato is ripe?
Color is not reliable, since the fruit stays dark even at full ripeness. Judge readiness with a gentle squeeze, the same test used for any cherry tomato.
Are blue tomatoes actually healthier than red tomatoes?
They contain measurably more anthocyanin, a real antioxidant. But it is only about a tenth of what a true blueberry offers, so the difference is real but modest.