📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bogatyr Ilyusha
- 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the “Aelita” seed company. The name translates to “Hero Ilyusha”, referencing a legendary strongman from Slavic folklore.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Can be grown successfully both in a greenhouse and outdoors in open ground.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, blunt oxhearts (broad and oblate heart-shaped) weighing 7-14 oz (200-400g). While the outside looks somewhat standard, the flesh inside is very dense with dark, rich undertones.
- 👅 Flavor: Complex, sweet and slightly tart. Growers note that its taste and flesh color closely resemble classic “dark/black” tomato varieties.
- ⏳ Yield & Growing Traits: An early-season variety. Grower’s Note: Although the seed packet claims it is “crack-resistant”, experiences are mixed. Some growers report severe concentric cracking around the stem, while others harvest perfectly smooth fruits.
Indet, 7-14 oz (200-400g), broadly oblate heart-shaped fruits, very beautiful. They are early; mine actually grew larger and ripened earlier outdoors in open ground than they did in the greenhouse, but maybe that was just a quirk of this particular season.
On the cross-section, the color is very rich, dense, and tasty with a sweet-and-sour profile. Both the flavor and the color are much closer to dark/black tomatoes.
The breeder’s description says “crack-resistant” — they are totally lying! It suffered from severe concentric cracking in circles around the stem. Overall though, I really liked the tomato; it surprised and pleased me.
In 2024, I also bought a packet of this from Aelita. Germination was great, and it grew completely true to type (I was so worried it might be an off-type / crossed seeds). The tomatoes had a gorgeous heart shape; they were beautiful and delicious. I made sure to save seeds.
Mine didn’t crack at all! It’s a pity I didn’t take any pictures.
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