Growers’ Notes and Field Trials (USDA Zone 4 Experience)
Indeterminate variety with regular foliage. Inside the greenhouse, it climbed all the way to the rafters. The largest fruit weighed in at 4.5 oz (130 g).Flavor is well-balanced: everything in nice, even moderation.
This variety was an absolute workhorse, setting fruit in any weather, through brutal heat and cold snaps alike. Fruit color turned out deep, saturated red. The official description says it should develop purple brushstrokes on the shoulders, but mine probably did not get enough direct sun under the greenhouse glass.
Definitely growing it again, though probably taking a break next season.
Edited November 11, 2016 by Drosera
Translation Hiccups (“Smog” vs. “Smudge”) and Direct Sun Requirements
I am almost certain this variety is already in our catalog under the mistranslated name “Purple Smog”
The actual authentic name is Purple Smudge:
And it is not a “smog” or mist at all: a smudge means a blotch, stain, or smear.
Drosera said:
The actual authentic name is Purple Smudge… and it is not a “smog” or mist at all: a smudge means a blotch, stain, or smear.
Sveta, my seeds came from Germany in an exchange labeled under that name. I have zero problem with you updating the thread title to match Tatiana’s database 🙂
Full Summary: Plant Habit, Anthocyanin Behavior, Flavor, and Naming
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Vigorous indeterminate vine with regular foliage. Climbs easily to 6.5+ ft (2+ m) to hit greenhouse rafters, setting continuous clusters along the main leader.
- 🍅 Fruit Quality: Round, smooth saladette/small slicers weighing up to 4.5 oz (130 g). Solid red base skin that develops dark purple “smudges” or blush marks on the shoulders under intense UV light.
- ☀️ UV Anthocyanin Trigger: As an early generation anthocyanin variety, the purple pigmentation is highly sensitive to raw UV light. Grown behind UV-absorbing glass or plastic polycarbonate in greenhouses, the shoulders frequently fail to turn purple and finish solid red.
- 📈 Yield & Reliability: True all-weather workhorse. Exhibits outstanding blossom set regardless of weather fluctuations, setting fruit through high heat and cold snaps without aborting flowers.
- 👅 Flavor Profile: Balanced, traditional old-school tomato flavor with mild sweetness and moderate acidity.
- ⚠️ Name Clarification: Frequently mistranslated in Russian-speaking seed lists as Purple Smog (Пурпурный смог). In English, “smudge” refers to a stain or smear of purple pigment across the fruit shoulders.
- 🌎 Trial Conditions: Evaluated in unheated greenhouse beds in Kaluga, Russia (USDA Zone 4).
