🍅 Quick take: Rebecca Sebastian’s Bull Bag (often shared as Bull Bad) is an indeterminate, mid-season heirloom known for hefty, blunt-topped beefsteaks weighing between 14 and 21 oz (400-600 g) and hitting over 1 lb. Plants grow to a manageable 5 to 5.5 ft (1.6-1.7 m) with thick, sturdy vines. Growers consistently report two distinct circulating strains: a slightly flatter raspberry-pink version and a deeper red variant. Both deliver rich, old-time sweet heirloom flavor with dense, meaty flesh and distinctive pleated shoulders. Full summary ↓
Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-6b Experience)
Received this intriguing variety as a gift, and it definitely has its own distinct personality. Indeterminate, but the vine doesn’t get crazy tall. Regular foliage. Fruits are round, though the first crown sets can be wider. Reddish-raspberry color with pleated folds across the top shoulders. Very large fruits. Mine did show some cracking. Flavor leans toward that classic rich raspberry heirloom profile with a slight, refreshing tang. Really enjoyed this one.
Loved this variety. The fruits are mostly uniform, hovering right around 1 lb (0.5 kg). That last one in my photos turned out like an ugly, catfaced bruiser, but it was massive! 🙂 Strong, sturdy vine that topped out around 5 to 5.5 ft (1.6-1.7 m) in my greenhouse.
I really love when you can easily pick a variety out of a crowded harvest crate just by looking at it. This one is unmistakable. Even though there are tons of raspberry-red slicers out there, this one stands out: subtle ribbing, a flat, blunt top that looks like someone sliced the crown off, and very dense, heavy in the hand.
I really love when you can easily pick a variety out of a crowded harvest crate just by looking at it. This one is unmistakable. Even though there are tons of raspberry-red slicers out there, this one stands out: subtle ribbing, a flat, blunt top that looks like someone sliced the crown off, and very dense, heavy in the hand.
Hey ladies, I actually grow two different strains of this variety, one pink and one red. Both were fantastic. Posted photos on the last two pages of my garden diary. Their shapes differ slightly as well: the pink version is noticeably flatter.
Already shared this photo elsewhere on the board, but I gotta archive it here too.
I am literally staring right at this photo haha.
I grew the pink strain sourced from Boris Sonin down in Minusinsk.
A single plant cranked out 12 beefsteaks weighing between 14 and 21 oz (400-600 g) each.
Edited December 13, 2023 by Shevyachok
I am literally staring right at this photo haha.
I grew the pink strain sourced from Boris Sonin down in Minusinsk.
A single plant cranked out 12 beefsteaks weighing between 14 and 21 oz (400-600 g) each.
Edited December 13, 2023 by Shevyachok
Hey ladies, I actually grow two different strains of this variety, one pink and one red. Both were fantastic. Posted photos on the last two pages of my garden diary. Their shapes differ slightly as well: the pink version is noticeably flatter.
I’m growing your pink version! Huge thanks to axleto for the seeds 🙏
Massive, delicious, impressive tomatoes with outstanding flavor 👍 Distinctive gathering and pleats across the shoulders.
Rebecca Sebastian’s Bull Bag.
Edited November 9, 2024 by Svetikk
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Grew both the red and the pink lines from Olesya’s seeds. Big, gorgeous, dense, and meaty. My pink one was planted tucked in a corner right in the blazing afternoon sun just as an extra repeat, so it suffered a little sunscald. Higher up on the top trusses, the pink fruits took on a slightly more elongated shape. In terms of taste, both were clear winners.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant: Moderate-height indeterminate vine with thick, sturdy main stems, staying around 5 to 5.5 ft (1.6-1.7 m) in greenhouse setups. Regular leaf foliage. Mid-season maturity.
- 📈 Yield & Weight: Outstanding producer of heavyweight beefsteaks. Individual fruits regularly weigh 14 to 21 oz (400-600 g) with giants topping 1 lb (0.5 kg). Lyudmila logged 12 massive beefsteaks off a single vine in cold-climate Siberia. Susceptible to occasional concentric cracking under erratic moisture, and exposed fruit can get sunscald.
- 🎨 Strain Variability: Growers note two stable variations circulating in seed trades: a flatter, slightly ribbed pink version and a slightly more rounded deep-red line. Higher trusses on the pink strain may produce more elongated fruit.
- 👅 Taste & Texture: Super dense, heavy, and meaty with minimal gel run. Classic old-time heirloom flavor with prominent sweetness and a balanced acidic finish.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Extensively field-tested across diverse short and cold-season climates including USDA Zone 3/4 (Siberia and Chelyabinsk), USDA Zone 4 (Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod), USDA Zone 5 (Montreal, Canada), and USDA Zone 6b (Volgograd).
🍅 Grown Rebecca Sebastian’s Bull Bag? Did you get the pink or red strain? Share your weights and growing zone in the comments below!
👨🌾 Editor’s Note: Cultivar Name & Circulation
This heirloom originally entered seed preservation networks as Rebecca Sebastian’s Bull Bag, preserved by family heirloom seed savers in the United States. In Russian seed exchanges, it is frequently cataloged under the typographical variation “Bull Bad.” Both the red and pink lines documented above trace through international seed trades, maintaining identical pleated shoulders and dense beefsteak interiors.
This heirloom originally entered seed preservation networks as Rebecca Sebastian’s Bull Bag, preserved by family heirloom seed savers in the United States. In Russian seed exchanges, it is frequently cataloged under the typographical variation “Bull Bad.” Both the red and pink lines documented above trace through international seed trades, maintaining identical pleated shoulders and dense beefsteak interiors.
