🍅 Quick take: Reinhard’s Green Heart is a standout indeterminate, mid-season green-when-ripe oxheart bred by German tomato pioneer Reinhard Kraft. Known for heavy 9-14 oz (250-400 g) fruits on slender, wispy vines, it develops an emerald gel interior and an amber-pink blush at the blossom end when fully ripe. Reviewers overwhelmingly praise its intense, candy-sweet, tropical fruit flavor, though several note you must withhold late-season water and rely on the gentle squeeze test to avoid picking it underripe. Full summary ↓
Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-6 & Zone 11 Experience)
One of the most gorgeous hearts from Reinhard Kraft’s Heart Trilogy. Sturdy, vigorous vine with long, wispy, drooping foliage. Mid-season. Sets beautiful fruit with an unusual pale green skin. Once they fully ripen, pink blushes creep in, mostly right around the blossom end tip.The flavor! The full richness only comes through when the fruit is genuinely, dead-ripe on the vine. It brings a big punch of sweetness balanced by subtle tart notes. The flesh is emerald green and melting like jelly. The first fruits off the vine were easily 14 oz (400 g) and up.
Edited June 9, 2017 by Drosera
By late August, the vines had reached all the way up and were running right under the greenhouse roof…Edited September 1, 2016 by Yaroslavna
To my palate, when picked fully ripe, this is hands down the sweetest green-when-ripe tomato out there! I was genuinely surprised by how bold the sweetness was. Fruit size ranged from massive slicers down to about 9 oz (250 g). High yielder, tall vine with long weeping foliage. At peak ripeness, the tips take on a soft pink tint both outside and in the core.
DELICIOUSSSSSS!!! 😋
Danko wrote: DELICIOUSSSSSS!!! 😋
Elena, look at that slice! 🤤😋 It is literally dripping juice!
Natalya, I am in shock myself! Right now these gorgeous hearts started ripening up so nicely. Must be getting plenty of light now that I pruned and topped all that canopy growth under the ceiling. During summer the fruits were gigantic, but barely had any blush. Now look at that, every single one has it!
This variety made me so happy this season! Without question the best-tasting green tomato I have ever tried. Everything matched Natalya Pavlovna’s notes to a tee. Emerald green fruit and flesh, though I definitely had a hard time figuring out when to pick them at first! 😊
The Ripening Riddle: Candy Sweetness vs. Grassy Water
For me, this turned out to be one of the blandest varieties of my entire 2016 season. Catching the exact ripening window was next to impossible. The flavor swung from grassy and raw to just flat, sugary water. Sliced open, the flesh looked washed out and pale, not appetizing at all. The upper clusters went straight to the compost pile because I had zero use for them.Tatiana’s database profile for reference: https://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Reinhard%27s_Green_Heart
Natasha, thank you so much for this wonderful variety! 😘 Heavy producer, delicious, sweet, and bursting with juice 😋. The flesh literally glows like fruit jelly 😋😋😋
Goes to show just how much local growing conditions matter. Mine grew in a crowded, shady spot. Fruit size was still very solid, but in my garden it ended up being the latest variety to ripen this year.The fruit was definitely not bland. Noticeable tang, pleasantly sweet, though not overly sweet. Just a solid, well-balanced tomato.
Next year I want to grow it side by side with Malachite Box to compare flavor profiles.
All in all, happy with the fruit size, vine vigor, and flavor, but next season it gets prime sunny real estate. Pruned to two stems. In my opinion, this variety earns a permanent spot in the garden.
Hasn’t ripened in my garden yet. Mind you, I grew this one from a rooted top cutting, which always pushes maturity dates back a bit.
Planted this with some hesitation after seeing mixed reviews from folks on similar soil, but the flavor turned out good. Yield was great too. The only letdown was the interior appearance when sliced. It looked pale and dull, not particularly appetizing. For me, that was the only flaw; everything else was solid.
Grew Reinhard Kraft Green Heart this year. Absolutely loved it. Started ripening among the very first. Set every truss without dropping a single blossom. Fruit shapes varied from blunt hearts up on the higher clusters to flatter beefsteaks lower down.Picked the first tomato when it yielded slightly to the touch, though it probably wasn’t fully ripe yet. Sliced open, it was breathtakingly gorgeous, especially around the seed pockets. Pure emerald color. Tossed it into a multicolor salad where it completely stole the show. Salad looked stunning and tasted amazing.
Let the next fruit hang longer until truly ripe. Tasted like an exotic tropical fruit! 😋 Super productive vine, with uniform fruits weighing roughly 10-14 oz (300-400 g). Will definitely keep growing this.
Here is that first picked fruit. My camera does not do the real color justice.
I agree with both sides of the reviews here.Early and prolific, but the first one I tried was a real disappointment. Just watery-sweet with zero depth 🙁 Completely lost interest in it and started using them in canned sauces or giving them away as garden oddities 🤐.
Then I tried another fruit in late August, and man, was I blown away 😲! Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever tasted a tomato sweeter than this Green Heart.
Huge shoutout to Elena (Danko) for the seeds! 😘😘😘
Really liked this one. Beautiful and delicious, but you definitely have to dial in that harvest window. It doesn’t always develop a strong blush, so you constantly think it is still underripe. Found myself out there every day giving them the gentle squeeze test 😄.
Greenhouse Performance: Heat Tolerance and Watering Impact on Flavor
Grew in a polycarbonate greenhouse. Pushed right through brutal 110°F (43°C) heatwaves, though I made sure to give each vine about 0.4 gal (1.5 L) of water every day. During peak summer heat the flavor was diluted and washed out. Once fall arrived and I cut irrigation way back, the flavor concentrated into a rich, sweet profile. The flesh is tender and melting. Holds on the counter for about 5-7 days.
Grew this tucked into the corner of my greenhouse. The tomatoes grew massive. Was honestly worried the heavy trusses would snap clean off the vine. Flavor-wise, it was one of the sweetest tomatoes in my whole patch. I would even call it super sugary, almost cloying.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Ripeness Secrets
- 🌿 Plant & Foliage: Indeterminate, vigorous tall vine that easily reaches greenhouse rafters. Foliage is thin, wispy, and distinctly droopy (typical of oxheart heirlooms). Sets fruit reliably all the way up the plant without dropping blossoms.
- ⚖️ Fruit Size & Shape: Mostly heart-shaped with some blunt or slightly ribbed shapes on lower clusters. Weights range from 9 to 14 oz (250-400 g), with early specimens frequently exceeding 14 oz.
- 👅 Taste Profile: When dead-ripe, growers consistently describe it as candy-sweet with an exotic, fruity undertone and jelly-like emerald gel. However, picking it too early or overwatering leads to washed-out, grassy flavor. Two growers reported dull, pale internal cross-sections when grown in heavy soils or dense shade.
- ⏱️ Ripeness Indicators: Difficult for beginners. Look for the skin to soften slightly under gentle thumb pressure, the green skin to gain a warm yellowish cast, and pink or amber blushes to bloom across the blossom end.
- 📦 Shelf Life: Tender skin and soft flesh, keeping about 5 to 7 days after harvest before softening excessively.
- 🌎 Growing Zones Reported: Northern short-season climates (USDA Zones 4-5 in Central/Northern Russia), warm southern steppes (USDA Zone 6), and subtropical conditions (USDA Zone 11, Canary Islands).
🍅 Grown Reinhard’s Green Heart? Drop your USDA zone and flavor verdict in the comments below, and share your harvest photos!
👨🌾 Editor’s Note: Green Oxheart Quirks & Culture
• Reinhard’s Heart Trilogy: Reinhard Kraft of Germany bred a renowned trio of heart varieties: Green Heart, Chocolate Heart, and Purple Heart. Green-when-ripe oxhearts remain among the rarest genetics in the heirloom tomato world.
• Water vs. Sugar Concentration: As Svetlana notes, heavy daily watering during extreme summer heat keeps the vines alive but dilutes flavor compounds. For peak brix (sweetness), taper off irrigation as fruits begin to size up and mature.
• Growing from a Rooted Cutting (Rezenets): Russian growers frequently pinch or accidentally snap the tops of leggy spring seedlings and re-root them in water. While this salvages an extra plant, expect flowering and first harvest to be delayed by 10 to 14 days compared to uninterrupted seed starts.
• Reinhard’s Heart Trilogy: Reinhard Kraft of Germany bred a renowned trio of heart varieties: Green Heart, Chocolate Heart, and Purple Heart. Green-when-ripe oxhearts remain among the rarest genetics in the heirloom tomato world.
• Water vs. Sugar Concentration: As Svetlana notes, heavy daily watering during extreme summer heat keeps the vines alive but dilutes flavor compounds. For peak brix (sweetness), taper off irrigation as fruits begin to size up and mature.
• Growing from a Rooted Cutting (Rezenets): Russian growers frequently pinch or accidentally snap the tops of leggy spring seedlings and re-root them in water. While this salvages an extra plant, expect flowering and first harvest to be delayed by 10 to 14 days compared to uninterrupted seed starts.
