Quick Summary of Altai Honey (Altayskiy Med)
- Two Different Varieties: Growers note there are two versions under this name: a pink/crimson heart-shaped beefsteak (Ukrainian origin) and an orange determinate version (Russian Siberian series). Both are highly rated.
- Taste & Yield: True to its name, it has a distinct honey-like sweetness. Very juicy and meaty. Excellent for fresh eating and processing.
- Plant Care: The pink indeterminate version has wispy, graceful vines that require strong truss support for huge fruits (up to 900g / 2 lbs).
- Sun Tolerance: Prone to sunscald and green shoulders in direct, intense sunlight. Performs much better in partial greenhouse shade.
Altai Honey (Altayskiy Med) tomato – indeterminate, mid-season, large-fruited variety.
The plant is medium-tall and vigorous. My bush grew to 1.7 meters (~5.5 ft). It’s a sprawling plant with abundant foliage. I pruned it to 2 stems. The fruits are incredibly beautiful, oblate, smooth, crimson-red, forming trusses of 5-6 tomatoes. Occasionally, I got some irregular shapes (like in my photo).
The average fruit weight is 350-400 grams (12-14 oz), but some larger ones reached up to 600 grams (1.3 lbs). These tomatoes taste absolutely amazing, with a unique honey undertone. Very sweet, dense, and meaty, yet juicy at the same time. The variety is highly prolific and set fruit without skipping any trusses. It’s a great all-rounder.
These tomatoes are perfect for fresh eating: salads, sandwiches, and slicing. They are also excellent for winter canning, making juices, and sauces. Altai Honey was my absolute favorite among pink and red tomatoes this season. I will definitely grow it again.
Yulia, could you tell me more about the exact ripening time? And after how many leaves does the first truss appear? Thanks!
Galya! It’s supposed to be mid-season, but for me, it turned out mid-early. I can’t say exactly after which leaf the truss forms. Since it’s indeterminate, probably after every 3 leaves. It was planted in the far south-east corner, surrounded by huge, sprawling neighbor plants. I just reached my hand in and picked the tomatoes. There were many trusses. The higher up, the larger the fruits were. The first truss was practically on the ground.
Judging by the name “Honey,” one would expect the tomatoes to be yellow or orange… Interestingly, the official State Register lists “Altai Honey” (from Rostov Seeds company) as follows:
“Early ripening, salad variety. Determinate plant. Leaves are long, dark green. Unripe fruit is green with a dark spot at the stem; ripe fruit is orange. Heart-shaped, medium firmness. Weight 250-350g. Excellent taste.”
I really liked this variety! Thank you so much, Yulia (Tiffany), for the seeds.
Here is what I found online about Altai Honey to clear the confusion:
“Altai Honey will be a great find for lovers of large-fruited varieties. There are two variations that differ in color. The variety with pink fruits was bred in Ukraine, while the orange one is from Russia (Siberian series). Both of them deserve attention and a worthy place in your garden.”
A good variety. The tomatoes are beautiful, firm, and pleasant to hold. The taste is great.
An excellent variety! Very productive, beautiful, and tasty. The plant naturally formed into three stems and set fruit on all trusses without any skips.
I grew the crimson heart-shaped one (the Ukrainian line). My impressions are mixed. I also grew “Pink Honey” that same year, and honestly, they seemed identical to me in all aspects. The fruits are huge hearts up to 900g (2 lbs). Yield, in my opinion, is average, about 15-20 fruits per season.
The bushes DO NOT like growing in direct sun—the fruits suffer from sunscald and develop hard green shoulders and tough internal cores. They performed much better near the fence in partial shade. The taste in my conditions varied throughout the season from sweet-and-sour to bland-sweet, to very sweet.
The plant has a wispy, graceful structure, so the trusses MUST be tied up well, or they will snap under the weight of the massive fruits. What surprised me: the plants flowered well and set fruit without skips, but only for the first 4 trusses. The higher trusses stopped sizing up. They just waited until I harvested the lower ripe fruits, and only then did they start filling out the higher ones. By then, the season was over.
Grown in a greenhouse. Mid-early, height no more than 1.5m (~5 ft). Fruits were of various shapes, very tasty.
Last year I planted the orange version of Altai Honey. Very tasty, but strictly a slicing/salad tomato—it doesn’t store for long. I planted it in a sunny spot on the south side of the greenhouse, and it turned out that too much light and heat are detrimental to it. This year, I will plant it on the north side of the greenhouse.
For me, this variety is always mid-early and incredibly sweet.
