📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Andizhanskie (Andizhan)
- 🌍 Origin: A Central Asian heirloom. The name translates to “From Andizhan,” a major city in Uzbekistan. Uzbek tomatoes are famous across Eastern Europe for their intense sweetness developed under the hot southern sun.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season variety. Very vigorous and highly productive, often out-yielding classic oxhearts like Bull’s Heart.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large pink-red oxhearts weighing 200–500g (7–17.5 oz). Very meaty with small seed chambers and few seeds.
- 👅 Flavor & Use: Intensely sweet and delicious. Perfect for fresh eating and salads.
- ⚠️ Pros & Cons: While the yield and flavor are incredible, this variety has a major drawback – the fruits are extremely delicate. They have zero shelf life, bruise very easily, and must be eaten or processed into sauce almost immediately after picking. It also requires heavy potassium feeding to prevent yellow/hard shoulders.
Description from the seed vendor: Mid-season, tall. Fruits are pink-red, 200-500 g (7-17.5 oz), sweet, and meaty. Very few seeds. They are similar to Bychye Serdtse (Bull’s Heart), just much more productive.
I really liked this variety. Good yield, meaty, and tasty.
I didn’t give them enough potassium fertilizer (Notice the yellow shoulders on the fruit).
These tomatoes are great in every way, except their shelf life and transportability are basically zero, they bruise very easily!
LyutikNN said:
…their shelf life and transportability are basically zero, they bruise very easily!
Lyudmila, you are absolutely right, this tomato needs to go straight into processing almost immediately.
I haven’t come across an oxheart with a good shelf life yet 😞.
ZhavoronoK said:
I haven’t come across an oxheart with a good shelf life yet 😞.
Katyush, whose seeds were they originally? Have you ever tried planting Vater Rhein? It’s much denser, the flesh is not as soft as other oxhearts, at least for me they lasted much longer in storage than the others.
And these are my Andizhanskie. This specific bush grew outdoors in open ground under a shelter (low tunnel). I also had a bush growing in the greenhouse. Both were very productive, tasty, and beautiful. Definitely planning to grow them again this year.
Lana said:
Have you ever tried planting Vater Rhein?
Lanochka, my Vater Rhein died in the seedling stage, like many others, from leaf necrosis 😢 but I will definitely plant that handsome guy this year.
I believe my Andizhanskie seeds were from V. Redko. Want me to share some? 😉 Anyway, it’s an excellent slicing/salad variety.
Sveta, what a handsome tomato!!! 👍
Yes, Lenochka, I reeeally liked this variety! And the one in the greenhouse was just gorgeous. It has earned a permanent spot on my grow list (a true keeper).
I liked the variety, it’s tasty and productive, and it fruited all season long.
