📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Anita
- 🌍 Origin: A reliable, early-season commercial variety of Siberian selection, specifically bred for outdoor growing (open ground).
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Compact and sturdy, reaching about 50–70 cm (20–27 inches) in height. Requires very little to no pruning. Known for being incredibly tough and resilient.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red, perfectly round, and uniform. The catalog states 100–110g (3.5–3.8 oz), though some growers report smaller early harvests around 40–60g (1.4–2.1 oz). They have thick skin and excellent shelf life.
- 👅 Flavor & Use: Has a classic, real tomato flavor. Because of its dense flesh, thick skin, and uniform size, it is absolutely perfect for whole-fruit canning and pickling.
- ⏳ Maturity: Very early. Growers note it is often the very first tomato to ripen in the garden, usually just a week or so behind the famous ultra-early Iyunskiy (June) tomato.
Anita Tomato
Description from the seed catalog:
A new mid-early variety of Siberian selection for open ground. The bush is well-developed, 50-65 cm (20-25 inches) tall, and requires minimal pruning. The fruits are bright red, round, uniform in shape and size, have an excellent shelf life, and ripen very well off the vine. The smooth and dense fruits of this variety have an average weight of 100-110 g (3.5-3.8 oz) and are ideal for whole-fruit canning.
The variety is highly productive and resistant to diseases and adverse weather conditions. Recommended for outdoor growing.
Grower Reviews (Quoting Inna):
On 5/1/2018, Inna replied to Nelechka:
Hi Nelechka. Anita is a determinate. I grew it outdoors in open ground a couple of years ago. All I remember is that it was the very first one to start ripening. Height was about 50 cm (20 inches).The bush in the photo below was grown specifically for an early harvest. I left 3 trusses on it and then pinched off the top (topped it). During the seedling stage, my heavy grow light crashed down onto this poor plant several times (me, the cat, and my mom’s husband all contributed to those accidents :-). I have no idea how it even survived—the main stem was almost completely snapped in half, and I actually had to put a splint on it! 😀
Anyway, I managed to save a few tomatoes from it. But I sowed another seed a bit later, and it’s growing now. So I’ll get a full picture of its potential and save some seeds. But we already know the most important thing: it is very early.
On 6/27/2016, Inna wrote:
Anita.
It started ripening about 10 days after the ultra-early Iyunskiy (June) variety. Unlike some early varieties, you can actually taste a real tomato flavor here. The bush height is 60-70 cm (24-27 inches), and the fruit weight this year is around 40-60 g (1.4-2.1 oz). Last year I planted it outdoors, and it was also the first one to ripen.High yielding. The variety is great for early fresh eating and for canning. The skin is pleasantly thick and sturdy.
Edited April 4, 2019 by Pomidoroved
