📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Arbuz (Watermelon)
- 🌍 Origin & The Name Controversy: “Arbuz” translates directly to “Watermelon”. There is a famous old heirloom called Watermelon Beefsteak which is strictly Potato Leaf (PL). However, the strain discussed in this thread (popularized by our forum member Svetikk from Lithuanian seeds) is distinctly Regular Leaf (RL). Because of this, many growers lovingly refer to this specific high-yielding RL strain as “Svetikk’s Arbuz” to differentiate it.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Regular Leaf (RL). Vigorous and highly productive, performing exceptionally well both in poly greenhouses and outdoors in the open garden.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, oblate (flattened) beefsteaks. The color ranges from red to a deep raspberry-pink. Weight is typically 200-500g (7-18 oz).
- 👅 Flavor: A phenomenal, classic “old-fashioned” tomato flavor. It has a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. The texture is meaty but retains plenty of juice and seeds—making it a perfect slicer.
- ⏳ Maturity & Storage: Mid-early to mid-season. The fruits have an average shelf life for a large slicer, but they can hang on the vine for a surprisingly long time without getting soft or mealy.
The seeds came from our Irina in Lithuania 🌸
Indeterminate, pruned to 2 stems in the greenhouse—very good yield! 👍 The fruits are red, oblate (flattened globes), 200-300g (7-10.5 oz). Very good taste; they were meaty but also quite juicy, with plenty of juice and seeds 😋 An excellent variety!
Sveta, how is its shelf life (keeping quality)?
Kirina said:
Sveta, how is its shelf life?
I didn’t really store it; it just hung fully ripe on the vine for a long time because I had nowhere to put them 😂 I’d say the shelf life is probably average, typical for fresh slicer varieties.
Svetik, how many stems did you let it grow?
Also, could you tell me the spacing in cm between plants in the row? Doesn’t it need more space?
Zhavoronok said:
Svetik, how many stems did you let it grow? …spacing between plants?
Pruned to 2 stems—like almost all indets in my poly greenhouse. The spacing is about 40 cm (16 inches) between plants, planted in 2 rows with one aisle. It’s a bit tight, but even crowded like that, almost all my varieties were heavy yielders 🙌 Which means they get enough of what they need 🙈
Here is my Arbuz from the 2014 season. Grown outdoors in the open garden. Very tasty, productive, definitely a contender to plant again in 2015.
The variety is very productive, the fruits are large, they hang on the vine for a long time without overripening, and it’s early (the photo with the cluster was taken on July 1st). The taste is classic tomato, but very well balanced—it has both acidity and sweetness. Weight is from 300 to 500 grams (10.5-18 oz).
Arbuz – Height 1.70m (5.5 ft) with Regular Leaf (RL) foliage. It was one of my best yielders. All the fruits were large. Started ripening in mid-July. The color is raspberry-pink, meaty, and sweet. I planted this variety back in 2013, but the seeds were from a different source, and the plants were total duds (empty vines). Milochka, thank you for these seeds 😘 A definite contender for 2016.
I liked the variety very much:
Tasty, productive, large fruits. But I am very disappointed that the foliage is Regular Leaf (RL), not Potato Leaf (PL). Arbuz (Watermelon Beefsteak) is supposed to be Potato Leaf. So the true name of this wonderful variety is once again in question.
Nata N. said:
…But I am very disappointed that the foliage is Regular Leaf (RL)…
Natasha, yep, this specific strain has Regular Leaf 😉
borchanochka said:
Natasha, yep, this specific strain has Regular Leaf 😉
Polina, yes, regular leaf. I really like it; it’s just a pity that its true original name is now unknown.
Nata N. said:
Arbuz is supposed to be Potato Leaf. So the true name of this wonderful variety is once again in question.
Natasha, give me a link where it says that.
It’s possible that different varieties are circulating under the same name again. I think V. Redko once carried two “Arbuz” varieties, a pink one and a red one.
Mine is red with Regular Leaf (RL).
And I grew Black Watermelon (Chornyi Arbuz) from Kulik this year 😂
Svetikk said:
Natasha, give me a link where it says that.
https://tomatland.ru/catalog/2994
Svetikk said:
It’s possible that different varieties are circulating under the same name again…
So there you have it, Sveta… where is the real original one now? 🤦♀️ Man, it’s going to be so hard for all of us without Kushnareva’s database. Tatiana’s TOMATObase was such a massive resource 🙌😞
Nata N. provided links:
https://www.renaissancefarms.org/product/watermelon-beefsteak-tomato/
Natasha, whose seeds do you actually have?
Svetikk said:
Natasha, whose seeds do you actually have?
Svetik, they are yours! It’s a gorgeous variety!
Nata N. said:
Arbuz is supposed to be Potato Leaf. So the true name of this wonderful variety is once again in question.
But this thread is about the Russian variety named “Arbuz”, not the American heirloom “Watermelon Beefsteak”.
They are probably entirely different varieties that just happen to share the same translated name.
Valentina Redko lists it as Arbuz (Watermelon).
I think this leaf-type information should just be added to the description of Svetikk’s strain. Or we could just officially call it Svetikk’s Arbuz. Then we wouldn’t need to worry about the naming conflict.
My Arbuz this season. Seeds from TomaTanya, for which I say a huge thank you!!!
Nata N. said:
But I am very disappointed that the foliage is Regular Leaf (RL), not Potato Leaf (PL).
Hello! Could you please tell me what kind of leaf my Arbuz has? It looks like a Regular Leaf to me, right?
Marusha said:
Could you please tell me what kind of leaf my Arbuz has? It looks like a Regular Leaf to me, right?
The leaf is definitely a Regular Leaf (RL).
