Quick Summary of Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum
- Appearance & Shape: Huge, chubby, ribbed red plums/hearts. There is some initial confusion in the thread, but true-to-type fruits are red (not pink) and notably ribbed, rather than smooth.
- Plant Habit: The plant has classic “wispy” or weeping foliage. Don’t be alarmed if the bush looks frail or “skinny”—it is genetically wired that way and will still produce massive fruits. Requires heavy-duty staking to support the weight.
- Fruit Quality: Extremely meaty, dense, and sweet with very small seed cavities. Excellent dual-purpose tomato: great for fresh slicing and absolutely top-tier for thick sauces and paste.
- Yield & Climate: Experiences vary. Some growers report massive yields due to the sheer size of the fruits (frequently reaching 600g – 1.5kg / 1.3 – 3.3 lbs). Others note it struggles in open ground (unprotected) and produces fewer fruits. Performs best in a greenhouse.
I see a lot of messages about this variety, but I don’t see it in the catalog yet. If I made a mistake, I ask the moderator to move this to the appropriate thread.
Here is the first fruit of this variety. The color is pink. I realized it was going to be a delicious tomato as soon as I cut into it—very aromatic. The taste is sweet and rich. I didn’t even expect it to be this good.
Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum should be red, not pink. It’s possible yours just wasn’t fully ripe yet… or it’s an off-type (crossed seed).
Here is my Aunt Swarlo. A good variety, not prone to disease, and can grow outdoors in open ground. It doesn’t crack from the rain. This specific tomato is from the greenhouse.
Di said:
I’m confident it’s true to type) Maybe I just perceived the color wrong. Here is the same one, whole, before I cut it…
Do you have photos of other fruits (even green ones)? For me, and for the other girls here, it produces chubby, slightly ribbed red plums. “Auntie” shouldn’t be smooth and pink.
Svetikk said:
“Auntie” shouldn’t be smooth and pink.
In Tatiana’s TOMATObase it is listed as pink and heart-shaped:
http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Aunt_Swarlo’s_Polish_Plum
Drosera said:
In Tatiana’s TOMATObase it is listed as pink and heart-shaped…
Here is the actual variety description from Tanya Kushnareva:
“Indeterminate. Regular leaf plants with delicate wispy foliage, producing huge irregular shaped red fruits. Some are double-squared hearts, but most are huge fat plums. Meaty and moderately juicy, with very small seed cavities and few seeds. Fruits can grow up to 24 oz (680g). Excellent sweet flavor. The skin peels very easily, making it a very good choice for sauce.
Maturity: Mid-season
Growth Habit: Indeterminate
Leaf Type: Regular, wispy
Fruit Color: Red
Fruit Shape: Heart/Plum
Fruit Size: Large
Type: Slicer, Paste
Country of Origin: Poland”
Drosera said:
In Tatiana’s TOMATObase it is listed as pink and heart-shaped…
Svet, you literally just provided a link that shows fat, irregular red plums! 😂
Svetikk said:
Svet, you literally just provided a link that shows fat, irregular red plums! 😂
Yeah, Sveta, they are red. I have no idea why I typed “pink”! 🤦♀️
Svetikk said:
Do you have photos of other fruits (even green ones)?
Not yet. If I manage to pick them myself, I’ll take a photo. The fruit isn’t completely smooth, it has ribs, they just aren’t visible in that specific photo.
Di said:
Not yet. If I manage to pick them myself, I’ll take a photo.
Here, I picked and photographed another one today. There are ribs, though not super pronounced.
There were very few of them on the bush, about four pieces total. I only visit the country house occasionally, so it was hard to catch a ripe one on time.
Di said:
Here, I picked and photographed another one today. There are ribs, though not super pronounced.
Now THIS fruit looks like it!
Here is my Auntie:
Girls, and here is my Plum…
I only had 2 tomatoes on the whole plant, but one weighed 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs) and the second was around 600g (1.3 lbs)!
Grew it this year. Cutworms chewed on a lot of the fruits—they always sense the tastiest varieties! The fruits are all huge and delicious.
A beauty! And a yummy treat! The plant isn’t very tall, looks kind of frail and skinny. I couldn’t even imagine that this weak-looking vine could produce such massive tomatoes. True, the yield was very average. But incredibly tasty!
This variety surprised and impressed me.
I haven’t seen tomato “buns” like this before. Enormous red plums, varying in shape, ribbed, and firm.
Excellent taste—they don’t leak juice everywhere, yet they are juicy while remaining firm. They store well too.
The yield is high simply due to the massive size of the fruits, despite the bush having fairly average dimensions. Any tomato lover would find it interesting to see this representative of the tomato world.
The variety is mid-season. Even in the harsh conditions of the Vologda region, it managed to please me with a worthy harvest of fruits that ripened fully on the vine.
Yulia said:
A beauty! And a yummy treat! The plant isn’t very tall, looks kind of frail and skinny…
Adding this to my list for next year.
Valeriy1968 said:
This variety surprised and impressed me… Enormous red plums, varying in shape, ribbed, and firm. Excellent taste… The yield is high due to the massive size of the fruits.
Yes! It made it into my Top 10 best varieties (for taste, yield, and resilience).
PS: It requires very reliable securing of the stems and trusses, which is forgivable considering how fragile the bush naturally is.
My second attempt to “tame” it, this time from saved seeds, and again… a miss. For me, it just refuses to produce in open ground (outdoors). Two bushes, and only one fruit on each. They are beautiful, huge, and very tasty. But… I won’t be planting it again.
Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum. This variety delighted me once again—productive, delicious, and beautiful!
Hello. A question for those who have grown both Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum and Ancient Heart of Acqui Terme (Cuore Antico di Acqui Terme). How do they differ? Harvest times, taste? Externally, they look very similar.
Tatiana77 said:
A question for those who have grown both Aunt Swarlo’s Polish Plum and Ancient Heart of Acqui Terme… How do they differ?
Hello! For me, Ancient Heart of Acqui Terme was much more productive, but the taste of these tomatoes is practically identical: a bit bland and on the drier side. They are only really good for making tomato paste.
To me, they don’t seem identical in shape at all. Acqui Terme has its own very recognizable curve to its shape.
