📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Azoychka (Азоюшка)
- 🌍 Origin & History: A famous Russian heirloom brought to the USA by Kent Whealy (Seed Savers Exchange). Interestingly, Russian growers note that its true original name was “Azochka” (or “Zolotoy Barago”), but it became “Azoychka” in the West due to a transcription error.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (though it can be kept shorter by topping), vigorous, and early to mature. True Azoychka has regular leaves, though potato-leaf off-types occasionally circulate.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Lemon-yellow to golden-yellow oblate beefsteaks. Average weight is 150–300g (5.3–10.5 oz). Sometimes develops a faint red/pink blush (cap) on the blossom end when fully ripe. Very few seeds.
- 👅 Flavor: Known for a refreshing, slightly citrusy, soft, and well-balanced flavor. The flesh is dense and smooth, often described as having a “buttery” texture when sliced.
- ⏳ Yield & Performance: Highly productive both in open ground and in greenhouses. One of the best-tasting yellow varieties for an early-season harvest.
Azoychka (Азоюшка)
From the description: Very tasty, early large-fruited tomatoes. Highly productive, both in the greenhouse and outdoors in open ground. The fruits are lemon-yellow, weighing up to 300 g (10.5 oz).
Mine grew outdoors in open ground. The height was 1.30 m (4.2 ft) because I pinched off the top (topped it). I trained it to two main stems. The first truss appeared after the sixth leaf, and then every two leaves thereafter. In total, 14 fruits set, weighing from 150 to 300 g (5.3 – 10.5 oz).
The fruits are round and slightly oblate. When fully ripe, they turn golden-yellow with a barely noticeable red cap (blush) on the bottom. Mine had a good, soft flavor with no acidity.
Larochka, what do you mean by “soft flavor”? No acidity and no sweetness? Could you still taste a real tomato flavor?
Alen, I’m just really bad at describing tastes 😞. It had a very pleasant tomato flavor—it wasn’t bland, but it didn’t have any sharp or excessive acidity either.
For me, this variety turned out a bit too acidic, which is why I gave up on it. I grow in very sandy soil.
By the way, it is also sometimes called Azochka.
I also came across the name Zolotoy Barago (Golden Barago) listed as an alias for Azochka.
Lara said:
I also came across the name Zolotoy Barago (Golden Barago) listed as an alias for Azochka.
My gardening book has that exact same name listed. The description matches completely.
I am very happy with this variety 😋. I got my seeds from Redko. It has very few seeds. Now I understand what people mean when they say a tomato slices like “butter”.
Just like Lara’s, mine was tender with a very pleasant, mild acidity. An excellent slicing/salad variety. The shape was oblate (flattened). Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos.
The variety was highly productive, fruits up to 200 g (7 oz), and the taste was good.
Here is my Azoychka. Seeds were from Gusev. A good little tomato with a pleasant, soft flavor. My yield was average.
I had no luck with Azoychka for several years—either the seeds germinated poorly, or the seedling broke. I finally managed to grow it!
Unfortunately, she didn’t turn out to be a very productive girl for me, and the taste was not a 5 out of 5 either. Personally, I find Medoviy Spas (Honey Salvation) to be much tastier and more productive 😋.
Hey everyone, I’m asking anyone who has grown this variety to respond! Mine has potato leaves—is that normal for Azoychka? Tatiana’s TOMATObase lists it as a regular leaf, but some people here claim that potato leaf is the correct one. Which is it?
Azochka
USSR. Indeterminate. Also known as Zolotoy Barago. It became “Azoychka” in the West due to an incorrect transcription by the Seed Savers Exchange. Very tasty for an early variety, with a citrusy aftertaste.
The Azoychka variety turned out to be extremely productive in my greenhouse. The bush height was about 1.7 meters (5.5 ft). The fruits are very tasty and juicy.
I didn’t make any specific notes about the leaf type. It was probably a regular leaf (not potato leaf).
Is “Azoychka 2” a completely different variety? Mine turned out to be one of the very latest to ripen. I don’t even have a photo of a ripe one, as I rarely take pictures of late-season tomatoes.
Here are the green ones.
