Quick Summary of Chernaya Galaktika (Black Galaxy)
- 🌍 Origin: A stunning commercial release from the Russian seed company SeDeK. Valued for its extremely high anthocyanin content.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), very vigorous, reaching up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) but with relatively sparse foliage. It is highly cold-tolerant, disease-resistant, and performs beautifully in both greenhouses and open ground. Responds well to being trained to 3 or 4 stems.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large cocktail-sized round tomatoes, weighing 50-70 g (1.8-2.5 oz). They grow in massive, beautiful cascading trusses (“braids”) of 10 to 16 fruits. The color transition is spectacular: from green to pitch black, finally ripening to a glossy purple-brown with bright red flesh inside.
- 👅 Flavor & Storage: Sweet, juicy, and well-balanced. Note that they hold very tightly to the vine (best harvested with pruning snips) but do not have a long shelf life—they should be consumed within a couple of weeks of picking.
- ⏳ Maturity: Early season (95-100 days).
Information from SeDeK (seed company):
An early ripening (95-100 days) variety for film shelters and greenhouses. The plant is indeterminate, vigorous, with sparse foliage, up to 2 m (6.5 ft) tall. The plant forms long, very elegant trusses with 10-12 fruits. The fruits are round, smooth, dense, weighing 50-70 g (1.8-2.5 oz), and have an interesting transitional color shape when ripening: from green to black to purple-brown, with a bright gloss. The flesh is red, juicy, and sweet. Yield is 9-10 kg/m2.
Value of the variety: One of the most unusual and highly decorative varieties both in unripe and ripe stages, rich in anthocyanins and phenols. These substances strengthen the heart muscle, have a preventive effect against stroke and heart attack, favorably affect the nervous system, increase the protective properties of the immune system, and are useful for men’s health and longevity. Recommended for fresh consumption, freezing, and processing.
I have a beautiful bush with long cascading braids of fruit. The taste is good.
Edited January 4, 2023 by Khrizantema57
A very beautiful tomato. It produces long trusses of 12-16 tomatoes, truly decorating the garden bed. It grew outdoors in open ground for me, showed great cold resistance, and didn’t get sick at all. The fruits attach to the peduncle (stem) very firmly, so it is better to cut them off the bush using scissors along with the stem. You can safely train it to 3–4 stems.
The taste is good and well-balanced. They transport well, but they do not store for a long time—after a couple of weeks, they start to spoil.
