Quick Summary of Cherniy Gigant (Black Giant)
- 🌍 Origin: A popular commercial Russian heirloom. Some experienced growers note it is practically identical to the well-known variety Cherniy Slon (Black Elephant).
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), usually reaching 1.5 – 2 meters (5-6.5 ft). Some growers report it can terminate its own growth (top itself out) in late summer. It features potato leaf (PL) foliage.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Deep burgundy/dark red beefsteaks with distinct, stable ribbing at the shoulders. Despite the name “Giant”, average weights are typically 200-300g (7-10 oz), with larger fruits reaching about 480g (1 lb).
- 👅 Flavor & Texture: Highly rated for its juicy, meaty texture and sweet, rich flavor profile typical of dark Russian varieties.
- 🧬 Genetics Note: Be aware that some seed lines may be unstable. Growers have reported heavy segregation (off-types), resulting in striped variations or differing fruit colors from a single seed batch.
Cherniy Gigant (Black Giant). I got my seeds from D. Gusev [a known Russian seed collector]. It was tall, reached 160 cm (5.2 ft), but it topped itself (terminated growth) in mid-August. According to the seller’s description: “Up to 1 kg (2.2 lbs) in weight. Juicy, tasty, meaty. High yielding! The bush is simply covered with huge tomatoes, which is rare for large-fruited varieties.”
What actually happened: the fruits have a beautiful, consistently ribbed floral shape, dark red color, weighing mostly 200-300 grams (7-10 oz), the largest was 480 grams (1 lb). It didn’t set large clusters—consistently 2-3 fruits per truss. Good yield, tasty tomato. I’m thinking, out of the old “black” varieties, I’ll plant a maximum of two (I have a lot of new ones to try), and I used to grow 6 dark varieties…
Edited January 29, 2015 by Drosera
It grew in the greenhouse, and on the first two trusses of the “giant”, it set many small fruits the size of a walnut 😂, but in August, when it got cooler, the variety showed itself in all its glory! Very tasty!!! 👍
Not exactly a “giant”, of course (for me, giant fruits are 700g / 1.5 lbs and above), but averaging 300g (10 oz) combined with good yield.
I will definitely repeat it from my own saved seeds.
My Black Giant segregated heavily (produced off-types). I ended up with 3 variations. The first had slight burgundy swirls. The second variation had solid burgundy fruits, and the third turned out to be the most interesting. In addition to the dark color, it also had beautiful striping.
In all variations, the fruits were juicy and sweet. In the greenhouse, the bushes were about 2 meters (6.5 ft) tall.
ilja (Ilya) said:
My Black Giant segregated heavily… The second variation had solid burgundy fruits, and the third turned out to be the most interesting. In addition to the dark color, it also had beautiful striping…
They are all handsome, especially the striped one, you simply can’t take your eyes off it! What were their ripening times? Did they differ from each other? And how did the yields compare?
Alisa said:
What were their ripening times? Did they differ from each other? And how did the yields compare?
The first variation (with redder fruits) was culled and given to relatives to eat 🙂 It ripened the very first among the 3 variations, and I would classify it as mid-season. The other two variations started ripening a little later.
As far as I remember, the variation with stripes on the fruits didn’t have a very good yield, but the soil in that greenhouse was depleted (tired), and many varieties performed poorly there. The other two variations (1st and 2nd) grew in new beds, and their yield was good.
ilja (Ilya) said:
The first variation (with redder fruits) was culled and given to relatives to eat…
They look so alive! I would eat all that “cull” right now in a fresh salad! I wish summer would come sooner!
Black Giant and Black Elephant (Cherniy Slon) were identical for me. Grew outdoors in open ground. Bushes were about 1.5 meters (5 ft) tall. Yield and taste are good. IMHO. Potato leaf. Irina, you wrote that you don’t plant these kinds, right? I didn’t include anything with a potato leaf in your seed package.
