Quick Summary of Paslyon Chernyy (Black Nightshade)
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian club variety (originally distributed by the St. Petersburg Tomato Club). The name intriguingly translates to “Black Nightshade”.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, but a very tall one! It grows to about 1.5–1.7m (5–5.5 ft) before it terminates (self-tops) and stops growing upward. It performs very well both in greenhouses and outdoors in open ground. It forms flower trusses frequently (every two leaves).
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Oblate (flattened-round) beefsteaks. The color is striking—ranging from dark brown to a deep “blood-black.” The breeder claims weights up to 500-700g (1–1.5 lbs), but most home growers report average weights of 120–350g (4–12 oz).
- 👅 Flavor & Texture: A juicy, seedy slicing tomato. Most growers rate it a “solid 4 out of 5” for taste—a classic, rich tomato flavor with a hint of sweetness, though it is generally not overwhelmingly sugary.
- ⏳ Maturity: Mid-early. Outdoors, it is often one of the very first dark beefsteaks to start ripening.
Seeds are from the St. Petersburg Tomato Club.
Characteristics from the seed producer:
Determinate, 1.5 – 1.7 m (5 – 5.5 ft). Can be trained to 2-3 stems. Mid-early. Fruits are oblate, ranging from dark brown to blood-black in color, weighing 200-500g (7-17.5 oz). Slicing variety.
It grew in the greenhouse. It matched the description completely.
The plant is strong and compact. It was not affected by any diseases. Fruit set is good.
The fruits have a very beautiful, deep color. They are very seedy and very juicy. Tasty.
I didn’t even know that determinates could get that huge. 😳
Galina P. wrote:
I didn’t even know that determinates could get that huge. 😳
Yes, Galina, they can. At the indicated height, they terminate (self-top) and just don’t develop any further upward.
Svetlanka, are they sweet?
Galina P. wrote:
Svetlanka, are they sweet?
No, Galina, there was no special sweetness. Maybe it was my own fault.
This variety gets a solid 4 out of 5 from me. Productive, beautiful, and I liked the taste. For me, it had a good classic tomato flavor with a slight hint of sweetness. It grew outdoors in open ground.
Mid-early, sets fruit very well—almost all trusses had 5 tomatoes, appearing every two leaves. Granted, not a single one grew to the promised 700g (1.5 lbs); my maximum was 350g (12 oz), and minimum 120g (4 oz). The tomatoes themselves are a beautiful brownish-red. Oblate and appetizing. I will definitely plant it again.
Outdoors in open ground, these started ripening among the very first. I didn’t have any massive ones, up to 200g (7 oz), but they were tasty.
