Quick Summary of Chernika / Golubika (Blueberry)
- 🌍 Origin: A striking Russian commercial and collector’s variety. In Russian, it circulates under two synonymous names: Chernika and Golubika (both translate to “Blueberry”).
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, typically growing to 1.5–2 meters (5–6.5 ft) tall. The plant is highly ornamental, featuring dark purple-tinged foliage that looks beautiful in the garden. It is noted for its excellent resistance to diseases, including Late Blight.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Cocktail to small-slicer sized round fruits. Depending on the strain (commercial vs. collector), weights range from 50 g (1.7 oz) up to 150–180 g (5.3–6.3 oz). They develop a stunning dark burgundy/red color with heavy black/purple anthocyanin shoulders. Pro Tip: Anthocyanin expression requires direct sunlight; fruits shaded by leaves will remain mostly red.
- 👅 Flavor & Texture: The flesh is dense and dark burgundy. Most growers describe the flavor as sweet and dessert-like with zero acidity. Because the skin and flesh are quite firm, they are absolute perfection for making sun-dried tomatoes or for canning whole.
- ⏳ Maturity: Early to mid-early. Often one of the first varieties to ripen in the garden, producing continuously until frost.
Variety from the “Biotekhnika” seed company.
Mid-early, early. Declared as tall (indeterminate). The fruits are round, dense, shiny, weighing up to 150-180g (5.3-6.3 oz). The color is dark burgundy with purple shoulders. The flesh is dark burgundy, tasty, sweet, dessert-like. Resistant to Late Blight (Phytophthora).
I planted 3 bushes, 2 of which were 150 cm (5 ft) tall, with 50g (1.7 oz) fruits of bright color. 1 bush was tall, about 200 cm (6.5 ft), and the fruits were paler. The taste is very good, dessert-like, the fruits are firm, and the plant didn’t get sick. Yield gets a 4+ (out of 5). It set fruit without skipping any trusses, I led it in 2 stems. I liked the shorter bushes better; they had no acidity.
This variety also exists under a different translation (Golubika / Blueberry).
(Admin note: The threads for Chernika and Golubika have been merged here as they refer to the same variety).
I found a video review of this variety on YouTube. I don’t really want to embed it here, but essentially I partly agree with it.
For me, Chernika started bearing fruit among the very first, and continued until the very end; it’s productive. The bush was also about 150 cm (5 ft) tall (but this year I didn’t have any tall bushes at all, none of them reached full height, even De Barao was short). The fruits are sweet, small, dark red, but quite firm. They mostly went into jars for pickling/canning, because they were a bit too tough to eat fresh. Maybe the weather is to blame.
Indeterminate. Fruits are round, red, with black-purple coloring starting from the shoulders, well-balanced taste, weighing up to 50 g (1.7 oz). A very productive variety, which, against the background of purple leaves, gives the bush a special ornamental look.
Description and seeds from V.D. Popenko.
It matches the description 100%. 👍 The variety is a fairy tale. A handsome fellow! Growing it was pure delight! It bore fruit until the frosts, without stopping. Outdoors in open ground, it was solid black. Thankfully, there was plenty of sun—not a single cloud all summer. In the greenhouse, the tomatoes had red sides.
My Golubika (Blueberry). Seeds are from Natasha (Borisovna 🌺). Growing outdoors in open ground. Picked the first fruit today. Its weight is 98 grams (3.4 oz). I really liked the taste.
And my seeds were from Sveta azure 👍
My Golubika seeds are from Borisovna. It ripened the very first. The taste is very pleasant—sweet with a little tang. Absolutely dark tomatoes, when they ripen, they seem to glow red from the inside…
Seeds are from the same source (from Borisovna through third hands).
It grew in partial shade. I came to the conclusion that such varieties are better planted in full sun.
I liked it, the taste is very pleasant, and what a handsome guy! Staying in my collection.
Seeds from Popenko. A vigorous, very beautiful indeterminate. Grew outdoors in open ground. Not sickly, sets fruit well, without skipping trusses. It looks very beautiful with clusters of ripening fruit. The taste for me turned out to be nothing—sour, without aroma. I used all of them for sun-drying. It is very well suited for sun-drying. I will plant it for decoration.
Vigorous bushes, beautiful clusters. The taste – I would say ordinary, it didn’t stand out for me in any way, but I wouldn’t call it grassy either. Even though it grew in the sun, it wasn’t black.
