📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bolshaya Deva (Big Maiden)
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety. The name “Bolshaya Deva” translates to “Big Maiden” or “Big Virgin.” Note: It should not be confused with the pink variety simply named “Deva.”
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially listed as determinate, but acts more like a semi-determinate. Grown outdoors in open ground, it typically reaches 1 – 1.2m (3-4 ft). However, if grown in a greenhouse and heavily pruned to a single stem, growers report it can easily reach the greenhouse roof.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, red, oblate (flat-round) beefsteaks. Typical weights range from 300g to 500g (10.5-17.5 oz). The flesh is very meaty with classic, rich tomato flavor.
- ⏰ Maturity & Disease Resistance: While originally described as mid-late, many growers actually find it to be quite early. Since it sets such massive, heavy fruits on a relatively short bush, the bottom fruits often rest on the ground/mulch, making them susceptible to Gray Mold (Botrytis) if not properly supported or harvested in time.
Bolshaya Deva
Mid-late season, determinate, high-yielding variety for both open ground and greenhouses. Fruits are oblate (flat-round), weighing 300-500g (10.5-17.5 oz).
It grows perfectly outdoors in open ground, there is absolutely no need to waste precious greenhouse space on it. This was literally the best-tasting tomato out of all the varieties I grew this year. (I received the seeds from N.N. Titova in Moscow). The largest fruit weighed 550g (1.2 lbs).
I’ve been growing this variety for 5 years now, and I haven’t found any “duplicates” or identical varieties yet. It retains all its traits perfectly year after year.
I do have a question about it being determinate, though—it really doesn’t seem determinate to me. I’m no expert, but my plants reach about 1.2m (4 ft) tall. I’d love to hear opinions from the forum members I sent these seeds to. Does it retain its traits for you? And I’d really love to see your photos! 🌺
Here is Bolshaya Deva during this (generally low-yielding) year. It still maintained its high yield.
Lyuda, mine grew in the greenhouse, and it absolutely reached the ceiling. I pruned it to a single stem. It pushed out suckers at first, but then eventually stopped producing them. As for whether it’s truly determinate, I can’t really say because I topped (pinched the growing tips off) all my plants eventually.
Vladvlad wrote:
Bolshaya Deva
Lyudasik wrote:
BOLSHAYA DEVA – she really is big! The bush is tall, powerful, and vigorous. The tomatoes are very large, and there are a lot of them! A delicious, highly productive tomato!
Yanina wrote:
Bolshaya Deva
Photos from forum member ElenaMariya.
Seeds were from Lyuda (Ovechka). They sat in my stash for a few years, but I finally planted them this season. It’s a tall determinate, growing to about 1m (3.3 ft). It produces very large, round, slightly flattened (oblate) beefsteaks. The lowest fruits were so heavy they were resting on the mulch. I almost missed picking them in time—Gray Mold (Botrytis) started setting in. Like many large beefsteaks, it’s not super resistant to rot when touching the soil.
I’d give the flavor a 4 out of 5, but only because I’m already so spoiled by the rich, complex flavors of pink and bicolor tomatoes.
However, for me, it was actually one of the very first to ripen—it was an early variety. Because of this, I honestly think there might be some variety mix-up happening out there. The description actually fits Bolshaya Mamochka (Big Mommy) perfectly.
I grew a variety just called “Deva” (Maiden). It’s pink. The bush habit was exactly the same outdoors in open ground, just over a meter (3.3 ft) tall. Honestly, the whole description matches perfectly, except for the color of the fruits.
