📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Budenovka Zelenaya (Green Budenovka)
- 🌍 Origin: A rare Ukrainian winter-keeper variety. “Budenovka” refers to the iconic pointed Soviet cavalry hat, which matches the shape of the fruit.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, late-season maturity. It is a sturdy, compact plant with dense foliage cover. In a greenhouse, it tops out at around 3.3 ft (1 m).
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small, heart-shaped tomatoes with a distinct little point/beak on the blossom end. They max out at about 4.5 oz (130 g) and tend to hide under the heavy foliage. Storage: Picked green, they turn yellow as they cure in storage over the winter.
- 👅 Flavor & Utility: This is a dedicated long-storage winter tomato. Like almost all true “keepers”, the flesh is extremely hard/firm, and the flavor is quite mediocre and slightly grassy. Its sole purpose is to provide you with chemical-free, homegrown tomatoes in the middle of winter.
A late-season, determinate variety meant for long-term winter storage. Sourced from Y. Kholyavko from Ukraine.
The bush has heavy foliage cover and is very sturdy. In the greenhouse, it reached a height of 3.3 ft (1 m). The fruits hide inside the leaves; they are on the smaller side, maxing out at 4.5 oz (130 g). Shape is a little heart with a pointy nipple/beak on the end.
The shelf life is exceptional (I still have a few fruits sitting out on the counter at room temperature today [late January]). As they cure in storage, they turn yellow.
The flavor is exactly what you’d expect from a winter keeper—mediocre and grassy, and the fruits are hard/firm.
Well, at least they are homegrown and completely free of any extra chemicals 😉 Tanya, when is the best time to start these indoors from seed?
I sowed them in my very first seedling batch on February 20th, since it is a late-season variety.
