Koster (Campfire) Tomato Review and Photos

A very compact determinate variety. Grew outdoors in the dirt, was planted late, and managed to push out 3 trusses before Late Blight hit. The plant was about 16 inches (40 cm) tall. The fruits are pepper-shaped, meaty, have very few seeds, and are tasty. Sweet with a pleasant little tartness. Even the ones I had to counter-ripen off the vine had a very good flavor. Seeds were from Medvedev, thank you Olya (Aglaya) for them 🌸. A totally universal variety. I meant to start these seeds in early February for some early tomatoes, but I completely forgot.

Koster was a bust for me last year. I planted it in the polycarbonate greenhouse right near the wall. It got way too hot for them there, and a lot of the blossoms dropped without setting fruit. On top of that, because I was short on space, I planted two bushes per hole. The plants were about 24 inches (60 cm) tall. The seedlings looked absolutely adorable, short and stocky like little dwarfs. My seeds were from Medvedev too.

Reminds me of Boets, just with decent weight. Could it be the same one?

Reminds me of Boets, just with decent weight. Could it be the same one?

I sowed Boets and Koster on the exact same day. They started blushing at the exact same time. BUT Koster was delicious from the very first tomato all the way to the last counter-ripened one. Boets is strictly a processing tomato, only good for canning. The second huge plus for Koster is the harvest window. It fruited from early June all the way to early October, until we hit 19°F (-7°C). Boets finished producing in August and just dried up.

This year I tested out these determinates:
1. Yelisey
2. Pink Stella
3. Roma VF
4. Samaladay
5. Smilyanskiy Rudasa
6. Red Hunter
7. Konigin der Nacht (Queen of the Night)

Koster is the only one getting a permanent spot on my list 👍 The rest are fine for canning since they are super productive, but I will never plant Queen of the Night again. I fell for the pretty picture, but we took one bite and gave the rest away to the neighbors, what an absolute misunderstanding of a tomato 🤷‍♀️

I planted 4 bushes of Koster outdoors. They really only grow about 16-20 inches (40-50 cm) tall. The plant is compact, but you definitely want to stake it, otherwise all the trusses will lay on the dirt. It is a crazy heavy yielder. It is so small, yet it tirelessly sets trusses of medium-small tomatoes. You lift a branch, and underneath it’s just a solid wall of fruit, perfectly fitting the definition of an absolute workhorse. Very early. Sowed way back on April 7th, sprouted April 10th, and planted out in the dirt on May 11th without any cover (we didn’t cover our tomatoes at all, even during the cold snap in late May). Despite that, it was one of the very first to ripen. The flavor is a classic tomato taste with its own unique note, definitely not bland. The fruits are firm, but they aren’t dry paste plums. You couldn’t invent a better tomato for outdoor growing and canning, yet the flavor is good enough to just slice it into a salad.

Here is what the lifted stem of Koster looks like. And EVERY stem looked like this. I didn’t prune a single sucker. Photo is from July 5th, some of the fruits are already at the breaker stage. We started picking fully ripe ones about a week later.

Edited November 29, 2019 by Oksana Evgenevna

I actually rejected this variety. The yield was low for me, 3.7 lbs (1.7 kg) in 2018 and 3 lbs (1.4 kg) in 2017, even compared to early determinates like Iyunskiy and Turbo-reactive.

And I definitely couldn’t call Koster early. In 2018 it only started fruiting on day 126. Outdoors it reached 27 inches (70 cm).

To top it off, the variety (seeds from Medvedev) held its pepper shape very poorly. At best, 50% were pointed peppers, the rest were completely random shapes.

For earliness, it ranked 38th out of 95 for me in 2018.

For yielding its first pound of fruit, it did a bit better, 28th place.

For total yield, it was dead last, 77th place.

Edited December 15, 2019 by grawicapa

And I definitely couldn’t call Koster early. In 2018 it only started fruiting on day 126. Outdoors it reached 27 inches (70 cm).

Hmm. Here is a photo from July 16th. You can see ripe Koster tomatoes on the vine here.

I sowed it late on April 7th, it sprouted around the 9th-10th. So that’s 20+31+30+16 = 97 days. And to be clear, that’s 97 days with standard potting up. It grew outdoors completely uncovered. We had a cold late May with nights dropping to 37-41°F (+3 to +5°C) and days at 62°F (+17°C). Honestly, the first two weeks of June were quite chilly too, with night temps around 50-55°F (+10 to +13°C).

It definitely is an early variety. It’s possible it just demands intense sun and light to ripen early. Both Natalya Borisovna and I have very intense solar radiation in our regions.

As for the yield, a bush this small and compact obviously isn’t going to give you a bucket per plant, but mine definitely pushed out at least 4.4 lbs (2 kg) each. With 4 plants, that’s 17-22 lbs (8-10 kg) minimum. Probably more. If you lifted a single branch, it easily weighed a couple of pounds, and I didn’t prune the plants at all. I planted them at a standard 24-inch (60 cm) spacing, but you could easily pack them in at 12 inches (30 cm). It’s a tomato for lazy gardeners. No pruning required at all, just tie it up well, water, and feed it like the rest. Not fussy, doesn’t get sick, demands nothing…

As for the shape… I don’t know, mine were mostly pointed plums, very uniform and smooth, perfect for canning. I’m not overly picky about that anyway, as long as it’s not severely catfaced or deformed, I’m happy. On the plus side, it had zero BER.

Edited December 15, 2019 by Oksana Evgenevna

I actually rejected this variety… To top it off, the variety held its pepper shape very poorly…

It’s like we are writing about two entirely different varieties. Mine held their shape from the very first tomato to the last. The yield isn’t the absolute highest out there. Pink Stella, Red Hunter, and Samaladay are much heavier yielders, but only because the fruits are almost twice as big. You can’t stuff those into quart jars, only into gallon jars, and I only pickle in small jars. I feel like it’s unfair to compare yields strictly by weight. How can you compare giant beefsteaks to small canning varieties? Pavel, maybe this variety is just meant for a hot climate?

It’s like we are writing about two entirely different varieties… Pavel, maybe this variety is just meant for a hot climate?

Nah, it’s the exact same variety, we just perceive it differently. Besides, I’ve bought about 30 varieties from Medvedev over 2 years, and not a single one was crossed or off-type.

But it’s true, some varieties perform amazingly for him and mediocre for me, and vice versa. Some of the ones he thinks are boring end up being my absolute favorites. (Everyone clearly has their own growing conditions and techniques).

In the second picture, Koster is on the left. A lot of the fruits are just pure plums, with no points on the end. And some were just totally misshapen, although those top two probably came from a megabloom.

Regarding whether it’s fair to compare large beefsteaks to tiny cherry types: That same year I grew Peterhof, average fruit weight was 0.6 oz (18 g), but the yield per bush was 9.7 lbs (4.4 kg), it didn’t even have time to finish producing in our climate. Or look at how Pygmy pumped out fruit even on the lower suckers. Average weight 1.4 oz (40 g), yield per bush 9.5 lbs (4.3 kg).

In the second picture, Koster is on the left. A lot of the fruits are just pure plums, with no points on the end.

I looked at your photos, did you prune the suckers on it or something? That really is a tiny amount of fruit. In my first photo, where the tomatoes are still green, you can see how it fruited without any pruning. My Koster had trusses practically stacking on top of each other, the plant was absolutely draped in fruit. It looked hilarious, all the foliage was on top of the branches, and underneath there were no leaves, just solid tomatoes hanging like a garland. I’ve never seen fruits cluster a stem that densely in such huge numbers. A couple of my bushes got so heavy they snapped their ties to the stakes and just kept growing sprawled on the ground. Thank goodness the plants are short, so the stems didn’t snap.

I looked at your photos, did you prune the suckers on it or something? That really is a tiny amount of fruit.

I was just about to ask the exact same thing. I almost never prune determinates, and nearly all of them push out very respectable yields for bush types 🙌 I have Koster on my planting list, Tatunya gifted me a ripe fruit in the fall and it is genuinely delicious for a determinate 👍

I grew Koster in 2017. Didn’t prune it. My father-in-law pointed out how tasty and sweet they were! This year I want to plant a whole bed outdoors exclusively dedicated to determinates, including Koster.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Lyudmila D.

Nah, it’s the exact same variety, we just perceive it differently…

Good day everyone and Happy New Year! 🥳

Having gardened for 3 seasons now, I’ve probably tried around 100 tomato varieties (mostly from store-bought packets, though). Naturally, I read reviews and checked different sources. I’ve come to the conclusion that you have to pick varieties that work for YOU. This debate between Natalya and Pavel, two absolute pros, finally convinced me of that. Until you try it yourself, you won’t know. The main thing is hoping the weather cooperates and you don’t lose the desire to garden.

Wishing you all health, success, and prosperity in the New Year. Great, tasty harvests and perfect weather to you all! 🌱

Edited January 24, 2020 by Drosera

Koster was a huge success this difficult summer! 🙌 All my determinates grow in the greenhouse, and both of my Koster bushes were in there too. Height was about 20 inches (50 cm), didn’t prune them, set fruit wonderfully. The flavor is fantastic for a bush variety, nice and sweet 😋 Not super early, but it did start ripening before the tall indeterminates. The fruits are red and oval, up to 2.8 oz (80 g). They aren’t dry, but they store very well. This one gets a permanent spot on my grow list 📝

Recently, people in the seed swap threads were looking for a tomato that produces fruits similar to the firm plum tomatoes sold at the grocery store, specifically for canning. They were probably looking for an indeterminate. Koster is, of course, a determinate, but in my opinion, its tomatoes look exactly like those thick-walled, meaty red grocery store plums. Except Koster tastes much better.

Mine is growing outdoors, bush height is around 24 inches (60 cm). Excellent yield. I am absolutely growing this again.

Lyuda (Lyudmila D.) shared the seeds with me. Lyudochka, thank you! 🙏

Edited September 11, 2020 by Inn@

I really love this variety, have been planting it for 3 years.

Koster on its own didn’t really impress me for fresh eating. It’s sweet, but the flesh is a bit mealy/spongy, very meaty, and the flavor is somewhat simple. But it kept incredibly well, surviving all the way until it was time to use the dehydrator. Wow, it made the most amazing sun-dried tomatoes 😲

So sweet. I could have eaten the whole batch right then and there.

I cut them into 4 pieces. First across the middle, squeezed out the seeds and liquid, and then sliced them lengthwise. The smaller ones I only sliced in half crosswise. The size is perfect, and the structure is ideal for drying. Highly recommend.