📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Carol Chyko’s Big Paste Black
- 🌍 Origin: A rare dark variant of the famous heirloom. According to growers, this specific line emerged as a cross between Black Krim and the original red Carol Chyko’s Big Paste. It is documented in Tatiana’s TOMATObase.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An incredibly vigorous and forgiving plant. It handles poor weather exceptionally well, showing almost zero blossom drop even during harsh summer conditions.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Dark, brownish-black paste/beefsteak type tomatoes. If left unpruned (allowed to grow to 4-5 stems), fruits average around 250 g (8.8 oz), but they can grow significantly larger if pruned to 1-2 stems.
- 👅 Flavor: Highly rated! Known for a rich, spicy, and earthy flavor profile typical of top-tier black tomatoes. One grower notably highlighted a very unique and pleasant subtle hint of horseradish root.
- ⏳ Grower Notes: A true “reliable workhorse” variety that performs well even when other tried-and-true varieties fail. Growers highly recommend saving seeds to preserve this rare line.
I’m growing this variety for the second time—my first time was two years ago, and now again this year. It impressed me both times, but especially this season, when a lot of my tried-and-true varieties failed because of the tough summer weather.
The plant itself is a beast. I practically didn’t prune it at all—let it grow to 4-5 stems. It set fruit beautifully, with absolutely zero blossom drop. Fruits reached up to 250 g (8.8 oz), though I suspect they’d get much bigger if pruned to 1-2 stems. The flavor is top-notch, too. Overall, it’s just a great, reliable workhorse.
Edited October 21, 2017 by Drosera
Alexander, what color category do you group this into? Black tomatoes? I tried looking up the seed source, but it wasn’t listed as a black variety… 🤷♀️ And I usually dedicate 20-30% of my grow space to black tomatoes. Do you happen to remember where you got the seeds? 📝
Haven’t seen you around in a while, glad to have you back…
Yeah, I’d definitely classify it as a black tomato. I can’t recall the exact source off the top of my head, I’ll need to check my notes. I first grew it in 2015, but I might have acquired the seeds even earlier. Tatiana Kouchnareva has it listed in her catalog (Tatiana’s TOMATObase), but there’s only a description with no photos. She might have a link to the original seed source listed there, though.
I finally grew it this year too—black tomatoes are my absolute weakness! This variety is a cross between Black Krim and the regular Carol Chyko’s Big Paste.
Elena, I’m so glad you planted it! Make sure to save lots of seeds… Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on it. We really need to keep this variety going so it doesn’t get lost.
Carol Chyko’s Big Paste (Black). I grew this fantastic variety again this year. Describing it as “spicy” is spot on. This season I finally figured out exactly what that specific undertone is—it actually has a subtle hint of horseradish root.
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