Quick Summary of Chernomor (Black Sea Man)
- 🌍 Origin: A well-known Russian commercial variety (produced by SeDek). The name translates to “Black Sea Man” or “Chernomor” (a character from Russian fairy tales).
- 🌿 Plant Habit: The seed packet claims it is a semi-determinate (1.3-1.5 m / 4.2-5 ft) variety for greenhouses and open ground. However, growers consistently report it acting like a vigorous indeterminate, easily reaching nearly 2 meters (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse. Requires staking and pruning.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Dark burgundy, oblate (flattened-round) fruits. The official description states weights of 150-300g (5-10.5 oz), but some growers have experienced much smaller fruits (under 100g / 3.5 oz) in larger clusters, possibly due to seed line variations.
- 👅 Flavor & Texture: The flesh is multi-chambered, very juicy, and contains a lot of gel. While the official description praises its taste, some growers found the flavor to be quite ordinary for a dark tomato.
- ⏳ Yield: Mid-season (105-110 days). Known for being highly reliable—it does not drop blossoms during extreme heat and continues to set fruit late into the season.
Description from the seed packet:
“Mid-season (105-110 days) salad variety for cold frames, film greenhouses, and open ground in southern regions. The plant is semi-determinate, 1.3-1.5 m (4.2-5 ft) tall. Requires pruning of suckers and tying. There are 3-5 fruits in a cluster. The fruits are oblate (flattened-round), dark burgundy, weighing from 150-180 up to 250-300 g (5-10.5 oz), multi-chambered, meaty, juicy, and very tasty. Value of the variety: large fruit size, original fruit color, excellent taste qualities. Recommended for fresh consumption.”
Photo credits to forum members: cat2008, Valentina 54.
Chernomor (from SeDek seeds): I had a tall bush, nearly 2 meters (6.5 ft) high. There were 4-5 fruits per cluster, the first ones were larger, about 200g (7 oz), subsequent ones were 100-120g (3.5-4 oz).
They are multi-chambered (with a lot of juice/gel), very juicy, but the taste didn’t particularly impress me. However, it is very productive, it didn’t drop its flowers in the heat, and it continued to set fruit for a long time. It was one of the very last plants I pulled from the greenhouse on September 23rd.
Here is my Chernomor.
The fruits were less than 100g (3.5 oz), but there were many of them in a cluster.
