📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dobrynya Nikitich
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety. It is named after Dobrynya Nikitich, a famous, legendary bogatyr (knight/hero) from ancient Russian folklore known for his immense strength and size.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, growing 5-6.5 feet (1.5-2 m) tall. It is recommended to top the plant after the 8th-10th truss to help the giant fruits ripen.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, pink, oblate (flattened) beefsteaks with slight ribbing, averaging around 7 oz (200 g) but often growing much larger. They are multi-chambered and extremely meaty.
- 👅 Flavor: Highly rated as a sweet, tender slicing tomato with a classic, perfectly balanced old-fashioned flavor.
- ⚠️ Grower Notes: The commercial seed market for this variety is somewhat unstable; some growers report getting red off-types or varieties with different maturity dates depending on the seed company.
Description from the seed packet: A mid-season slicing variety for open ground and film hoop houses. Fruits ripen 110-115 days after emergence. Indeterminate, 5-6.5 feet (1.5-2 m) tall; the main stem should be topped (pinched off) above the 8th-10th truss. The fruit is large – weighing 7 oz (200 g), multi-chambered (4 or more seed cavities). The tomatoes are pink in color, oblate (flattened), slightly ribbed, of medium density, with an excellent classic flavor.
For me, the plant matched the description perfectly, and the fruits looked exactly like the picture on the packet. The only issue – the color of my fruits was red instead of pink. I didn’t save my photos, unfortunately, even though I took a lot. The tomatoes were beautiful, shaped like little pumpkins – slightly ribbed and flattened.
Judging by Natalia’s photos, hers look completely different.
Photos by Natalia Khotkovo:
The first year I planted seeds from the “Poisk” company, and the second year I used my own saved seeds. It’s very possible that I got a “lucky off-type” (a happy accident) from Poisk. My tomatoes didn’t really match the description either. My first fruits were massive, and the subsequent ones were smaller.
I bought Dobrynya from “Aelita-Agro”, and their packet says it is a mid-late variety… it probably won’t be suitable for open ground outdoors. And it might even throw a fit in a film hoop house. Looks like I’ll have to try it in the polycarbonate greenhouse… 😲
Quote from ALIANNA on July 29, 2018:
I absolutely loved the Dobrynya Nikitich tomato. My seeds were from NataNata.
The flesh is pure meat, very tasty, tender, sweet, with just a slight hint of acidity. The bush was very sturdy, growing to 6 feet (1.8 m) tall. The fruits are pink and oblate (flattened). I will definitely be sowing this one again.
Edited December 22, 2018 by ALIANNA
Who is Dobrynya Nikitich? In Russian culture, Dobrynya Nikitich is one of the three legendary Bogatyrs (epic knights/heroes) from Kievan Rus folklore. He is famous for his immense size, courage, and slaying of a dragon. When a Russian seed company names a tomato after Dobrynya Nikitich, it is a giant, flashing neon sign to growers that this plant will produce absolutely massive, heroic-sized beefsteak tomatoes!
