📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Egipetskaya Ladya (Egyptian Boat)
- 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded Russian collector’s variety. The name “Egipetskaya Ladya” translates to “Egyptian Boat” or “Egyptian Ship”, which perfectly describes the unique, slightly elongated, boat-like shape of the fruits.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A very powerful and vigorous plant with thick stems. It produces many suckers and requires heavy-duty staking and support.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Giant, pink, meaty beefsteaks. Some fruits exhibit prominent ribbing and a distinct “boat” shape. They are consistently huge, frequently reaching up to 2.2 lbs (1 kg), with no small fruits on the plant.
- 👅 Flavor: Highly rated. Sweet, juicy, and very meaty.
- ⏳ Maturity: Generally mid-season, though some growers in cooler climates report it acting as a late-season variety.
The most productive indet (indeterminate) variety of last season. The bush grows up to 6.5 ft (2 m) tall, with a very sturdy main stem, and it throws out a lot of suckers. It responds well to being pruned to two or three main stems. On the extra stems (the ones grown from suckers), it’s a great idea to top the growing point right after the first truss sets.
The fruits are pink, quite firm, uniform, meaty, and delicious. They can weigh up to 2.2 lbs (1 kg). There are no small fruits at all, so it requires heavy-duty tying and support.
Edited September 15, 2019 by Pomidoroved (Admin)
Egyptian Boat. The name perfectly matches the shape of the tomato – they literally look exactly like little boats 😂 And the taste is good, very juicy. BUT I only got 2 tomatoes on the entire plant. 😕 Two trusses with 1 fruit each. Maybe I just have black thumbs, or maybe it’s just not suited for our growing zone. I won’t be planting it again. 😡
Edited September 15, 2019 by Pomidoroved (Admin)
It turned out to be a late-season variety for me. The yield was good, but due to this cold summer, only the very first truss managed to ripen on the vine; the rest had to be ripened indoors. All the fruits were large, meaty, firm, sooo delicious, and perfectly shaped. Definitely going on my grow list again, but next time in the greenhouse. 👍
Edited September 15, 2019 by Pomidoroved (Admin)
To me, this Egyptian Boat looks awfully similar to the authentic Kosmonavt Volkov*. 😕
My Egyptian Boat was very productive in the greenhouse. It was a mid-season producer, growing up to 6.5 ft (2 m) tall. The fruits were massive, pink colored, and slightly ribbed.
Very heavy yielder on the bottom truss. Higher up, fruit set was hit or miss. The taste was quite pleasant, but once my other, better-tasting varieties started to ripen, this one clearly lost the flavor competition.
Egyptian Boat. An indet, very vigorous bush with good yields. I grew it in the greenhouse, pruned to 2 main stems. The fruits were large, up to 21 oz (600 g), pink, and some actually had that boat-like shape. The flavor was exceptionally good. Seeds were from Masha-Murka 🌸
- Advanced Pruning Trick: Angelina mentions a great technique for managing overly vigorous indeterminate plants. If you let a sucker grow into a 3rd or 4th stem, you don’t have to let it grow all season! You can let it produce one flower truss, and then “top” it (cut off the growing tip) right above that truss. This gives you extra fruit without letting the plant turn into an uncontrollable jungle!
- *Kosmonavt Volkov: Vera compares this tomato to “Kosmonavt Volkov”. This is a legendary, highly sought-after Soviet heritage variety known for its incredible taste and large size. Over the years, many commercial seed companies sold incorrect seeds under the “Volkov” name, making the true, authentic Kosmonavt Volkov a “holy grail” among Russian heirloom collectors.
