Quick Summary of Etual (Etoile)
- 🌍 Origin: A very popular heirloom in Eastern European collections. The name translates to “Star” in French (Étoile), perfectly matching its stunning ruffled shape.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (vining). It can be quite compact outdoors (around 1m / 3.2 ft) but will shoot up vigorously over 2m (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse. Known to produce many suckers, so regular pruning is recommended.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright pink, highly ribbed (corrugated/ruffled) fruits with a glossy finish. The inside is dense but somewhat hollow and dry, making it a world-class “stuffer” tomato.
- 👅 Flavor: Surprisingly tender and sweet for a hollow variety. It’s fantastic for fresh slicing where its star-shape shines, or stuffed with savory fillings.
- ⏳ Yield: Extremely prolific. Growers consistently report massive yields in both open ground and greenhouses. It keeps setting fruit reliably without dropping blossoms.
Variety from V. Redko. I liked it very much 👍. In the greenhouse, the harvest didn’t particularly impress me—about 4 trusses with 8-9 fruits each. I pruned it to two stems. It shot up to over two meters (6.5 ft), had long internodes, and is terribly fond of producing suckers. The tomatoes are very beautiful and, for a hollow stuffer-type, have an unexpectedly good tomato flavor.
Outdoors in the open ground, I didn’t even prune the suckers much, and the harvest was simply, excuse me, freaking awesome 🙌. The bush height was about a meter (3.2 ft). In the photo, the bush is from July 12th. I counted 42 fruits that had already grown large. Left some for seeds. It has earned a permanent place in my collection.
Continuing:
Quote by Svetlyachok-plyus:
Variety from V. Redko. I liked it very much 👍. In the greenhouse, the harvest didn’t particularly impress me—about 4 trusses with 8-9 fruits each… Outdoors in the open ground, I didn’t even prune the suckers much, and the harvest was simply, excuse me, freaking awesome 🙌. The bush height was about a meter. In the photo, the bush is from July 12th. I counted 42 fruits that had already grown large. Left some for seeds. It has earned a permanent place in my collection.
Svetlana, did they grow outdoors without staking, just lying on the ground?
Yep, they were lounging on the straw. I just had a problem with stakes this year. Didn’t have enough for everything 😳.
I received seeds of the “Etoile” variety two years ago from the Sumy region… at first, the name itself was mesmerizing — so airy… so light… I grew it indoors (in the greenhouse), the bushes were not tall, compact – no more than 1.2 m (about 4 ft)… I grew them to 3 stems. The trusses fully set and… to my gaze appeared these charming, ruffled (corrugated), bright pink glossy fruits! Beautiful! Unusual! 👍
Inside the fruits, the flesh is dense, with a very pleasant taste…
There are tomato varieties that you can test once and forget for a long time… 🙂 Believe me, it is impossible to forget this variety!
2015 Season, Outdoors (Open Ground):
I got my seeds from Natalya Pavlovna 🙏. It grew up to the ceiling and higher in the middle of the greenhouse, didn’t drop any blossoms/fruit sets, it was one of the few that just kept yielding and yielding. I tried to train it to two stems, but it ended up with three (the stems forked). The bush is healthy and is still producing fruit even though it was one of the first to start.
It has earned permanent residency in my collection – very productive and beautiful!
Thanks to Zhenechka-Gina for the seeds! 🙏
My Etoile also turned out to be productive and beautiful. In the greenhouse, it grew vigorously and reached 2 meters (6.5 ft).
Etoile – I harvested a few, because the rains are coming. I’ve been growing Etoile for more than a year now, I like it for its beauty, endurance, and yield. The fruits are somewhat hollow, they are dry on the cut. They are great for stuffing (I use salted farmer’s cheese with garlic, dill, and mayonnaise). It’s both beautiful and tasty – we are going to feast!
Look at this handsome guy, even though it hasn’t turned red yet!
I planted Etoile by chance. I am usually indifferent to ribbed tomatoes, but the name appealed to me so much, purely French! And it pleased me so much — I have no words: bright, symmetrical, amazed everyone when sliced… a beauty, in a word. Tender taste, sweet, huge harvest outdoors in the open ground, this is our variety! Next year I will test it in the greenhouse.
