Everett’s Rusty Oxheart Tomato Review & Photos

Everett’s Rusty Oxheart (USA). Indet. Heart-shaped fruits with an unusual rusty-green-bronze color, excellent flavor, weighing up to 10.5 oz (300 g). A truly unique variety!

Edited February 2, 2015 by Drosera

Lena, how does Everett’s Heart differ from Ananas Noire, aside from the heart shape?

Lena, how does Everett’s Heart differ from Ananas Noire, aside from the heart shape?

Sveta, I’d say just the shape 😄 No, but seriously, there is a slight difference in taste, I liked them both. The flavor is closer to green-when-ripe tomatoes, maybe with a slightly stronger sweet kick.

Was among my absolute tastiest tomatoes this year. Productive, beautiful. Lots of small, uniform hearts. I regret not planting more of it, everyone was picking it and a few other varieties to eat, and all the rest were getting tossed aside.

I agree with everyone, soooo tasty 😋 👍. Seeds were from V.D. Popenko. Didn’t even have time to take a picture, while I went to grab my camera, someone swiped it off the table. Went looking and literally pulled the last half out of my husband’s mouth 😄 just to save a few seeds. The rest are either eaten or still hanging green. The variety wasn’t super productive for me, but for that taste, I’m willing to forgive it for anything.

Hands down, my most delicious tomato of the year. Yield is average, but totally acceptable for a flavor like this 🙂🙂🙂

I actually find Everett significantly prettier and tastier than Ananas Noire 🙂. One of the most beautiful and delicious varieties.

What a stunner, wow…
Can’t wait for summer 2015 to taste this beauty 🙂

I agree it’s one of the tastiest and most beautiful, though the skin is a bit tough. Totally different from Ananas Noire in every aspect. Outdoors my yield was average.

A very worthy tomato, tasty and productive. Mine didn’t get huge, average weight was 5.3-7 oz (150-200 g). Will definitely repeat next year. Lena (Danko) shared the seeds with me, huge thanks to her!

Quick question — my seedlings for this variety noticeably split into “runts” and “sturdy ones” in terms of stem thickness. Growth rate and leaves are the same though. Which one is the true one? (Same thing happened with Brad’s Black Heart). Planning to plant 2 of each and don’t want to make a mistake.

Quick question — my seedlings for this variety noticeably split into “runts” and “sturdy ones” in terms of stem thickness. Growth rate and leaves are the same though. Which one is the true one? (Same thing happened with Brad’s Black Heart). Planning to plant 2 of each and don’t want to make a mistake.

My Everett and Brad split into runts and sturdy ones too. (First year growing them).

First year planting it too. I’ve got 2 plants and both are wimpy runts.
By the way, Ananas Noire looks just as scrawny as a seedling for me. But this is my second year with that one.

Outdoors it’s got model looks, totally scrawny…

Quick question — my seedlings for this variety noticeably split into “runts” and “sturdy ones” in terms of stem thickness. Growth rate and leaves are the same though. Which one is the true one?

My Everett and Brad split into runts and sturdy ones too. (First year growing them).

There’s nothing particularly outstanding about Everett during the seedling stage. Just a standard tomato. The fact that some seedlings are thinner/thicker or taller/shorter is just quantitative variation, nothing surprising. I only have 1 growing this year, but even last year it didn’t stand out as a seedling. You definitely can’t call the adult vine massive, it’s closer to delicate.

Quick question — my seedlings for this variety noticeably split into “runts” and “sturdy ones” in terms of stem thickness. Growth rate and leaves are the same though. Which one is the true one? (Same thing happened with Brad’s Black Heart). Planning to plant 2 of each and don’t want to make a mistake.

Both of those varieties were wimpy for me.

Can someone tell me, does this tomato just not keep at all? Mine overripen instantly, I just can’t catch them in optimal condition. Every time I grab one, it’s already so soft you can’t cut it, it just leaks everywhere. Flavor is mind-blowing though. Maybe I’m leaving it on the vine too long?

You have to catch it when it’s still firm, but yields just slightly to the touch like a tomato starting to ripen, and the color is a bronze-olive right at that moment. That’s when it’s super. But unfortunately it overripens really fast and turns into this solid brick-red color all over.

Can someone tell me, does this tomato just not keep at all? Mine overripen instantly, I just can’t catch them in optimal condition. Every time I grab one, it’s already so soft you can’t cut it, it just leaks everywhere. Flavor is mind-blowing though. Maybe I’m leaving it on the vine too long?

Same here, picked it off the vine looking normal, and a day or two later it turned to mush 😞 Don’t want to pick them unripe either, the flavor isn’t the same. I usually judge ripeness by feel. Maybe this one is different (firm but already ripe)? 🙂

Same here, picked it off the vine looking normal, and a day or two later it turned to mush 😞 Don’t want to pick them unripe either, the flavor isn’t the same. I usually judge ripeness by feel. Maybe this one is different (firm but already ripe)? 🙂

Nah, you probably just have to scarf it down right off the vine, then it definitely won’t have time to overripen 😄

Nah, you probably just have to scarf it down right off the vine, then it definitely won’t have time to overripen 😄

Without even picking it? 😄 Now that’s an idea! Bring the salt shaker, bend over and 😋

Very beautiful, tasty, sweet! At first the fruits weren’t huge, but not small either.. Then the vine really revved up..

And it kept going.. This is the biggest one, but mostly they were around 21-24.7 oz (600-700 g).. My only complaint with it is that it has zero shelf life.. Miss it by a day, and it instantly turns to mush. But I’ll definitely be planting it again.

My ERO was one of my most problematic ones. Seedling was wimpy and sickly looking. Barely managed to set about 6 fruits around 10.5 oz (300 g) on 2 stems. Later than everything else. They were pretty elongated hearts though. The color was a matte rusty-green. Thought to myself — not gonna bother saving seeds. Then I tasted it — Delicious! Oh, and mine actually kept well, stayed nice and firm. Reminds me of Brad’s Black Heart, just smaller and sweeter. And the characteristic color — no gloss — literally rusty.

Tanya, I don’t think that’s Everett’s Rusty Oxheart. 😳 The outside color is off, and the flesh is different too… 😳 😳 😳

Tanya, I don’t think that’s Everett’s Rusty Oxheart. 😳 The outside color is off, and the flesh is different too… 😳 😳 😳

I agree, that’s not it 🤷
Here’s mine. Loved it, very productive and tasty 👍

Ladies, I don’t rule out the possibility that it’s an imposter or an off-type 😛 Though in the first photo that fruit is most likely overripe, hard to tell how firm it is. I cut open another one – looks like Everett to me! Like Lena’s (Danko’s).

Yeah Tanya, that one looks like it 👍.

And here’s how mine turned out, very sweet!

I was lucky enough to grow this variety too 🎉 Seeds were from Lena (trofi) 🌸 Productive, very tasty 😋

A very worthy variety for both the table and the collection! Original seeds from Lena Danko 🎩 🎩 🎩 Settled into my collection for the long haul. In the photo you can clearly see the color of the ripe fruits compared to other varieties))

Was one of the tastiest of this difficult summer. They didn’t transport well – didn’t make it in time, but definitely a contender for next year.

Here’s how my Everett’s heart turned out. A bit later than the bulk of the mid-seasons, I actually almost lost it, everything else was already showing its true colors, but this one was nowhere to be seen. Walked down the row with my notebook and camera, and there it was, just waiting for me to notice it. Turned out I remembered it right on time. A couple of tomatoes were already past their prime, and the taste just isn’t the same once they overripen. We gladly ate the rest, not only is it tasty, but it’s gorgeous too. I didn’t get any massive ones though. The rest of the trusses looked just like the one in the photo. In the plate photo, the one that’s almost completely one solid color at the top is overripe, lost its flavor. The tastiest ones are where there’s more green and red showing, craving one right now. 🙂

Could someone give me a heads up on greenhouse height? How tall does it get, where should I plant it — in the middle under the 7.8 ft (2.4 m) ridge or against the 5.5 ft (1.7 m) wall?

Could someone give me a heads up on greenhouse height? How tall does it get, where should I plant it — in the middle under the 7.8 ft (2.4 m) ridge or against the 5.5 ft (1.7 m) wall?

Seeds from Popenko. My two vines grew in the side bed (5.5 ft / 1.7 m). Both pruned to two stems. Yield was good. Tasty. This variety doesn’t grow aggressively upward, but I still had to top them eventually…

Edited March 1, 2016 by Rok5

Could someone give me a heads up on greenhouse height? How tall does it get, where should I plant it — in the middle under the 7.8 ft (2.4 m) ridge or against the 5.5 ft (1.7 m) wall?

Mine was probably around 5.5 ft (1.7 m), had 2 plants against the wall, I just bent them toward the aisle — set fruit well near the top too.

Valeriy, Svetlana, thanks so much for the quick replies, guess it’s going by the wall, middle space is strictly rationed)))

Off-topic, Valera, your tomatoes are a balm for the soul! 👍 👍 👍

Edited March 2, 2016 by Drosera

Can someone tell me, do you plant 2 per hole, or just one?

Valentina, I think you’re perfectly fine planting two per hole. The vine really isn’t all that massive 🙄. In 2015 the variety performed exceptionally well for me (unlike in 2014) despite our dry summer. Grew outdoors. Very tasty.

Everett’s Rusty Oxheart
I don’t know what they smoke when they come up with these names! 😄 But I loved the variety, literally small “rusty” hearts! So delicious! Melting in your mouth…
Productive variety! The bush itself is pretty scrawny, takes up barely any space, grew it to two stems. You really have to catch the exact moment of ripeness, the tomato overripens incredibly fast and has absolutely no shelf life. Average weight 7-8.1 oz (200-230 g).
Svetulya (Svetikk) – thanks for the seeds! 🌸

Everett’s Rusty Oxheart
I don’t know what they smoke when they come up with these names!

Rusty means “rust-colored”. So basically it’s a rust-colored oxheart that originally came from Everett. Perfectly normal name))) Another question entirely is whether the fruits actually show that rust color?

Rusty means “rust-colored”. So basically it’s a rust-colored oxheart that originally came from Everett. Perfectly normal name))) Another question entirely is whether the fruits actually show that rust color?

Before you cut it open, the outside definitely looked a bit rusty for me… like a dark reddish-brown was bleeding through from the inside.

Sliced up my last rusty heart for a salad today. Picked it about a month ago, it lost a bit of flavor, but not significantly, still tastier than a lot of the tomatoes currently sitting and ripening indoors. My discovery of the year, my household unanimously decided we’re planting it next year. Productive, tasty, incredibly beautiful, and moderately prone to disease. Sveta-Svetlyachok, thanks for the seeds!

Grew in the greenhouse – tasty and productive..

Rusty Heart reached over 6.5 ft (2 m) tall in my greenhouse. The fruits are incredibly pretty, and slicing them open is just a fireworks display of color. Fruits are super tasty, sweet, juicy. For me, this was one of the best varieties of the 2016 season.

My very first tomato harvested outdoors was Everett’s Rusty Oxheart!!! Didn’t even expect it. Ripened on July 18. Didn’t even manage to take a picture, so delicious 🎉

Having one of those rare moments where I read about a variety here, walked out to the greenhouse, picked one and ate it 😋

In winter (and especially spring) I’ll be remembering that happy moments like this actually exist! 🙂

Sowed it at the very end of April just in case. The greenhouse vines weren’t massive, but not totally scrawny either, perfectly healthy. At first, when I had piles of all sorts of tomatoes coming in, I thought this one was some kind of mistake — just little rusty hearts. 😛 But now that the main harvest is over, I’ve come to really appreciate them. Great flavor, rich, with obvious sweetness. Pretty firm, mine didn’t really overripen that badly, though they did crack a bit. A bit on the small side – average weight around 5.3 oz (150 g), beautiful when sliced. At first I thought no way, but now I’ll probably plant it again next year. Also liked that the vine didn’t throw any tantrums during this less-than-ideal summer.

The fruit shape wasn’t heart-like at all, more flat-round. Incredibly beautiful when cut. Sweet, juicy. One of those you can eat completely plain with nothing on it, just so you don’t ruin the flavor. Compared to last year (when I got maybe 2 or 3 tomatoes per vine), this year I can actually call it productive. 😋 👋 👍

Was the tastiest one this season))) And yield was right up there too 👍

The fruit shape wasn’t heart-like at all, more flat-round.

Lena, are you absolutely sure that’s it? I’d lean more toward Ananas Noire or some other variety looking at that. 🤐

First year growing it and immediate love till the grave. A colossal tomato in terms of color, taste, and sweetness. Stable fruit shape. Took a nutritional imbalance like a champ and just kept on fruiting.

In 2018, grew it in a poly greenhouse (and outdoors for comparison), yield was normal in both spots, but in the greenhouse obviously it was earlier and had more trusses. Shape was totally unstable – both classic hearts and flat-round, size varied from small “hearts” to decently large tomatoes, but the vast majority were medium size. Color – exactly like the photos. Flavor, hmm… The flavor was interesting too. The first couple of trusses in the greenhouse were absolutely bland, tasteless, maybe slightly sweet, but starting from the third truss, if you don’t let them overripen, the tomatoes are just pure deliciousness! I don’t know what they didn’t like early on, maybe potassium was low or something else was missing. The fruits themselves are extremely juicy, the outdoor ones were slightly drier by the way. I was actually hesitant at first about whether to save seeds from it or not, but decided to grab some anyway, though only from the tastiest and prettiest ones, not from the 2nd truss like you’re supposed to. Outdoors, they do pretty well I have to say, and unlike the greenhouse, there were zero small ones, only medium and fairly large ones.

Long story short, the flavor on my ERO was unstable, just like the shape, but the ones that turned out tasty were VERY tasty!

Cut photo from the outdoor plant on Aug 7.

I love it, can’t even remember what year I first grew it.

Repeated this stunner from another seed source last season. All the tomatoes turned out flat-round. STILL VERY tasty-sweet 😋 And once again, poor yield! Planted it in the same greenhouse, in the exact same spot, just to compare the seeds. Slightly shaded. I’m starting to suspect I need to plant it in full sun?! 😕 Friends, for those of you who got good yields, where did yours grow?

Absolute favorite of 2018.

Everett’s Rusty Heart is my absolute sweetest this year, although all my tomatoes are very sweet this season. But this heart is just pure candy, you almost have to eat it for dessert, it doesn’t taste good in a salad, way too sweet! Good yield, weight 2.8-5.3 oz (80-150 g).

Edited August 13, 2019 by Irina Fedorova

Didn’t work out for me. Started off well, bloomed heavily, set fruit quickly, promised a great yield, I even let it run to 2 stems (although I usually prune suckers), but then it got sick – maybe the roots got damaged when I drove in extra stakes, or maybe the heat just cooked it. But it basically wanted to die for the rest of the summer..
The fruits ended up tiny, the size of early cocktails and large cherries, even though they should be large-fruited. The hero is in the center between Brad’s Black Heart and Grub’s Mystery Green.

Edited October 6, 2019 by Liaro

Grew it again. Only this season I’m not very happy with it due to poor yield – it set fruit late and dropped a ton of blossoms. I’ll give it another chance in 2020.

I only have one tomato variety starting with an “E”. But what a variety! Beautiful, tasty, productive. Grew in the greenhouse, completely showered me with tomatoes!

On 11/3/2019 at 5:47 PM, irysska said:
Grew it again. Only this season I’m not very happy with it due to poor yield – it set fruit late and dropped a ton of blossoms. I’ll give it another chance in 2020.

In that round shape it looks a lot like Red Target. Except with a bit more green… 😲

No, that’s definitely Everett. But even on a single vine I get both hearts and rounder ones. And 2019 was far from my best year for this variety anyway.

Seeds from V. Redko. Greenhouse, 2 plants, pruned to 2 stems. The vine is massive and sprawling. Thick stems, medium-sized leaves. Very responsive to fertilizers. Raised its top leaves begging for phosphorus. Gave it a superphosphate tea the first time, about 3 weeks later the story repeated itself – fed it monopotassium phosphate. Next time it’s probably better to just put superphosphate right in the planting hole. Initial plant density is 60-70%. Initial width of the bush is about 20 inches (50 cm). Height – over 6.5 ft (2 m). Fruits are more flat-round. Flavor – delicate tomato-exotic sweet: 5+ out of 5 stars. Even though the fruits are on the smaller side and my yield so far hasn’t topped 6.6 lbs (3 kg), I will absolutely be planting a couple vines of this again.

Edited July 26, 2020 by Valtwelve

On 2/10/2019 at 5:59 AM, Tatiana Kemerovo said:
Friends, for those of you who got good yields, where did yours grow?

I’m actually sitting here looking at it and thinking I need to try planting it in partial shade. Right now it’s in absolute full sun. The vine is totally scrawny, took forever to set fruit. Then suddenly I see some tomatoes. I kinda didn’t like the color or the size. The first fruit shriveled up in the heat.

I waited for them to get bigger and somehow change color more (I read somewhere on here that it’s supposed to be terracotta). So it’s fully ripe now. Looks completely unappetizing (to me at least), but then I tasted it and realized I absolutely have to save seeds. Very tasty, despite being overripe. Sweet, even though my tomatoes usually don’t get very sweet. And the texture is honestly fantastic.

Edited August 20, 2020 by Marusha

An absolute favorite for me. Gets a permanent spot in the garden. Grows in the greenhouse.

And here is my little bush in the greenhouse. First year planting it. Pruned to 2 stems. Planted it in basically a VIP spot in the greenhouse and it didn’t let me down. Look at the beauty that grew. Honestly I can count varieties this productive on one hand.

And here is the video of cutting and tasting this tomato.

Everett’s Rusty Oxheart – indet.
Fruits have a bronze tint, turning reddish-brown when fully ripe, the color of actual rust. The photo perfectly shows the different colors of the fruits at different stages of ripeness.
Sweet, juicy, up to 7 oz (200 g).
The dark fruits for me were already overripe.