Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-4 Experience)
Ferris Wheel
I grew it in 2014 from my own saved seeds, but I originally got the stock from V. Redko in 2013.
Here’s her description of the variety: mid-height vine (up to 5 ft / 1.5 m), regular leaf, large-fruited. Fruits weigh up to 10.5 oz (300 g), oblate, raspberry pink, very sweet.
Mine actually grew taller than 5 ft (1.5 m) this year. The fruit weight on some of them was way bigger too. Heavy producer. Good, sweet flavor.
Edited January 23, 2015 by Drosera
My Ferris Wheel was an indet, pink, with potato leaf foliage, mid-season, fruits weighing anywhere from 10.5 to 32 oz (300-900 g). I really liked the flavor: dense and juicy flesh. I got the seeds through a swap, so I don’t actually know the original source. 🎩
I’m growing it this year from Kulik’s seed stock. Watch me end up with a third variant! 😆
If my memory serves me right, Kulik’s strain has potato leaves. 🎩
I’m growing Ferris Wheel from Kulik this year. Yep, it’s potato leaf. 🙂
I have the strain from Happy Garden… they probably got their seeds from Kulik. Potato leaf foliage (just like the description in their catalog).
Makes me wonder what variety we’re actually growing under the name Ferris Wheel? 🤷♀️ The true original Ferris Wheel is supposed to have RL foliage.
Here is my Ferris Wheel. Seeds from Natasha (NatNik). Regular leaf.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and The PL Mutation
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate, mid-season. There are two distinct foliage strains circulating in Eastern Europe. The original, true strain has Regular Leaf (RL) foliage. However, a highly popular Potato Leaf (PL) off-type or mutation is widely sold by major vendors like Kulik and Happy Garden.
- 📈 Yield: Both the RL and PL versions are reported to be heavy producers.
- 👅 Taste & Texture: Dense, juicy flesh with a very sweet, classic old-school flavor.
- 🍅 Fruit Size: Giant raspberry-pink oblate beefsteaks. While the commercial packets estimate 10.5 oz (300 g), growers report them easily maxing out between 1-2 lbs (300-900 g) under good conditions.
