Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-6 Experience)
FIERY TURBAN. A VARIETY BY SOFIA SAAKOVA. BREEDER’S DESCRIPTION.
Mid-season variety. The vine hits 5.5-6 ft (1.7-1.8 m) in the greenhouse and gets absolutely loaded with unusually beautiful truffle-shaped fruits. Yellow-orange color with red stripes and heavy antho. A mesmerizing sight. Fruits weigh 3.5-10.5 oz (100-300 g). I don’t thin the trusses. I think if you did thin them, the fruits would be even bigger. Taste is sweet, rich, with a barely noticeable tang.
For me, it produced heavily right up until frost, set every single blossom. I didn’t prune the clusters, and some individual fruits still reached around 1.1 lbs (500 g).
Edited October 8, 2025 by Khrizantema57
Gorgeous variety – the crown jewel of the greenhouse. Taste is sweet with a slight tang, and it’s a real looker.
Beautiful and delicious. Grew it to multiple stems right up until frost, very high yield.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Characteristics
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate, mid-season. Reaches 5.5-6 ft (1.7-1.8 m) in a greenhouse. Thrives even when allowed to grow out to multiple stems without strict pruning.
- 📈 Yield: An exceptional workhorse. Sets fruit on practically every single blossom without dropping, producing heavily right up until the first frost.
- 🍅 Fruit Size & Shape: Classic “truffle” shape (a pleated, ribbed pear/teardrop). Averages 3.5-10.5 oz (100-300 g), but can push 1.1 lbs (500 g) if left unpruned, and possibly larger if trusses are actively thinned.
- 🎨 Color: Highly ornamental. Features a yellow-orange base covered in striking red stripes and a heavy dark anthocyanin (antho) splash on the sun-exposed shoulders.
- 👅 Taste: Universally described as sweet and rich with just a slight, pleasant acidic tang to balance it out.
In Russian and Eastern European heirloom terminology, you’ll often see tomatoes described as having a “truffle” or “little bag” shape (like the famous Japanese Truffle). In the US, we typically refer to this bottom-heavy shape as a ribbed pear, pleated pear, or pyriform. The breeder also mentions that she does not “thin the trusses.” For American growers aiming for giant exhibition-sized fruits, it is a common practice to snip off all but 2 or 3 blossoms on a truss so the plant channels all its energy into just a few massive tomatoes. Fiery Turban is so vigorous that even without thinning, some fruits still hit the 1 lb mark.
