Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-4 Experience)
Seeds came from V.F. Syray. Here’s his description:
Lyon-1. Plant reaches 5-6 ft (1.5-1.8 m). The fruit is red, round, dense, and meaty with thick walls. Not hard, doesn’t crack, weighs 5-10.5 oz (150-300 g). One of the best varieties for market growers because along with great taste and beautiful appearance, it yields incredibly well.
Honestly, it hit all those specs perfectly, except in my greenhouse it got taller, up around 6.5 ft (2 m). My fruits averaged around 7 oz (200 g), maybe slightly more. At first, I didn’t get why they called it a “market” variety. Turns out the shelf appeal is just perfect – they look great, hold up really well, and feel super solid. I love using these for pickling, assuming they fit through the mouth of the jar! 😄
Productivity is outstanding. Got trusses looking just like this from the bottom all the way to the top, didn’t drop a single blossom. Seemed a little on the late side for maturity, but it’s ripening up fine in the greenhouse right now.
You don’t often find a variety that checks all the boxes like that! Galina, could you give a bit more detail on the taste? Is it a classic tomato flavor or more on the sweet side?
Zulya, the flavor is more of your standard classic tomato, definitely not bland. It has a touch of sweetness to it, but nothing overpowering.
Grew this variety again this year, but out in the open garden. As usual for me, the outdoor yield was actually better than the greenhouse yield. The vine stayed around 5-5.5 ft (1.6-1.7 m) out there. The tomatoes were right in the 5-6 oz (150-170 g) range, perfectly uniform and neat.
I wouldn’t call it late-season this year either, more of a mid-season. Kinda weird – last year I started the seeds earlier for the greenhouse and they ripened later. Maybe they just didn’t get enough sun in there to speed things up? My greenhouse roof is made of thick polycarbonate, so it casts a bit of partial shade. Overall, still really like this variety.
Grew this one this season (thanks for the seeds, Galina 🌸). I completely back up everything Galina said about the beauty and the heavy yield 👍.
Mine turned out a bit bland tasting, but honestly, it was a very cold summer and I had it planted way in the back of the greenhouse, so it definitely got shorted on sunlight. Still a very solid variety.
My Lyon seedling looks completely different from all my others. Absolute beauty! The seedling is super stocky with really short internodes. Hard to believe this thing will hit 6 feet… How many stems should I prune this to? 🤔
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Usages
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate. Grows to about 5-5.5 ft (1.6-1.7 m) outdoors, but can push past 6.5 ft (2 m) in a greenhouse. Despite its final height, seedlings start off unusually stocky with short internodes.
- 🍅 Fruit: Red, round, and very uniform, weighing between 5-10.5 oz (150-300 g). Highly resistant to cracking, with thick walls and dense meat.
- 📈 Yield: Excellent. Sets trusses reliably from bottom to top without dropping blossoms. Can perform exceptionally well in open ground.
- 👅 Taste & Use: Classic, standard tomato flavor with mild sweetness. Because of its perfect shelf appeal, long storage life, and dense flesh, it is highly recommended for market sellers, as well as home canners who want perfectly uniform jars.
