📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Baloven Sudby (Fortune’s Favorite)
- 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety from the Russian seed company Siberian Garden (Sib-Sad). The name translates to “Fortune’s Favorite” or “Darling of Fate”.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: The seed packet lists it as an early determinate growing to 28–31 inches (70–80 cm). However, growers note it behaves more like a semi-determinate or indeterminate, reaching 5.5–6 ft (1.7–1.8 m) in a greenhouse. The plant has somewhat delicate, wispy foliage but produces reliable yields both outdoors and under glass.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Officially described as intense red and pepper-shaped, weighing 7–9 oz (200–250 g). In reality, the shape is highly variable on the same plant (ranging from large plums to elongated ovals with a slight tip, or even blunt hearts). The interior flesh is often pink rather than deep red.
- 👅 Flavor: Highly rated by growers for its dense, meaty texture and sweet, tender flavor. Excellent for fresh eating and processing.
Description from the seed packet:
“An excellent early-season determinate variety for open ground. The plant is 28-31 inches (70-80 cm) tall and gets heavily loaded with visually pleasing, dense, heavy, pepper-shaped fruits weighing 7-9 oz (200-250 grams) and more. The color of the fruit is an intense red with a slightly visible spot near the stem. The flesh is delicious, tender, with a mild aftertaste. The variety is highly productive; you can get up to 5.5 lbs (2.5 kg) of marketable fruit from each plant. Recommended for fresh consumption and all types of culinary processing.”
Photo credit: Valichka
I’m not really seeing the intense red color or the pepper shape here 🙂
Tomatoes of this type often throw varying shapes—hearts, rounds, or even sausage-like ones—sometimes all on the same plant. The smaller one that is cut in half looks just like the picture on the seed packet.
There is a spot at the stem, and as for the color, anything can happen, even just from the heat. Maybe Valentina, the owner of the photos, can tell us more herself.
I grew this variety for the first time this year. The seeds were from Sib-Sad, and I grew it outdoors in open ground, planting two plants per hole. The height of the plant, according to the description, is 28-31 inches (70-80 cm). But the bush grew taller and showed absolutely no signs of stopping 😲😲. I am sure that in a greenhouse it would reach 5-5.5 ft (1.5-1.7 m).
I liked the variety. The fruits are dense, and of course, there is no intense red color—they are actually pink on the inside. Very meaty and very tasty. Next year I plan to plant three roots in the greenhouse, and I’ll report back on the yield. The yield outdoors was normal, 4-5 fruits per truss. A worthy variety 👍👍.
I also liked this variety. True, I wouldn’t call the shape pepper-like either; they are more like large plums, oval-shaped with a slightly pulled tip. It’s a heavy yielder, and the fruits are very dense.
In 2015 I grew Baloven Sudby (from Sib-Sad) again, this time in the greenhouse. Just as I expected, the plant height reached 5.5-6 ft (1.7-1.8 m). The plant itself has rather wispy foliage, and the yield was normal. I really like this variety. The flavor is a solid 5 out of 5.
Grew it outdoors. A productive and very tasty variety..
