Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-4 Experience)
Didn’t live up to the “Princess” name on a single metric for me. Wasn’t expecting a massive yield anyway, but Gavrish claimed 8.8 oz (250 g) averages and my biggest was barely 3.5 oz (100 g), with the rest being even smaller. Flavor is good, but definitely more acidic than my other green-when-ripe varieties.
When fully ripe it’s a sweet tomato, but let it get even slightly overripe and it turns straight to mush. Yield was above average, shelf life is pretty bad. That being said, out of all my late ripeners that finished up indoors, it was one of the best tasting. Ran four stems, grown outdoors in the dirt.
Edited December 13, 2014 by Semechka
Frog Princess gave me average yields. Fruits were 3.5-7 oz (100-200 g). Good classic tomato flavor, but lots of seeds and really watery.
Seemed really similar to Malachite Box to me – same vine height, same fruit weight, and the same terrible shelf life. Flavor-wise yeah, it’s definitely plainer than MB.
Quote from BolTushka:
Seemed really similar to Malachite Box to me – same vine height, same fruit weight, and the same terrible shelf life. Flavor-wise yeah, it’s definitely plainer than MB.
They weren’t similar for me at all! 🙂 Only thing they have in common is being green 😆 My Malachite Box fruits were way bigger, hitting 1.1-1.3 lbs (500-600 g), super productive, and nowhere near as watery. My Frog Princess never topped 7 oz (200 g) and the flavor just wasn’t as rich. Grew them right next to each other to compare.
I actually liked this variety! 👍 Pretty decent yielder, and the fruits weren’t small at all. Flavor definitely loses out to Boloto, but still very pleasant. I’d even call the flesh buttery.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Issues
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate, mid-to-late season. Can be grown successfully outdoors even in colder zones, and responds well to being trained to multiple leaders (up to four stems).
- 🍅 Fruit: A Green-When-Ripe (GWR) tomato. The commercial packet advertises 8.8 oz (250 g), but real-world growers mostly harvested 3.5-7 oz (100-200 g) fruits. The interior tends to be very juicy, with plenty of seeds.
- 📈 Yield: Generally rated as average to slightly above average.
- 👅 Taste & Use: Flavor reviews are mixed. Some growers found it nicely sweet with a buttery texture, while others found it watery and slightly more acidic than other GWR varieties. In side-by-side taste tests, it frequently loses out to heavier hitters like Malachite Box or Boloto.
- ⚠️ Issues: Like many green tomatoes, it has an incredibly short shelf life. It must be picked and eaten at peak ripeness; if left too long, the flesh quickly turns to mush.
