At a Glance
📑 In This Review:
Yield, Flavor & Photos
Got the seeds from Popenko under the name “Lomtik dyni” (Melon Slice). I see he renamed it to “Dynnaya grozd” (Melon Cluster) in his current catalog.
Grew it in the greenhouse. The vine shot up past 6.5 feet (2 m). Yield was just average since there aren’t that many fruits per truss. But in terms of sweetness, this variety actually beat out my all-time favorite cherry – Black Cherry. The fruits are incredibly juicy.
Pruning & Greenhouse Spacing
Planning to plant this one this year. My seeds are from Gusev. 📝 How many stems should I run on this? And where is the best spot for it in the greenhouse? Does it have a wide footprint?
Quote from fire-cherry:
How many stems should I run on this? And where is the best spot for it in the greenhouse? Does it have a wide footprint?
Yeah, the vine gets really sprawling. I always feel like these super sweet varieties need as much sun as you can give them. I train all my plants to a single stem because I plant them really tight. Honestly, I think if you tried running multiple stems on this variety, it would turn into a total jungle. Even pruned to a single leader, the clusters completely hide in all the foliage.
Literally nobody who tasted this variety could walk away indifferent. Everyone begged me for seeds. It grows into an absolute monster of a plant. It’s late-season, so the only way you’ll get a decent harvest here in Siberia is by keeping it in the greenhouse.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate, late-season. An extremely vigorous, sprawling monster of a vine that easily exceeds 6.5 feet (2 m). It produces extremely dense foliage that can hide the fruit clusters. Growers strongly recommend training it to a single stem (leader) to prevent it from taking over the greenhouse.
- 🍅 Fruit: Small, bi-color/yellowish cherries (sometimes translated loosely as “Melon Slice” or “Melon Cluster”).
- 📈 Yield: Average. The plant doesn’t put out massive amounts of fruit per truss, and since it is a late-season variety, growers in short-season climates (like Siberia) must grow it in a greenhouse to get a meaningful harvest.
- 👅 Taste: World-class. Universally praised for its extreme sweetness and juiciness. One grower even rated its sugar levels above the famous Black Cherry tomato.
👨🌾 Editor’s Note: Name Translations & Vendor Catalogs
In the first post, Ilya mentions the names “Melon Slice” and “Melon Cluster.” When foreign heirloom seeds enter the market, private seed sellers (like Popenko or Gusev) often translate the names literally or completely rename them for their catalogs. “Gajo de Melon” translates from Spanish to “Melon Wedge/Slice,” which is why it appeared under two different names depending on which vendor’s catalog the grower ordered from.
