📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Grosse des Marais
- 🌍 Origin: A rare, endangered old French heirloom from the Champagne region (specifically the Reims area). The name translates to “Large of the Swamp,” as it was historically cultivated in the marshlands.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, tall, and vigorous. Regular leaf. Unlike many oxhearts or heirlooms, it has a very robust, sturdy build (not a wispy/spindly plant).
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large pink/raspberry beefsteaks with slight ribbing. Weights typically range from 9 to 18 oz (250-500g).
- 👅 Flavor: Extraordinarily delicious. The flesh is dense, meaty, and buttery with a high gel content. It has a very sweet flavor profile balanced with the perfect amount of tang.
- ⏳ Yield & Growing Traits: Mid-season ripener. Highly praised for setting fruit perfectly without skipping trusses or dropping blossoms. Consistently produces 4-6 large tomatoes per cluster.
Grosse des Marais (Big Swamp)
Seeds were from Sofia.
From her description: “An old and rare heirloom originating from Champagne, specifically the Reims area, where it was once cultivated in the marshes. An endangered variety subject to conservation efforts in its region of origin. Large raspberry-pink fruits ranging from 250 to 500 grams (9-18 oz), beefsteak type with slight ribbing. Dense, meaty flesh containing a lot of gel. Extraordinarily delicious, very sweet tomatoes. Vigorous plant development, regular leaf, indeterminate growth. Mid-season. Excellent variety!”
Based on my actual grow (in the greenhouse, 2021): An absolute wonder-variety! Tall indet. It set fruit perfectly without skipping any trusses; there were 4-6 large tomatoes per cluster, looking mostly like the 1st photo. The flesh, however, is much denser, not mushy or spongy at all, and the taste is excellent — sweet with a nice tang. Pink color. Extremely prolific, beautiful, I just fell in love with it. Definitely going on my repeat list.
I grew it this season. Indet, tall, and definitely not a spindly/wispy plant. It has become a favorite variety of mine for its dense, buttery flesh and excellent yield.
Edited October 3, 2025 by Murka
