🍅 Quick take: Gun Metal Grey is an eye-catching, mid-season tomato known for the unique metallic, dark grey anthocyanin blush* on its shoulders. While the plant stays relatively manageable at around 4 feet, it pumps out heavy, uniform clusters of medium-to-large slicers. Growers praise its perfectly balanced flavor that actually deepens and becomes richer as the season progresses. It’s a great choice if you want the visual drama of a dark tomato without sacrificing old-fashioned taste. Full summary ↓
Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4b Experience)
The plant reached about 4 ft (1.2 m) tall, forms massive trusses of unique fruits with a dark grey tint on the shoulders. Flavor has an excellent balance of sugars and acids, and gets especially rich in the second half of the season. Fruit weight is 7-10.5 oz (200-300 g).
The fruits ripen very uniformly all at once.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste, and Ripening
- 🌿 Plant: Manageable height, stopping around 4 ft (1.2 m), making it a great candidate for smaller high tunnels or sturdy staking in open dirt.
- 📈 Yield: Excellent. It produces massive, heavily loaded trusses.
- 👅 Taste: Perfectly balanced between sweet and acidic. The flavor profile reportedly improves and intensifies late in the season.
- 🍅 Ripening: A major plus for this variety is its uniform ripening—whole clusters tend to ripen at the same time, making it great for bulk harvesting or processing.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Grown and reviewed by a veteran gardener in the Tula Region (USDA Zone 4b).
🍅 Have you grown Gun Metal Grey? Did you notice the metallic tint on the shoulders? Drop a comment below with your zone and let us know how it tasted for you!
👨🌾 Editor’s Note: The “Metallic” Anthocyanin Expression
Many dark tomatoes on the market boast intense, pitch-black “indigo” shoulders. Gun Metal Grey is unique because its anthocyanin expression (the reaction to sunlight that turns the skin dark) comes through as a hazy, slate-grey or metallic wash over a dark maroon base. To get the best coloration out of this variety, make sure the developing fruits have direct exposure to sunlight!
Many dark tomatoes on the market boast intense, pitch-black “indigo” shoulders. Gun Metal Grey is unique because its anthocyanin expression (the reaction to sunlight that turns the skin dark) comes through as a hazy, slate-grey or metallic wash over a dark maroon base. To get the best coloration out of this variety, make sure the developing fruits have direct exposure to sunlight!
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