📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ilya Muromets
- 🌍 Origin: Commercial variety from the “Poisk” seed company. It is named after Ilya Muromets, a legendary folklore hero and knight known for his immense strength.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, reaching about 5-6 feet (150-180 cm). A very sturdy, strong plant that is not overly sprawling and shows great disease resistance.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Medium-to-large yellow-orange fruits weighing around 7-10.5 oz (200-300 g). They are dense, crack-resistant, and have a surprisingly good shelf life.
- 👅 Flavor: Meaty and smooth (almost oily texture), with plenty of seeds. Great classic taste that works perfectly for both fresh salads and canning.
Ilya Muromets, grew from “Poisk” seeds. Mid-season, maybe closer to early-mid. The plants aren’t extremely tall, around 5-6 feet (150-180 cm). It is a very heavy yielder, and the trusses are quite weighty. The fruits are medium-sized, about 7-10.5 oz (200-300 g). They are dense, don’t crack, and keep reasonably well in storage.
They are meaty but not dry, with plenty of seeds inside, and have a beautiful yellow-orange color. Very tasty. The bush itself is sturdy, not spindly, but also not overly sprawling, and it doesn’t seem prone to diseases. I really liked this variety and grew it two years in a row. I would plant it again, but the new varieties are crowding my garden lol. But I will definitely repeat it in the future.
I found a picture of the plant, but I don’t have a solo shot of the fruit, only in a pile on a group photo. They are the ones sitting on top in the foreground.
Anzhela, I had this one too, also from Poisk. I will definitely repeat it. It fed me with large fruits out in the open ground right up until autumn. And the color really is very appetizing.
I grew mine in the greenhouse. I don’t grow tomatoes outdoors at all.
My seeds were also from Poisk. Very good quality, 100% germination, and completely true to type. It is an excellent tomato.
Seeds from Poisk. I can’t say anything about the taste yet, planting it for the first time. I will report back later 🙂 The seeds were of good quality, the germination rate was 100%.
Well, here is the first ripe tomato. The taste didn’t impress me, and for some reason, it has hollow voids inside. I don’t know if that’s a trait of this variety or if my growing technique was wrong.)) I’ll wait for the next ones, maybe it’s just the first fruit acting up. And here is the photo, of course.
Anzhelika: “Well, here is the first ripe tomato. The taste didn’t impress me, and for some reason, it has hollow voids inside. I don’t know if that’s a trait of this variety or if my growing technique was wrong.)) I’ll wait for the next ones, maybe it’s just the first fruit acting up. And here is the photo, of course.”
I didn’t have any hollows back then. The flesh was oily and dense, not watery at all. They are perfect for salads and for canning. I sliced them into halves and canned them, and they didn’t turn to mush. There were no white veins inside and no green spots at the stem. I have one plant of this variety growing this year. Planted it a bit late, so nothing has ripened on it yet. I’ll report back on how the fruits turn out this time after a taste test. I’m growing them from my own saved seeds now.
The name “Ilya Muromets” belongs to a famous knight (bogatyr) from Eastern European and Slavic folklore. He is legendary for his immense physical strength and invincibility. It is very common for Russian commercial breeders to name sturdy, large-fruited, and disease-resistant tomato plants after him!
