📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Jovan
- 🌍 Origin: A rugged, highly productive heirloom from Serbia. Developed/maintained by the well-known Serbian tomato breeder and seed saver, Živojin Antić.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Growers report it is incredibly resilient, producing high yields even during seasons with severe temperature swings and poor weather.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, raspberry-pink oxhearts. They typically range from 10 to 21 oz (300 to 600g). The interior is practically solid meat with very small seed locules.
- 👅 Flavor & Texture: Intensely sweet and highly aromatic. Perfect for fresh eating or making thick, sweet sauces due to the lack of excess juice and seeds.
- 📈 Yield: Exceptionally high yielder for a large oxheart.
Jovan (Serbia).
A variety from Živojin Antić, a well-known Serbian breeder.
Thanks to Galina (@axleto) for the seeds 🙏
Indet, grew it in the greenhouse pruned to 2 leaders. A highly productive, beautiful, and tasty variety 👍
Pink, meaty oxhearts up to 18 oz (500g), there are very few seeds inside them.
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Jovan (Serbia).
I grew this variety again this year, and it is absolutely gorgeous 👍 Even though the weather this season was much worse compared to last year (lots of rain, cool spells, and crazy temperature swings from hot to cold), all the Serbian varieties performed excellently! I had nine of them in total, all grown in the greenhouse pruned to two leaders.
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I grew this variety this year, thanks to Tanya (@T@tk@) for the seeds. The fruits are a deep pink color, oxheart-shaped, weighing anywhere from 10.5 to 21 oz (300 to 600g). Meaty, aromatic, and very sweet. The seed locules are tiny, so there is hardly any seed in them.
This variety is a huge yielder. The fruits are a beautiful raspberry-pink color and highly flavorful.
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I grew it last season. It’s an incredibly productive variety; I had 2 vines growing in different greenhouses. The fruits are pinkish-raspberry, very meaty, and sweet.
Notice Svetikk’s comment about extreme temperature swings? Large heirloom oxhearts are notoriously sensitive to environmental stress, often dropping their blossoms (blossom drop) if temps jump erratically between hot and cold. The fact that Jovan continued to set heavy trusses in those conditions proves the rugged adaptability of Živojin Antić’s Serbian lines. If you struggle with unpredictable spring/summer weather in your zone, these genetics are definitely worth a try!
