Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4 Experience)
Yep, that’s the actual working title for this experimental variety 😉 It’s a breeding line from Maxim Gurin, a breeder from the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine in Kharkiv (I got it from Alexey Kulik’s catalog). Technically, Gurin’s varieties aren’t fully released yet, they are breeding lines that will eventually become named varieties.
It’s a mid-late, compact variety. Outdoors it grew about 1.5 ft (45 cm) tall, forming a pretty sturdy tree-type (rugose) bush. The fruits are beautiful speckled/striped rounds weighing up to 7 oz (200 g), and they store really well. The color is gorgeous—bright red with a bit of a smudgy purple antho blush on the shoulders. Good flavor, too.
Edited November 28, 2016 by Drosera
More photos.
Elena, do you happen to know what the original goals were for this breeding line? Like, what specific traits or properties were they breeding it for, and how is it supposed to stand out from other varieties?
Just got curious 🙂
Iva! They were specifically breeding for novelty/exotic tomatoes. There are quite a few different lines. For example, looking at the descriptions:
K 25-54: Deep red interior, the green exterior gets covered in a blue blush, and when fully ripe the blue turns almost pitch black.
K 54-68: Red and green striping over a golden background. Firm, unusually beautiful fruits. And the plant’s foliage is actually yellowish.
K 54-84 L 1-10: Dense with an incredibly long shelf life, they don’t rot or crack. The bottom half near the stem is green-brown, and the top half is green-orange. Four solid dark green stripes run from the top down to the bottom, forming a perfect cross. Hard to believe it wasn’t painted by an artist.
Elena, have you tested any other lines from Gurin or Gorbach?
Vladimir, from Gorbach I trialed the variety Avatar
I haven’t grown any other lines from Gurin. Honestly, none of the taste descriptions for his other lines appealed to me, and for me, flavor is the absolute priority. Otherwise, you just end up giving these novelty exotics away as gifts.
I do have a friend who grew K 54-68 (the one with red/green stripes on a gold background and yellow leaves). I saw the pictures, and the foliage really was yellow!
Full Summary: Plant Habit, Taste, and Breeding Context
- 🌿 Plant & Foliage: Mid-late season, tree-type (rugose) determinate bush. It is very compact, reaching only 1.5 ft (45 cm) tall outdoors, making it highly suitable for containers or small garden spaces.
- 🍅 Fruit Appearance & Size: Produces round fruits weighing up to 7 oz (200 g). The skin is bright red with a smudgy purple anthocyanin blush on the shoulders, making it a very striking novelty tomato.
- 👅 Taste: Flavor is rated as good. While many novelty breeding lines focus on aesthetics over taste, Elena noted that this one had a pleasant flavor profile.
- 📈 Yields & Storage: Yields are good for a dwarf plant, and the fruits are noted for having excellent storage capabilities.
