📌 Quick Summary: Kilechki (Sprats)
Named after the famous tiny forage fish, this unique Russian heirloom is catching the eye of cherry tomato collectors. But is it just a novelty shape, or does it actually perform in the garden?
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian collector’s variety. The name “Kilechki” translates to “Little Sprats” (tiny fish), perfectly describing the elongated, fish-like shape of these little tomatoes hanging on the vine.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A vigorous, sprawling plant that easily reaches 6.5 feet (2 m) in a greenhouse.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: An elongated, oversized cherry. They grow in dense clusters of 10 to 12 fruits. Color ranges from pinkish to a vibrant red-orange.
⬇️ Why are growers so obsessed with canning this specific tomato? Check out the forum reviews below to find out how it handles brutal summer heat and why its unique skin texture makes it the ultimate “jar filler”!
A really cute variety, just a bit bigger than a standard cherry. The bush height in the greenhouse was about 6.5 feet (2 m). It sprawled out into 4 leaders and every single one was completely loaded. It didn’t drop a single blossom truss, even though the heat was brutal this year and all the neighboring plants around it were dropping blossoms left and right. The trusses hold about 10-12 little tomatoes. The flavor is standard, not pure candy-sweet, but a nice sweetness with a little tang.
Most of them went straight into canning jars, they are absolutely perfect for filling in the empty gaps. They don’t turn to mush in the marinade, and the skin isn’t tough like leather, but it holds its shape perfectly. Seeds were from a collector in Yoshkar-Ola. It’s a keeper!
A really cute variety, just a bit bigger than a standard cherry. The bush height in the greenhouse was about 6.5 feet (2 m). It sprawled out into 4 leaders and every single one was completely loaded. It didn’t drop a single blossom truss, even though the heat was brutal this year and all the neighboring plants around it were dropping blossoms left and right. The trusses hold about 10-12 little tomatoes. The flavor is standard, not pure candy-sweet, but a nice sweetness with a little tang. Most of them went straight into canning jars, they are absolutely perfect for filling in the empty gaps. They don’t turn to mush in the marinade, and the skin isn’t tough like leather, but it holds its shape perfectly. Seeds were from a collector in Yoshkar-Ola. It’s a keeper!
Anna, what an interesting name. Are they pink in color?
Anna, what an interesting name. Are they pink in color?
More of a red-orange.
The name Kilechki literally translates to “Little Sprats”. While naming an elongated tomato after a tiny fish is funny on its own, it is actually a brilliant cultural pun! In Russia and Eastern Europe, one of the most famous, nostalgic, and widely consumed canned foods is “Sprats in Tomato Sauce”. By naming a canning tomato “Kilechki”, the breeder made a fantastic inside joke—when you can these little elongated tomatoes in jars, you are literally making your own jars of “Sprats in Tomato”!
