Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-5 Experience)
My original seeds came from Sibsad (Siberian Garden). The seed packet read: “A large-fruited variety from Siberian breeders. It rightfully deserves the title of King among tomatoes for its massive size, yield, and flavor. Fruits are round, red, weighing up to 2.2 lbs (1 kg), store well, and are sweet. Great for fresh salads and processing.”
It’s an indet vine, topping out around 5.5 ft (1.7 m). I’ve been growing this variety for 4 years now.
My observations: I haven’t hit the 2.2 lb (1 kg) mark yet, but it easily pumps out 1-1.5 lb (500-700 g) fruits. Zero cracking, uniform shape, no green shoulders, slightly oblate. It has a great shelf life, looks gorgeous, and is incredibly meaty. The skin is firm but completely edible, not tough or chewy. Yields fluctuate depending on the weather each year. Overall, a really solid variety with a ton of pros.
I grew King of Giants (from Sibsad) back in 2012. This year I planted seeds I got from Popenko. The tomatoes were completely different from each other. The Sibsad ones were fire-engine red, while the Popenko strain was raspberry-pink. Both vines were absolute yield monsters, though.
I don’t really remember the taste of the Sibsad one, but the Popenko version was delicious. Really fragrant, old-school sweet and tart tomato flavor. The ones on the bottom clusters weighed around 14-17.5 oz (400-500 g). I only have a pic from June, unfortunately 😞
Quick question on the foliage… are these supposed to be RL or PL?
RL for sure. Not potato leaf.
😂 Well crap, I have two vines and both of them are PL 😭
Edited March 24, 2015 by Nadya Ya
Nadya Ya wrote:
😂 Well crap, I have two vines and both of them are PL 😭
Wait, PL??? Where and from who did you get the seeds? Maybe it’s a different, more “modern” King of Giants. I save my own seeds now, but my original batch 4 years ago was from Sibsad.
Yep, potato leaves. Got the seeds from someone in a forum seed swap.
Nadya Ya wrote:
Yep, potato leaves. Got the seeds from someone in a forum seed swap.
Looks like we have yet another King of Giants floating around. You’ll have to show us a pic and review the flavor later! But Sibsad is still selling the exact same variety with the same photo on the packet. It’s such a generic name, another vendor could have easily used it, so you still have a “King”, just a completely different strain.
Yeah, I already updated my plant tags to say “off-type”. I’ll definitely take pics of the harvest (if I even get one! 😆) 😉
I’m officially dropping this one from my grow list. Both this year and last year, it was the very first plant in my garden to come down with disease.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Seed Variations
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate vine. Reaches about 5.5 ft (1.7 m). The original, true strain has Regular Leaf (RL) foliage.
- 📈 Yield: Generally rated as a heavy producer, though it is heavily weather-dependent.
- 👅 Taste & Texture: Very meaty with a classic, old-school sweet and tart tomato flavor.
- 🍅 Fruit Size & Storage: Massive oblate beefsteaks. The original red strain from Siberian Garden (Sibsad) regularly throws 1-1.5 lb (500-700 g) fruits. Unusually for giant heirlooms, it features crack-resistant, firm skin and has a relatively good shelf life.
- 🧬 Seed Line Variations: Because the name “King of Giants” is so generic, there are multiple off-types in circulation. Some growers report a pink-fruited strain (from Popenko), while others have received crossed seeds that throw Potato Leaf (PL) foliage.
- 🛡️ Disease Resistance: Very poor. Multiple growers noted it was the very first plant to succumb to fungal issues in consecutive years.
