Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-8 Experience)
This one’s a super tall det, already taller than me. Got the seeds from Redko. It’s PL (potato leaf). Pumps out a ton of fruit and tastes great. Tomatoes are different sizes, up to 10.5 oz (300 g), red. Growing it for the second year now, really liking it.
Not even sure if I have the real Legend? My seed pack says Legend (Canada).
Couldn’t find anything online about it. But I did find this description from a tomato lover (starts with the vendor’s description, and then what actually grew. Maybe one of y’all wrote this?):
Legend (Canada) – seeds received directly from the author of the blue tomato variety Bleve P20, Jim Myers. Bush is 16 inches (40 cm), no pruning needed. Fruits red, round, weighing up to 5 oz (150 g), perfectly sweet and juicy. Fruits are like billiard balls – perfectly round, very dense, pretty large if they hang on the vine a while.
Anyway, mine is out in the dirt, getting partial shade under an apple tree. Really tough plant, zero disease issues. Seems like a late one. That pic is from Aug 20, just starting to ripen the first fruits. It’s about 3.3 ft (1 m) tall. Massive plant with dark foliage. Flat fruits. Still green. Honestly, looking at it, I’m not even in a rush to taste it. Got a feeling it’s gonna be bland… And it’s definitely way taller than 16 inches.
Edited August 20, 2020 by Marusha
First time growing Legend this year and I’m super happy I got my hands on it. The flavor completely stood out from the rest of my patch, definitely my favorite this season. Grew it outdoors and got an awesome yield.
On 12/11/2021 at 09:44 AM, Natasha said:
First time growing Legend this year and I’m super happy I got my hands on it. The flavor completely stood out from the rest of my patch, definitely my favorite this season. Grew it outdoors and got an awesome yield.
Who’d you buy the seeds from?
Got ’em from Redko. Long time ago. Back in ’17 I think, really loved the flavor.
On 2/3/2023 at 12:16 PM, Aisan said:
Who’d you buy the seeds from?
Aisan, I got mine from Galina Rogozhina out in Moscow.
Thanks for the info, y’all. I actually have some Legend seeds in my stash. Definitely giving them a spot in the dirt this year, really liking what I’m hearing about it.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant: Determinate, but traits vary wildly depending on the seed source. Some growers report potato leaf (PL) plants that grow taller than a person, while others report rugged 3.3 ft (1 m) plants with dark foliage. The original commercial description claimed a 16-inch (40 cm) bush. Fruits are red, ranging from round to flat-round, weighing up to 10.5 oz (300 g).
- 📈 Yield: Very productive. Both Irina and Natasha reported heavy yields when grown outdoors.
- 👅 Taste: Rated exceptionally high by those who harvested it. Described as the standout flavor of the season, easily beating out many other varieties in the patch.
- 📦 Hardiness: Very resilient. Performs well outdoors without a greenhouse, tolerates partial shade, and shows great disease resistance.
If you’re reading this thread and wondering why these plants look nothing alike, it’s because there is massive confusion in the Russian seed market regarding the variety “Legend”.The true Legend tomato was bred by Dr. Jim Baggett at Oregon State University (OSU) and released in 2001. It is an early, regular-leaf determinate known for late blight resistance. However, a Russian vendor quoted in this thread attributes the variety to Canada and credits Jim Myers (the breeder of Indigo Rose / Bleve P20, who took over Dr. Baggett’s breeding program at OSU). On top of that, Irina is growing a Potato Leaf (PL) version that towers over her, which means she is likely growing an accidental cross or a completely different heirloom that was mislabeled as Legend. This is a classic case of heirloom names getting lost in translation!
