Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-5 Experience)
Lugas F1 tomato.
I picked up these seeds at one of our local Moscow seed swaps. Later on, I tracked down a description online, but only on overseas seed sites:
Determinate, 110-115 days, cluster-type, fruit 2.1-2.8 oz (60-80 g).
Started them on my normal schedule alongside everything else. Planted two vines in the back bed of my polycarbonate hoop house. Pruned one to two leaders and the other to three. The final result blew me away! (In the photo showing the hybrid row: the first two plants across the bed on the right are Vermilion F1, followed by two plants of Lugas F1).
The plant has a very tidy footprint, not sprawling or wild at all, topping out around 5.2-5.5 ft (160-170 cm) with very few suckers to pinch. The first flower truss formed right after the 7th to 9th leaf. After that, flower trusses popped up every leaf or two.
Fruit set was fantastic across the board despite intense greenhouse heat. Trusses are single, occasionally branched. I had 7-8 tomatoes per single cluster and up to 12 on branched ones, though the very tips skipped setting, likely from the high heat spikes.
The tomatoes are smooth, oval-round egg shapes, very uniform. The biggest hit up to 3.9 oz (110 g), with the bulk of the harvest running slightly smaller. Deep, solid red color from top to bottom with zero green shoulders. Skin is decently firm and the flesh is solid red with no hollow pockets.
It is neither dry nor watery, packing a genuinely rich, outstanding flavor that hits the sweet spot between acidity and sugars. Next to it, Vermilion F1 tasted like absolute nothing, completely flat, watery grocery store cardboard.
Fruit ripen sequentially down the cluster, but fully red tomatoes do not drop and refuse to go soft on the vine. I actually left the first ripe ones hanging for two full weeks just to see the whole cluster turn red together. When I finally checked them, the earliest ones were just as firm and pristine as the ones that had just colored up. Had to pull them eventually to spray, but the shelf life is off the charts.
This hybrid will be killer not only for fresh slicing, but for whole-jar pickling and canning too. Couldn’t track down seeds in any domestic seed shops here unfortunately. A truly top-notch hybrid!
Going to see if I can hunt down seeds around here. Thanks for starting the thread!
Full Summary: Hybrid Qualities, Growth Habit & Flavor
- 🌿 Plant Architecture: Compact, polite indeterminate greenhouse vine reaching 5.2-5.5 ft (160-170 cm). Naturally produces few suckers, making it exceptionally low maintenance. Easily handles training to 2 or 3 stems under high tunnel or greenhouse protection.
- ⏱️ Setting & Heat Tolerance: Mid-season (110-115 days). Demonstrates excellent pollen viability, setting full trusses of 7-12 fruit even during mid-summer greenhouse heatwaves where open-pollinated heirlooms drop blossoms.
- 🍅 Fruit Uniformity & Size: Smooth, oval egg-shaped saladette fruit ranging from 2.1 to 3.9 oz (60-110 g). Ripens to a spotless, deep crimson with zero green shoulders and thick, crack-resistant skin.
- 👅 Flavor vs. Shelf Life: Unlike standard commercial supermarket hybrids bred strictly for firmness, Lugas F1 balances remarkable shelf life with authentic, tangy, and sweet tomato flavor. Fully ripe fruit can remain on the vine for two weeks without softening or splitting.
- 📦 Culinary Versatility: Ideal dual-purpose hybrid. Slices neatly for salads and possesses the dense, solid-meat interior required for whole-fruit pickling and canning without splitting.
- 🌎 Tested Growing Zones: Proven in short-summer, cool-night continental climates (Moscow Region and Belarus, USDA Zones 4-5).
