Malakhitovaya Shkatulka (Malachite Box) Tomato Review & Photos

Malakhitovaya Shkatulka (Malachite Box). This variety took first place in our 2013 forum poll for “Proven Best Tomato Varieties” hosted by Marisha. 👍

If you haven’t grown this variety or similar GWRs (like Boloto or Emerald Apple), you owe it to yourself to try it at least once in your life. Malachite Box has a distinct, sweet flavor with a fruity profile. Yes, fruity, not your classic tomatoey taste. Because of that, a lot of folks on this forum are completely obsessed with it.

At the same time, that specific taste can get old pretty fast if you start craving a real, traditional tomato flavor. If that happens, you might wonder what to do with the harvest. Don’t panic, there’s always a way, for example, Galina (Esme) makes green tomato juice out of them. People have also suggested making salsa or even jam, though I haven’t tried that yet. The general consensus is to plant no more than 2 vines of this variety, just to have it as a novelty.

Edited November 19, 2013 by Vestochka

Elena wrapped up the review for the “Box” perfectly 🙂 🌺

I agree with Elena, 2 vines of MB were more than enough for me personally. 🙂

I grew 8 vines back in 2012. We didn’t have any leftovers, ate them all fresh and preserved the rest. To be fair, I wasn’t growing nearly as many different varieties back then. Nowadays I definitely wouldn’t plant more than 3.

Gorgeous tomato! Truly a jewel box! Tasty, but I wouldn’t say it blew my mind. Maybe I tried them too early. It turned out to be a low yielder for me. I’ll try growing it from my own saved seed next year. Original seeds were from Syray.

Really incredibly tasty and sweet, I didn’t even know tomatoes could taste like this.

The flavor is unusual, totally different, but decent. I liked it, the hubby didn’t care for it, so we gave it 4.5 stars out of 5 for taste.

My Box threw incredibly massive beefsteaks, they were actually breaking the stem – the vine kept sliding down the twine zigzag style. There was a major mismatch between the thin plant and the huge fruits. Seeds were from Larina, Vilnius. Maybe the long spring and summer frosts (lasted until June 30) played a part, or maybe they just need to be tied to a solid stake instead of just string 🙂 Check out these monsters. And it wasn’t just one or two, every single fruit looked exactly like this. About 2-4 per truss. The plant supported about 2-3 of them at a time, and the rest plumped up after I picked the ripe ones. Picked 3 more yesterday, and there are a couple more blossoms set. It’s a long-season producer.

Mine was a massive yielder, honestly got tired of picking them. Still has a ton of fruit set on it right now. 🍅🍅🍅

My “Malachite Box” 🙂 Probably the most resilient variety I grew, handling both the spring chill and the summer heat like a champ. I got near 100% germination, had a bunch of seedlings, and they all survived 😄 Unlike some other varieties where I only had one plant (Murphy’s Law: if you only have one, you’ll lose it). 😄 Heavy yielder, delicious, and sitting out in my direct sun it turned a bit golden-yellow. Seriously so tasty! 😋 Big thanks to the ladies for the seeds: Lena Danko, Lesya, and Galya-Esme… 🌺

This variety showed its vigor right from the seedling stage. Very robust plants. Early on, they were the tallest in the bunch. Yield was average. Fruits are huge. We picked the first one way overripe (yellow) and were super disappointed. But once we learned how to properly judge the ripeness, we couldn’t stop eating them. Devoured the entire harvest off 2 vines. Literally kept pacing around the plants waiting for them to ripen. Shot up to almost 10 feet (3 m) tall. It’s an early variety. Earning a permanent spot in my garden, always growing 2 vines.

Posting some pics of it as a seedling to show the growth habit. This is a week after transplanting, late April, two months after sowing. Sturdy seedling, super healthy with fairly dark green foliage. By the way, the leaves are quite long in the seedling stage as you can see in the pic, even though the plant itself is squat (mine lived in the hoop house since late March to harden off).

My first green tomato. Delicious.

Mine grew to about 6.5 feet (2 m) tall, very heavy yielder. The flavor is unusual. At first, the whole family (12 people) liked it, but after a while EVERYONE refused to eat it. We got mild food poisoning symptoms shortly after eating them. I also grew Irish Liqueur and Kiwi. Won’t be planting this again. Just my humble opinion, but I think all green-when-ripe varieties are genetically modified (GMO).

Oh come on now 😕… If that were true, half the forum would be complaining of feeling sick. People clearly love this variety! Something else is going on there 🤐

I’ve grown MB in the hoop house for three years now. Absolutely love it. No fuss as a seedling, strong vine, and I never had any trusses snap. First year I grew it, I also ate unripe ones–I thought they were ripe since the flavor was already decent. Then I went away for a week, came back, and found this beautiful olive-and-gold masterpiece waiting for me. I tasted it and was speechless–I’ve never eaten anything like it. Pure candy! Though my husband won’t touch them, says he’s “suspicious.” Better for me, more left over! As for GWRs being genetically modified… sorry… 🙄 Let one of the real pros chime in on that.

I really loved this variety. Had 5 vines this year (2 in the hoop house, 3 outside in the dirt). Turned out to be my earliest producer. I was the only one who liked it, so I happily devoured them all myself. The skin is a bit tough, but when it’s fully ripe it peels right off easily. I just peeled it like a banana and tossed it in my salads. Definitely growing at least 3 plants next season.

Mine grew to about 6.5 feet (2 m) tall, very heavy yielder. The flavor is unusual. At first, the whole family (12 people) liked it, but after a while EVERYONE refused to eat it. We got mild food poisoning symptoms shortly after eating them. I also grew Irish Liqueur and Kiwi. Won’t be planting this again. Just my humble opinion, but I think all green-when-ripe varieties are genetically modified (GMO).

All the varieties you listed were bred right here, and we don’t even produce or grow transgenic tomatoes in Russia yet.

The poisoning was likely caused by solanine 🤐 (did you eat them completely unripe? 🤐)

😲 I totally agree with Sveta. I’ve had this in my favorites list for years, and nothing like that has ever happened. 😋

It’s a solid, tasty, pretty tomato with big fruits. The plant height was around 5 feet (1.5 m).

It’s a solid, tasty, pretty tomato with big fruits. The plant height was around 5 feet (1.5 m).

Beautiful, delicious tomato.

We got mild food poisoning symptoms shortly after eating them. I also grew Irish Liqueur and Kiwi. Won’t be planting this again. Just my humble opinion, but I think all green-when-ripe varieties are genetically modified (GMO).

Yesterday we drank a bottle of vodka, ran out, and went to get some beer. Drank the beer, and when that ran out, it turned out my buddy had a bottle of cognac. So we drank the cognac. And then I got food poisoning from a stale oatmeal cookie…

Same thing here. You sure it was the tomato’s fault?

I love Malachite Box and have been growing it for years. It’s a staple in our family. My dad has a bad stomach and can’t always handle regular tomatoes, but he eats this one happily all the time, zero issues whatsoever.

All the varieties you listed were bred right here, and we don’t even produce or grow transgenic tomatoes in Russia yet.

Awesome!

The poisoning was likely caused by solanine 🤐 (did you eat them completely unripe? 🤐)
Check out the thread on Genetically Modified Plants…

Yeah, that’s possible, and honestly most likely solanine. In the pictures you ladies posted, the fruits are an olive color, while mine were much greener.

I’ll definitely read that article. Thanks.

What does solanine or genetic modification have to do with anything? All unripe tomatoes have solanine, but you’d have to eat a boatload of them to actually poison yourself.

Anyway, the only difference between poison and medicine is the dose.

Besides, GWR tomatoes aren’t actually unripe, so solanine poisoning is highly unlikely. Heck, I’ve eaten unripe tomatoes and I’m still breathing. Guess I must be genetically modified too 😄

When I was a kid I had a friend who loved eating rock-hard green tomatoes dipped in salt. 😄

I honestly think it’s just a bias against green tomatoes. Unless the entire family ate literally nothing but tomatoes and got sick, it means they got food poisoning from something else, not these.

There is one aspect though, why do they tell you not to grow greens/lettuce in poor light and cold conditions? Because the nitrates don’t break down properly; instead, they accumulate.

Meaning, if you’re dealing with a lack of sun and cold weather, a visually ripe veggie can actually be a chemical bomb on the inside.

This year, everyone got a weird summer. Mine started off terrible, cold, and cloudy. My plants are usually pretty lean, I don’t overfeed them. But if someone planted them in heavily fertilized soil and kept pumping them with nutes while they grew in bad weather, they could definitely accumulate enough nitrates to cause some, uh… “digestive distress.”

PS: Why am I bringing this up? Because the biological process in GWR tomatoes might be much closer to a cucumber than a classic red tomato. And lots of people get sick from winter-grown greenhouse cucumbers and greens, I’ve seen it happen plenty of times…

Edited October 30, 2014 by Aliona Latviya

My best tasting tomato of 2014! 😋 What can I say–the flavor is MAG-NI-FI-CENT!!! Seeds were from Sibsad, grew in the hoop house to about 7.2 feet (2.2 m) before hitting the roof… 😄 Yield is great, vine is sturdy, not prone to disease, weights up to 10.5 oz (300 g). The flavor is sweet and perfectly balanced regardless of the weather! 😋 Set fruit right through October! The whole family ate them both overripe and slightly unripe (until they were ALL gone), and NO ONE had any digestive issues!

Edited November 20, 2014 by Rok5

Yeah, that’s possible, and honestly most likely solanine. In the pictures you ladies posted, the fruits are an olive color, while mine were much greener. I’ll definitely read that article. Thanks.

It’s highly likely you just misjudged how ripe they actually were.
As for GMO plants, I don’t think you need to worry about that. The price tag on those is astronomical. You can’t even buy transgenic tomato seeds on the regular consumer market.
And just for reference regarding nitrate levels…

Edited recently by Pomidoroved

My beloved Malachite Box. Phone pics. If I can get them to attach properly.

Yay, it worked. Ladies, for those who don’t know – this is exactly what they should look like when you eat them. PURE CAN-DY! 😋👍

I never even got to try it myself, gave ’em all away. 1 vine in the hoop house, pruned to double leaders, harvest was massive and beautiful. And everyone took them off my hands before I could get a slice. 🙈

My best tasting tomato of 2014! 😋 What can I say-the flavor is MAG-NI-FI-CENT!!!… grew in the hoop house to about 7.2 feet (2.2 m) before hitting the roof… 😄 Yield is great, vine is sturdy, not prone to disease, weights up to 10.5 oz (300 g). The flavor is sweet and perfectly balanced regardless of the weather! 😋 Set fruit right through October! The whole family ate them both overripe and slightly unripe (until they were ALL gone)-and NO ONE had any digestive issues!

I totally agree with everything the previous speaker just said! 😄
Our neighbors got hooked on it too, happily munched on them and snagged some saved seed-they’re gonna grow it now too. The overripe ones (in the 3rd pic) are actually super tasty too, by the way 😋

Mine was an incredible yielder, just insanely productive!
And once we were tired of eating them fresh, we ran them through the juicer. The color is stunning 😉
And the taste is out of this world, just cracked open a jar of it recently.

Wait, where are the overripe ones in the third picture?? 😄
They look just as green as the rest of them.

Wait, where are the overripe ones in the third picture?? 😄
They look just as green as the rest of them.

The ones in the second pic are just regular ripe 🙂
In the third pic, they’re already overripe–super soft and almost translucent, you can see it where they’re sliced. You could basically drink those like nectar 😋

So they look pretty overripe while they’re still hanging on the vine?
Red tomatoes are all red… it’s still confusing trying to figure out when these reach maturity 😕

So they look pretty overripe while they’re still hanging on the vine?
Red tomatoes are all red… it’s still confusing trying to figure out when these reach maturity 😕

Oh Andrey, you still have a lot to learn: you gotta give ’em a squeeze while they’re on the vine 😄. Look for that yellow blush to show up, that tells you they’re ripe. The fruits get softer as they ripen. When they’re overripe, they get totally mushy. I was bringing the very last tomato off the vine to my neighbor since she loved them so much, and I dropped it in the grass right in front of her 🤦‍♀️, totally squished it 😞. I carefully picked it up to toss it, but she snatched it away, blew on it (like that cleans it 😄), and ate it anyway 🙂

I carefully picked it up to toss it, but she snatched it away, blew on it (like that cleans it 😄), and ate it anyway 🙂

100% accurate!
Not a single one went to waste in my garden either. 😄

Out of all the indeterminate, flat-round GWR beefsteaks I’ve grown, I’m definitely keeping Malachite Box, Green Giant, and Boloto. Grown plenty of others, but these are the keepers. Naturally, I’ll keep testing new ones though…

I got my MB seeds from Olya (Cherry) and tomatinka as a bonus “just to try,” and it instantly became my absolute favorite variety purely on taste.

My Malachite Box. Delicious tomato, wasn’t super productive for me though. Kept a close eye on it constantly so it wouldn’t get overripe on the vine.

Planted 1 vine of MB in 2013. Absolutely loved the yield and the flavor. Last season I planted 3 vines. Still not enough! Family is obsessed. We ate every last one.

We got mild food poisoning symptoms shortly after eating them. I also grew Irish Liqueur and Kiwi. Won’t be planting this again. Just my humble opinion, but I think all green-when-ripe varieties are genetically modified (GMO).

I’m pretty confident you can eat our domestic tomato varieties without fearing GMOs–for the simple reason that Russia doesn’t have the money to fund that kind of development… Eat ’em without fear, the poisoning was definitely from something else…

Can someone tell me the best way to prune this variety? How many stems? Am I right in assuming it grows over 5 feet (1.5 m)?

Can someone tell me the best way to prune this variety? How many stems? Am I right in assuming it grows over 5 feet (1.5 m)?

Height is around 5 feet, yes. As for pruning; it’s really just a suggestion, it all depends on your growing conditions. Just stick to whatever you usually do for large beefsteaks. I’d say 2 stems is optimal. One big HOWEVER though! It has a fairly thin stem, and with massive fruits, it WILL NOT be able to hold itself up. This is the only variety I grow that literally slides down the twine zigzag style under the weight of the tomatoes. I decided it definitely needs a solid stake; just tying it with string wasn’t enough.

I finally tamed this variety this year. The vines aren’t frail anymore, and the yield is just insane, loaded with fruit. The first two trusses had 4-5-6-7 tomatoes each, no dropped blossoms. Plant is glowing with health. This is what it looked like a week ago (July 13). The fruit shapes really evened out, no runts, all uniformly huge. Even in a terrible weather year, it performs brilliantly. The only difference is the height is capping at about 4 feet (1.2-1.3 m), and it’s flowering on its 5th truss right now.

But the vines are collapsing again!!! Even a vigorous vine can’t hold up this much weight on a string. For the second year in a row, I’m convinced it needs a rigid stake. I’ll fix it eventually. I was hoping things would go better this year, and once again I failed to put in a solid support… It’s literally falling over from the weight, I had to harvest the first 2 trusses and just leave 1 or 2 fruits on them, hoping the plant stays upright.

I finally tamed this variety this year… It’s literally falling over from the weight, I had to harvest the first 2 trusses and just leave 1 or 2 fruits on them, hoping the plant stays upright.

Alena, just drop another string down from the trellis and tie some loops into it beforehand. Then you can use those loops to cradle and support the trusses. These tomatoes get huge, well over 10.5 oz (300 g), what happens if you have more than 5 on a truss? It’s a prolific variety, but the trusses absolutely have to be supported.

Interestingly, the flavor of this variety was completely different for me this year. Despite the terrible weather, MB was much better, no watery or bland taste at all. It turned out like pure candy – incredibly tender, almost seedless, and very light in color (way less amber/bronze blush compared to last year). All the fruits were perfectly uniform, no runts, standard 10-12 oz (300-350 g) size. The flavor is very light, and the aroma isn’t your typical tomato smell.

It’s amazing. Last year the fruits were super bronze, had a punchy classic tomato flavor, and varied wildly in size. Another thing I absolutely love about this variety is the lack of a hard, woody core near the stem – you can eat the whole tomato with zero waste, no need to core anything even for salads.

Overall, this variety just keeps getting better and better for me. It’s also a huge plus that it’s not prone to disease. Definitely stands out, earning a repeat spot for 2016 🙂

Tried GWRs for the very first time this year… My Malachite Box ripened up, weighed about 9 oz (250 g). I didn’t really notice anything super special about the flavor, though maybe it wasn’t fully ripe yet. The whole family did a blind taste test 😄 They’d close their eyes, pop a piece in their mouth, chew, open their eyes to confirm it was actually green, then close them again and try another piece. For now, the verdict on Malachite Box is that with your eyes closed, it tastes completely indistinguishable from “regular” tomatoes 😄

Tried GWRs for the very first time this year… For now, the verdict on Malachite Box is that with your eyes closed, it tastes completely indistinguishable from “regular” tomatoes …

Try growing it again from your own saved seeds. It really surprised me with its yield and how much the flavor improved. Plus, it’s just a fun one to grow. Today I juiced three of them for my morning drink. The color is hilarious, and just three tomatoes gave me a full quart (1 liter) of thick, frothy juice! It pairs incredibly well with celery because the tomato flavor is so mild.

It’s a nice, tender tomato that I used to treat as a novelty, but now it’s just a solid bulk producer for me. The first two trusses on a vine give me about 6.5 lbs (3 kg), which is roughly 10 uniform fruits per plant. I ended up pulling a 5-gallon bucket (20 L) of just Malachite Box off four vines planted pretty densely. That’s from just a 10 sq ft (1 sq m) footprint in the hoop house, and that was just from the bottom two trusses, with plenty more higher up. So yeah, the yield on this one works perfectly for me, despite the exotic color 🙂

Malachite Box was huge, highly productive, and unbelievably sweet this year. I’ve been growing this variety for about five years straight, absolutely love it. As far as GWRs go, it’s the best one out there for me.

Malachite Box was huge, highly productive, and unbelievably sweet this year…

I really love this variety too. The skin peels off beautifully, and it tastes way better without it. Saved seeds from it this year. Too bad I didn’t snap a picture, we happily gobbled up all the massive ones a long time ago. For me, it only throws a truly excellent yield when grown outdoors in the dirt.

First time growing the Box, but I can already tell it’s earned a permanent spot in my garden 🙂

First time growing the Box, but I can already tell it’s earned a permanent spot in my garden 🙂

I completely agree! I only had one vine this season. We eagerly waited for every single fruit to ripen and shared them with anyone we could! Everyone was blown away!

Excellent plant, most delicious flavor!!!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!!!

First time I planted MB was back in ’13, and it’s been a staple in my garden ever since. Heavy yielder, delicious, and sweet.

MB is an indet, regular leaf, extremely sweet, average weight around 10-14 oz (300-400 g), mid-season maturity. Here are my 2.5 remaining trusses of MB (we already devoured some of them). Been growing it regularly since 2012.

Edited September 20, 2015 by Alisa

So this year I ended up with Malachite Box as an off-type that grew from my Rozovyi Myod (Pink Honey) seeds 😲 And I can’t even blame Sibsad for a mix-up, because these were my own saved seeds 😲

I used seeds I saved myself from a Pink Honey plant back in 2012 (original seeds were Sibsad). I didn’t plant a single green variety that entire year!

I didn’t plan on growing any greens this year either, didn’t plant any, but this thing just popped up on its own!

Based on the shape, flavor, and plant type, it’s a 1-to-1 match for Malachite Box. The fruits got slightly overripe, and I nearly swallowed my tongue tasting them, they were so good 😋

I never really understood the appeal of Malachite Box before, but it turns out I was just trying them way too early. You really have to let them get slightly overripe)))

So the whole GMO theory for MB seems pretty sketchy to me. It probably just naturally segregated out from regular varieties, and breeders saved and stabilized it for us to enjoy 📝

So this year I ended up with Malachite Box as an off-type that grew from my Rozovyi Myod (Pink Honey) seeds…

Hey, sometimes you plant saved tomato seeds and a hot pepper randomly pops up 🌱…. 😄

Nah, it hasn’t gotten quite that crazy for me yet 😄

Seriously though, this is the first time this has happened to me))) And there was zero chance of a mix-up, there were no green tomatoes anywhere near my stuff 📝

Nah, it hasn’t gotten quite that crazy for me yet 😄
Seriously though, this is the first time this has happened to me))) And there was zero chance of a mix-up, there were no green tomatoes anywhere near my stuff 📝

Did you grow MB alongside Pink Honey back in 2012?

Let’s read carefully:

I used seeds I saved myself from a Pink Honey plant back in 2012 (original seeds were Sibsad). I didn’t plant a single green variety that entire year!
So the whole GMO theory for MB seems pretty sketchy to me. It probably just naturally segregated out from regular varieties, and breeders saved and stabilized it for us to enjoy 📝

I agree, the variety is likely the result of a natural mutation (a genetic glitch) where the chlorophyll simply failed to convert into carotenoids. Turns out, yellow and greenish tomatoes contain twice as much folic acid (Vitamin B9) as red ones.

Edited October 13, 2015 by Zulfiya

Alisa, nope, MB was not growing anywhere near Pink Honey…

Zulfiya, that is a perfectly clear explanation 👍

I agree, the variety is likely the result of a natural mutation (a genetic glitch) where the chlorophyll simply failed to convert into carotenoids.

When tomatoes ripen, chlorophyll breaks down and there’s a more intense synthesis of carotenoids, but one pigment doesn’t magically turn into the other.

I guess we’ll all stick to our own theories: Alisa thinks it was a cross-pollination, Zulfiya thinks it’s a mutation, and I personally think it’s just a standard seed mix-up. We collect tons of seeds from different varieties, no one can guarantee 100% purity.

When tomatoes ripen, chlorophyll breaks down and there’s a more intense synthesis of carotenoids, but one pigment doesn’t magically turn into the other.
I guess we’ll all stick to our own theories: Alisa thinks it was a cross-pollination, Zulfiya thinks it’s a mutation, and I personally think it’s just a standard seed mix-up. We collect tons of seeds from different varieties, no one can guarantee 100% purity.

In this case, I don’t actually have a firm opinion and consider all three scenarios possible ))) I would’ve saved the seeds, planted them again, and seen what came out, but it sounds like the tomato was devoured whole?

Alisa, nope, MB was not growing anywhere near Pink Honey…
Zulfiya, that is a perfectly clear explanation 👍

My bad, didn’t read that carefully. But I have to ask, what made you so sure it was MB and not just some other GWR variety?

Interesting tomato… but it didn’t really work out for me… 😕 very few fruits… just grew it to play around with it. Maybe I’m just not used to these kinds of varieties? Didn’t really understand the flavor either 😕 grew it in the hoop house, indet. Fruits were large, seeds were from SIBSAD. The vine was healthy and didn’t catch any diseases, but I didn’t bother saving seeds… might buy a packet if I stumble across one and try it again… 😳

Planted in 2015 from Sibsad seeds. Grew to 6 feet (1.8 m), mid-season, vigorous, trained to 2 stems – gave me 15 huge, tasty, jelly-like fruits with a very unique flavor. Was one of the first to start ripening. My notes say: awesome, definitely grow again, 4 vines isn’t too many (we’re a family of 5), eat immediately, doesn’t store well. 👍

MB grows amazingly well outdoors in the dirt. Inside the hoop house my yields were poor, so from now on it’s outside only.

What is going on… the photos aren’t showing up again… I’ll reupload them from a different host right now. The ones next to it are Striped Chocolate (near the knife) and Striped Mushroom Basket.

Edited March 11, 2016 by Drosera

Caved to all the great reviews about this GWR and planted 1 vine this season just to try it. Growing outdoors in the dirt, vine is 5.5 feet (1.7 m) tall. It started dropping blossoms once we hit the 104°F (40°C) heatwave. Ended up being mid-season for maturity. I liked the taste, it hit the perfect balance of sweet and tart for my palate. Very meaty with thick walls.

Planted it this year based on forum recommendations, and I absolutely loved it, both the flavor and the color)

Planted two vines. Very happy with this variety. Yield – 5 stars, size – 5 stars, they were massive, not a single one under 7 oz (200 g). Taste – 5+ stars. I was amazed that while many other varieties dropped their blossoms in the heat, Malachite Box just kept setting fruit. For my big family, this was the tastiest variety of the season.

Edited September 20, 2016 by Medinilla

My Malachite Box

One of my absolute favorites. I grow it in the hoop house.

Excellent variety 👍 The tomatoes are delicious, and some of the bigger ones hit 1.3 lbs (600 g).

Try growing it again from your own saved seeds. It really surprised me with its yield and how much the flavor improved… So yeah, the yield on this one works perfectly for me, despite the exotic color 🙂

I’ve been debating for a while whether to grow it again from my saved seeds or not. Your post convinced me. I’m going to plant both side by side—my saved ones and the store-bought ones—just to compare them 🙂 Wonder if there’ll be a difference? 😕

Can anyone tell me how Malachite Box compares to Lime Green Salad?

Can anyone tell me how Malachite Box compares to Lime Green Salad?

They’re both GWR, and that’s literally where the similarities end 🙂

Lime Green Salad is a dwarf with smaller fruits.

It’s actually in our catalog – Lime Green Salad

But what about the taste – that’s the most important part!

I can’t say anything about the flavor yet, but out of the 15 varieties I’m growing this year, the Box definitely has the thickest, sturdiest, and stockiest stem.

Coming back to add that once the heatwave hit, it completely stopped setting fruit. In the end, each vine gave me two trusses of large tomatoes, with about 3-4 fruits per truss. I’m not entirely sure I ate them at the perfect stage of ripeness—I didn’t really get that intense sweetness or fruity flavor everyone talks about. But the taste is good, very low acidity. I’ll grow it again from saved seeds and see if anything changes.

Anna, my fruit set was pretty much identical to yours. I grew 3 different GWRs this year. MB took second place for flavor. It’s tasty. But I’m honestly not sure if I’ll plant it again. I’ll probably grow it alongside another sweet GWR, but I’m officially done with Irish Cream.
Here are two types side by side: Irish Cream with the little tail + Malachite Box.
And the last one is just MB.

I grew Malachite Box again this year from my own saved seeds. Once again, I’m extremely happy with the yield, size, and flavor. Had two vines.

This was my first time growing MB. A single vine cranked out over 14 lbs (6.5 kg) for me!! That’s basically a full bucket, right? 🙌 A whole bucket off one plant. 👍

Grew it to 2 stems against a south-facing wall, it got really tall. There are still 2 more tomatoes ripening on it. 🙂

And they’re just so delicious. 😋

Grew MB for the first time this year, seeds were sent to me by Olya (Lelikovna) along with a bunch of others. There’s really no point comparing its yield to standard varieties since this one isn’t meant for canning, it’s just a fun novelty to eat fresh. But my husband absolutely loved the Box—both for its taste and its color. He actually begged me to let him take one to work just to blow his coworkers’ minds. MB is fantastic in salads!

Grew Malachite Box for the second time this year. Delicious and looks beautiful in salads. Definitely planting it again next year. 🙂

Grew it for the first time last year, and this year I used my own saved seeds. It ended up being way more productive this season. Flavor-wise, it’s the absolute perfect tomato for my palate. Love at first bite)) Delicious, gorgeous, and heavy-yielding 😋

Growing Malachite Box for the third time this year using seeds from Lena Danko (2014 harvest). The early yield dropped a bit (maybe it’ll push out a huge flush towards the end of the season 🍅). I have it planted on the shady side of the hoop house this year. First tomato weighed in at 7.6 oz (216 g). I just love this variety. 😄 It’s the one on the right in the photo.

MB is easily in my top five for setting fruit this year in the unheated hoop house, even though we basically haven’t had a summer yet and the nights are still freezing cold. There aren’t that many tomatoes per truss though, not sure if that’s normal for this variety?

Edited June 28, 2020 by T@tk@

MB really is incredibly tasty! 👌 Even these early tomatoes are great, perfect balance – you get the sweetness and a nice little tang. I haven’t picked up on the fruity aroma yet though, or at least I didn’t notice it 😕. Maybe the flavor will get even richer later on. Can’t wait… 😋 It’s probably gonna be absolutely amazing! It’s officially a keeper for me!

MB and Striped Chocolate (PSh)

I have MB … There aren’t that many tomatoes per truss though, not sure if that’s normal for this variety?

During good years I’d get about 5 tomatoes per truss, but during worse, colder years it drops to 3 per truss. Overall, I usually average 15-20 fruits per plant. As far as overall yield goes, it definitely falls short of Striped Chocolate.

Grown outdoors and in the hoop house. Pruned to 2 stems. The vine is moderately sturdy. Average foliage. The main stem can get pretty thick. Responds really well to feedings/fertilizers. Foliage density is about 40%. The width of a single stem outdoors is about 14 inches (35 cm), and in the hoop house it’s around 18 inches (45 cm). My yield in the hoop house was right around 9 lbs (4 kg) per plant. The flavor completely depends on ripeness. Less ripe – it has a tang to it and almost tastes like kiwi; fully ripe – it’s much tastier and sweeter: 5 out of 5 stars. Definitely growing it again.

Underripe:

Malachite Box. My absolute favorite GWR variety, sweet as fruit 😋 This is my fourth time planting it. I always love surprising guests with a tasting, they’re always blown away by the combo of the unusual color and the amazing flavor 😁

Delicious, meaty, juicy, and sweet. Heavy yielders.

I absolutely love this tomato. Been growing it for a few years now.

Last year I ended up with a few extra seedlings of this variety, so I gave them to my friend Lyuba. I’m pretty sure I clearly explained to her that it’s a GWR tomato and you have to pick it when it gets that slight “coppery” blush. But come fall, Lyuba tells me: “I waited and waited for it to turn red, but it just stayed green forever. So I just threw them all out.” I was so mad, I should’ve just found a spot to squeeze them in my own garden. It’s such a delicious variety. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of those seeds left.

I actually managed to find my saved Malachite Box seeds! I was so thrilled. It was a scorching hot summer, and the Box gave me a really solid harvest of medium-sized, delicious tomatoes. The flavor is a bit different from last year, not worse, just different. Guess the taste really hinges on the weather.

It’s absolutely a permanent keeper for me.

I absolutely adore Malachite Box. No matter what kind of terrible year the tomatoes are having, MB will always deliver a harvest.

I absolutely adore Malachite Box. No matter what kind of terrible year the tomatoes are having, MB will always deliver a harvest.

There’s one huge downside though: it overripens almost instantly. One day it’s just a tiny bit underripe… 24 hours later it’s pure mush(( watery and gross.

Izumrudnoye Yabloko (Emerald Apple) is much more reliable in that regard, it holds its firmness way longer on the counter.

There’s one huge downside though: it overripens almost instantly. One day it’s just a tiny bit underripe… 24 hours later it’s pure mush(( watery and gross.

Mine actually stored pretty okay for a little while on the counter. But they definitely lose their flavor if you leave them sitting around too long.

Mine actually stored pretty okay for a little while on the counter. But they definitely lose their flavor if you leave them sitting around too long.

I mean sure, it’ll technically sit there, but it won’t be worth eating))

One day it’s just a tiny bit underripe… 24 hours later it’s pure mush(( watery and gross

Wait, you call 24 hours “sitting around”?

Wait, you call 24 hours “sitting around”?

Well, it’s not like it actively starts decomposing or anything))) plus, I’ve literally picked them straight off the vine already turned to “mush”(

Well, it’s not like it actively starts decomposing or anything))) plus, I’ve literally picked them straight off the vine already turned to “mush”(

Oh wow, nope, I never had that happen. They only turned to “mush” for me if they sat around the kitchen way too long, and even that was rare because we usually ate them up way before then.