Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-6 Experience)
Very heavy yielding variety. The vine has incredibly thick stems. Sweet, tasty, very meaty, and has a great buttery texture.
This variety survived absolutely all the crazy weather we had this year, stood strong, and gave me great, juicy, sweet fruit 😋😋😋
Can someone clarify if you guys are growing Apple Malinovka (the Minusinsk strain) or just regular Malinovka?
I found this description online: “Mid-season. Standard plant, 24-28 inches (60-70 cm) tall. Plum-shaped, dark pink fruits weighing 2-2.5 oz (60-75 g).”
Maya, you’re quoting the description for the Malinovka plum/paste tomato. I got those exact seeds back in the early 90s from Astrakhan. Lots of commercial vendors sell that plum version.
The girls in this thread are talking about a completely different Malinovka. This is a large-fruited heirloom strain.
Ah, got it Galina. I just saw Mila’s photo labeled simply “Malinovka” without the “Apple” part, googled it, and found the plum version. Now I have no idea if the seeds I was gifted this year are the paste tomato or the big slicer!
My Apple Malinovka from the 2015 season:
Big shoutout to Angelina for the seeds! 🙏 One of the absolute best varieties I grew this year. The plant was super sturdy and surprisingly short. It was barely over 3 feet (1 m) tall inside the greenhouse. Incredible yields. Flavor is top-tier 😋 Meaty, large, sweet, and no hard yellow shoulders. I grew some outside under a rain cover and it did okay, but our summer was terrible this year. Will definitely try it again, the potential is huge.
Apple Malinovka turned out super productive for me. Honestly, I should have supported the trusses, but I just didn’t have the time. Fruits have excellent flavor, very sweet. My vines hit about 6.5 feet (2 m) tall in the greenhouse.
I grew my Apple Malinovka on the sunny side of my polycarbonate greenhouse. Total stunner! It was exactly what I was looking for: not too tall, stout vine, strong trusses that didn’t snap. The fruits were large, flawless, and there were so many of them!
BUT… we got hit with an abnormal heatwave. The tomatoes just hung there forever refusing to ripen. Looking back, I should have fed them some potassium and magnesium. Long story short, they finally ripened but had hard white cores and zero flavor. I was heartbroken! 😞
I’m definitely growing it again, though. Next time it goes on the shady side and I’ll stay on top of the feeding!
Grew this one this year from Angelina’s seeds. The plant and the fruits matched the description perfectly. It was highly productive and gave large tomatoes. However… we absolutely hated the taste. Like, totally disliked it. Instead of a buttery texture, the flesh was spongy and had a weird, mealy, watermelon-like consistency. Super disappointing. Might just be a difference in personal taste, or maybe my soil nutrients were off.
Grew Apple Malinovka from Tatunya’s seeds. Great variety, an absolute workhorse. Heavy yields of smooth, oblate, dark pink fruits weighing roughly 5.5-10.5 oz (150-300 g). The flavor is your classic, well-balanced pink tomato profile. Absolutely perfect for fresh onion salads 🥗
Hey ladies, can Malinovka be heart-shaped?
On 2/16/2019 at 1:15 PM, Etoile said:
Hey ladies, can Malinovka be heart-shaped?
In the Ufa farmers’ markets, vendors call literally *any* bright pink oblate tomato a “Malinovka,” even the modern commercial hybrids. Meanwhile, the official State Registry lists “Malinovka” as a heat-tolerant determinate plum/icicle tomato.
The specific tomato we are discussing in this thread is “Apple Malinovka”, a distinct southern heirloom saved by seed collectors. It is strictly oblate (flat-round). If you hit the blossoms with setting sprays or hormones, you might get a tiny beak/nipple on the bottom, but a true oxheart shape is NOT Apple Malinovka.
Edited February 16, 2019 by Zulfiya
On 2/16/2019 at 6:08 PM, Zulfiya said:
…a true oxheart shape is NOT Apple Malinovka.
That’s so surprising. I ordered Malinovka seeds online, and the listing photo showed a heart-shaped tomato. I really just want the authentic heirloom strain.
I really loved Apple Malinovka. Tasty and highly productive.
Honestly, I love all the Malinovka strains. I’ve started building a little collection of them. Last summer I grew 7 different types of Malinovka, and this year I’m adding an 8th to the lineup.
On 2/18/2019 at 10:33 AM, Pirina said:
Last summer I grew 7 different types of Malinovka…
Was even one of those 7 shaped like a heart?
Yes, one was heart-shaped, but it is explicitly named “Heart-Shaped Malinovka” (Malinovka Serdtsevidnaya). I got those seeds from Valdis Pulins in the Baltics.
Just to add to the shape conversation: In 2017 I grew Apple Malinovka, which was a large oblate (flat-round) slicer. In 2018 I grew regular “Malinovka”, and that one was heart-shaped with a pronounced beak.
Incredibly delicious variety. Growing it for the second time now (the first time I got a seed mix-up). It’s earning a permanent spot in my garden.
I grew Apple Malinovka from Angelina’s seeds. Even during our brutal, cold, and wet summer, this was one of the best-tasting tomatoes in the garden. Loved this variety: very low maintenance, sturdy healthy plant, grew to about 4.5-5 feet (1.4-1.5 m) tall. The fruits are dark pink, juicy, with a delicate, pleasant flavor. Making the permanent rotation! I bet in a sunny year, it tastes even better.
Full Summary: Plant Habit, Yields, and the “Malinovka” Confusion
- 🌿 Plant & Foliage: Indeterminate, but on the shorter, stockier side for a vining type. Many growers note its exceptionally thick stems and strong trusses. In open ground or smaller setups, it often tops out around 3 to 5 feet (1-1.5 m). In larger greenhouses, it can reach 6.5 feet (2 m). Fairly low-maintenance and rugged against bad weather.
- 🍅 Fruit & Shape: Large, smooth, oblate (flat-round) beefsteaks. They ripen to a vibrant dark pink/magenta color. Average weight is around 5.5-10.5 oz (150-300 g), but they can get larger. Does not usually suffer from hard, yellow shoulders.
- 📈 Yield & Health: An absolute workhorse. Highly praised for consistently heavy yields, even in cold and rainy summer conditions.
- 👅 Taste: Exhibits a classic, sweet, balanced pink tomato flavor with a meaty, buttery texture. Keep an eye on your soil nutrition; extreme heat waves without proper potassium/magnesium feeding can ruin the texture and result in hard white cores.
If you buy seeds simply labeled “Malinovka”, you are playing tomato roulette. In Eastern Europe, the word is often used as a generic, catch-all term for any dark pink tomato (similar to how some people call any large ribbed tomato a “Costoluto”). Because of this, the market is flooded with completely different genetics carrying the same name.
There is a commercial determinate plum/paste tomato called Malinovka. There is a wispy oxheart called Heart-Shaped Malinovka. And then there is the variety featured in this thread: Apple Malinovka, which is a specific, well-regarded heirloom strain known for its thick vines and large oblate beefsteaks. Always check your seed vendor’s photos to ensure you are getting the flat-round version!
