Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-11 Experience)
Total knockout of a variety!
Tall, stocky, vigorous indeterminate vine, mid-season maturity. The tomatoes are massive, wide oblate beefsteaks, bright honey-orange with pink streaks and a pink crown at the blossom end. Crazy good flavor! Super sweet, fragrant, and pure solid meat.
Got my seeds from Dale Thurber, big shoutout to the man! 🙏🙏🙏
Here is Dale’s original listing description:
Discovered by Marcy Fain. Indeterminate, regular leaf, 90 days to maturity. Good yield. Large pink and yellow bicolor fruit, 1-2 lbs, with excellent, distinct flavor.
Angelina: Total knockout of a variety! Tall, stocky, vigorous indeterminate vine, mid-season maturity…
Quick question: how does this one compare to Mystery of Nature (Zagadka Prirody)? Seems like everyone is growing that one right now.
The plant stayed pretty compact and manageable. I’d give the flavor a solid 4 out of 5. Absolutely gorgeous on the cutting board. Tomatoes ran about 9-12.5 oz (250-350 g).
This season Marcy’s Mystery easily took the crown as my absolute number one bicolor. Ridiculously good cropper!
Saved seeds from a tomato Valdis grew out two years back. Put it in the polycarbonate house. Strong, stocky vine with regular leaves, topped out around 6 ft (1.8 m).
Big, oblate fruit with slight rippling on the shoulders, beautiful honey-orange flushed with bright pink streaks and a pink blush at the tip, running 14-21 oz (400-600 g).
Crazy good flavor! Sweet, dense meat, and wonderfully fragrant. The flesh holds together for a long time after picking without going soft or losing flavor on the counter. Seriously one of the best bicolors out there.
Kicking myself for not grabbing the camera to capture this beauty.
100% agree with Julia here. Mine did the exact same thing. Fell completely in love with it.
Heavy yielder, and honestly, probably the tastiest bicolor I’ve ever grown in my dirt. Seeds came from Angelina.
Edited December 23, 2022 by TatyanaSh
Check out this absolute looker!
A little on the soft side for my taste, I prefer a firmer slicer. Mine split around the shoulders too, same thing Angelina ran into.
Edited January 7, 2023 by Khrizantema57
Full Summary: Plant Vigor, Fruit Mass & Flavor Ranking
- 🌿 Plant Stature & Foliage: Vigorous, stocky indeterminate vine reaching around 6 ft (1.8 m). Regular leaf foliage with sturdy central stems capable of handling heavy multi-fruit beefsteak clusters when properly supported.
- 🍅 Fruit Size & Weight: Massive, wide oblate beefsteaks with light shoulder ribbing. Fruit routinely average 14-21 oz (400-600 g), with top clusters frequently clearing 1-2 lbs (450-900 g). Ripens from warm amber-gold to deep honey-orange with crimson streaks and a pink blossom-end crown.
- 👅 Flavor Profile: Outstanding eating quality. Rich, sweet, tropical flavor with low acidity and intense fragrance. Features dense meat that retains its slice integrity on the counter longer than standard watery bicolors.
- 🌧️ Moisture & Skin Tenderness: Like most large, tender-skinned heirloom beefsteaks, rapid water uptake from late-season rains or uneven greenhouse watering can trigger shoulder cracking.
- 🌎 Proven Climates: Highly versatile across USDA Zones 3 through 11, setting consistently in unheated high tunnels in Siberia and Central Russia, as well as Mediterranean and subtropical climates.
Marcy’s Mystery was discovered by American gardener Marcy Fain and introduced by Dale Thurber of Delectation of Tomatoes (Utah).In the thread, grower Nonna asks how it compares to the famous Russian heirloom Zagadka Prirody (Mystery of Nature). While both are top-tier yellow-pink bicolors, there are clear practical differences:
• Size & Shape: Zagadka Prirody typically produces rounder, 8-14 oz fruit with softer, thinner walls. Marcy’s Mystery produces much broader, gently ribbed beefsteaks that regularly push 1 to 2 pounds (450-900 g).
• Flesh Density: Zagadka Prirody leans toward pale yellow and is notoriously juicy and soft when fully ripe. Marcy’s Mystery develops a deeper honey-orange tone and has denser meat that holds up longer on a cutting board without breaking down into juice.
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