Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-4 Experience)
Indeterminate, mid-season variety. Potato leaf foliage. Fruits are small-to-medium saladette slicers, round, slightly flattened, sporting a dusky pinkish-purple hue with rich burgundy flesh inside. Occasionally showed faint speckling on the shoulders.
Flavor is very good: heavy producer, totally unfussy. Grew it outdoors in open ground. Seeds sourced from T. Kouchnareva.
On ElenaN said:
Indeterminate, mid-season variety. Potato leaf foliage…
Elena, how many stems did you train it to?
Trying to grow this one this season, currently reserved a spot for it inside the greenhouse. 🙈
On TanyaK said:
Elena, how many stems did you train it to? Trying to grow this one this season, currently reserved a spot for it inside the greenhouse.
Tatyana, trained it to 2 stems. Don’t waste precious greenhouse space on it: kick it right outside into open ground! It set heavy trusses outdoors without any fuss. 😉
Outstanding looking vine! And still lush with green foliage, not stripped bare! 👍
On ElenaN said:
Tatyana, trained it to 2 stems. Don’t waste precious greenhouse space on it: kick it right outside into open ground!
On Tatunya said:
Outstanding looking vine! And still lush with green foliage, not stripped bare!
💐 You folks definitely surprised me in the best way possible, thrilled to hear it thrives outdoors in open ground! 🙏
Can confirm! 🙂 Set every single cluster outdoors without dropping blossoms. Really loved this variety, repeating it again this year. 👍
Acted like a semi-determinate in my greenhouse. Really regretted not planting it outside in the open garden, especially after reading all the positive outdoor reviews!
Loved it for yield, flavor, and especially the color, I am a sucker for these dusky shades. Snapped a quick photo and took a bite right away, didn’t disappoint. Definitely repeating outdoors next season under a rain shelter.
Full Summary: Lineage, Outdoor Adaptability, and Fruit Quality
- 🇺🇸 Origin & Breeder: Bred by prolific heirloom developer Joe Bratka (New Jersey, USA) and named in tribute to fellow collector Mark Korney. Sourced and distributed through heirloom networks and Tatiana Kouchnareva.
- 🌿 Foliage & Plant Habit: Potato-leaf (PL) indeterminate that often behaves like a compact, manageable semi-determinate vine when loaded with fruit. Best trained to 2 stems. Features dense, healthy leaf cover that resists premature lower-leaf drop.
- 🌧️ Outdoor Performance: Outstanding cold set. Multiple growers in USDA Zone 3/4 emphasize that it does not need greenhouse protection; it sets every flower truss outdoors in open ground through unpredictable summer weather.
- 🥩 Fruit & Flavor: Produces 3.5-7 oz (100-200 g) round saladette-to-medium slicers with dusky pink-purple skin and crimson-burgundy interior flesh. Well-balanced, rich, old-fashioned dark tomato taste.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Trialed in northern European Russia (Kostroma, Zone 3/4) and across the Moscow Region (Zone 4).
