Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4 Experience)
Galya Esme wrote about this one earlier: “The variety is originally called Markhotskoe Grono, which translates to Russian as Markhotskaya Kist (Markhotsk Cluster), and that’s the name I’ve known it under for a long time.”
Description from the internet: “High-yielding, versatile, mid-late season variety. Tall vine. Very beautiful raspberry-pink plum with a pearlescent sheen, weighing 2-3.5 oz (60-100 g), 2 locules, firm, with a gourmet flavor. Does not crack during prolonged rains. Good disease resistance.”
The seeds were sent to me under the name Markhotskaya Kist. I grew it in the 2013 season.
Edited November 26, 2014 by Ovechka
Lyudmila, how would you personally rate the taste of this Markhotsk Cluster? Is it truly a “gourmet” flavor (which in my mind means absolutely delicious), or is it just “good” (which is how it’s officially rated in the Ukrainian agricultural registry)?
Zulfiya, I usually try to avoid writing about tomato flavor. Everyone’s taste buds are totally different. I generally only write about the taste if a variety really blew me away and stuck in my memory. Hopefully, someone else who has grown it will chime in.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate, tall vine. Mid-late season maturity. Praised for its robust health and strong disease resistance.
- 📈 Yield: Rated as high-yielding. It is exceptionally resilient in wet weather, refusing to crack or split even during long periods of heavy rain.
- 👅 Taste: The commercial description touts a “gourmet” flavor, though the Ukrainian agricultural registry conservatively rates it as just “good”. Our forum growers noted that it didn’t leave a lasting impression as a top-tier fresh eater.
- 📦 Texture/Usage: Gorgeous raspberry-pink plum tomatoes with a distinct pearlescent sheen, weighing 2-3.5 oz (60-100 g). The firm, 2-locule structure makes it highly versatile, likely performing best as a processing, canning, or market-stand tomato due to its crack resistance.
The first post mentions some confusion between the names Markhotskoe Grono and Markhotskaya Kist. “Grono” is the Ukrainian word for a cluster or bunch of fruit (like grapes), while “Kist” is the Russian translation for the same gardening term.
The word “Markhotsk” comes from the Markotkh mountain range, located along the Black Sea coast in the Caucasus region. This geographical naming hints at the variety’s southern, coastal origins before it was entered into the Ukrainian seed registries.
