Jump to: Origin and Detailed Grow Report | Greenhouse Behavior and Plant Variations | Taste, Texture, and Gel Discussion
Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-6 Experience)
Origin and Detailed Grow Report
By popular demand from the forum folks, this family heirloom is being added to the catalog.
Marmeladnaya Lampochka (Marmalade Bulb) came to our forum from the Siberian gardening club “Tyapka” (Hoe). The club members kindly shared seeds with us here. They called these tomatoes Marmalade. A forum member named Tina originally bought tomato seeds back in the early 80s, supposedly of a variety called Lampochka (Lightbulb). Whether it was actually Lampochka or not is hard to say now, but the description matches. The tomato got nicknamed Marmalade for its unique texture — it’s basically tomato jelly. Everyone noted its fantastic flavor — tender and sweet, and the tomato itself had thin skin. The fruits have a distinct trait — a sort of gathered, puckered little blossom end. That spot is always darkish on the outside and greenish inside. Don’t expect it to turn red when ripening off the vine, it’s just a quirk of the variety.
That’s how the Tyapka club folks described this tomato.
In 2017, this all-around excellent tomato started making the rounds internationally. In a short time, it won a lot of love and appreciation. People share seeds for this one generously.
Here is what I can say about Marmalade Bulb, which grew in less-than-ideal conditions for me in 2019.
Marmalade Bulb is a tall, mid-season indeterminate vine. High yielder with a long fruiting window. The plant is very vigorous, sturdy and unfussy, with large juicy leaves. My vine reached 6.2 feet (1.9 m) tall. Regular leaf. Pruned to 3 stems. It set every truss, no dropped blossoms. Fruits weighed 5.3 to 8.8 oz (150 to 250 g). The shape and color are very interesting. The smaller fruits were shaped like lightbulbs, the larger ones like wide sacks. All of them had that puckered bottom. The color is burgundy, close to a Kumato. Not bright, more of a muted matte shade. The fruits are juicy, with a very interesting texture and taste. Unfortunately, with my cold summer and zero sun, Marmalade Bulb turned out to be a variety that really needs both. Mine just weren’t sweet enough. The fruiting period was very long, I pulled the last tomatoes off when I was tearing the vines down. On the plus side, the fruits don’t crack, they ripen perfectly indoors and store well. Definitely a grow-again variety.
Edited December 8, 2019 by Tiffany
My MB dropped some blossoms out in the dirt, it wasn’t just hot, it was unbearable; a lot of varieties did the same thing.
On 12/8/2019 at 3:04 PM, Tiffany said:
…tall, mid-season indeterminate vine. High yielder with a long fruiting window. The plant is very vigorous, sturdy and unfussy, with large juicy leaves. My vine reached 6.2 feet (1.9 m) tall. Regular leaf. Pruned to 3 stems. It set every truss, no dropped blossoms.
Thank you, Julia!
I’ll add — the variety is disease resistant and takes very well to fertilizer. Grew in the poly greenhouse, sown March 10, started fruiting by late July.
Wonderful variety, an absolute must-grow!
Edited December 8, 2019 by olyaka
Everything started ripening 3 weeks late this year. So days to maturity is hard to judge. My MB was in no hurry to set fruit at first, but then it absolutely exploded, and by the end of summer it was loaded with tomatoes like a Christmas tree with ornaments. Unfortunately, I managed to cook all my greenhouse tomatoes in early September. So I didn’t even get a proper taste test, only a few managed to ripen. But the flesh is definitely marmalade, with some sweetness. And the yield is off the charts.
They all have that crimson little tongue on the slice 👍
Just wanted to share my thoughts on this variety. Really wanted it, was super happy when I got it as a gift from Ninulya. As a seedling it was one of the healthiest, didn’t catch anything, unlike the rest. When it went outdoors into the dirt, at first it just pushed out massively long leaves, stalled out for a long time, wouldn’t flower and wouldn’t set fruit. Pruned it to two stems. Waited for the heat, when the soil and the night air warmed up enough for it, and then it started setting every truss without missing a beat, but it was in no hurry to ripen, finally maturing toward the end of the season. Managed to pull a few full trusses before the cold snap hit. Once the rains started, the fruits quickly began to crack and rot right on the vine; the ones I tried to ripen indoors didn’t work out, they spoiled fast. With our chilly nights and cold soil, it ended up super tart, zero sweetness. The plant itself stayed perfectly healthy to the bitter end, which was a joy.
Conclusion: the plant is one of the most resilient to weather and sharp temp swings, but the fruits demand a drier climate and warm soil. I think it’s better suited for greenhouses. The beauty of the fruits is magnificent: both shape and color. I think many people who have the right conditions will put this on their keeper list for its unfussy nature, yield, and looks. Really enjoyed growing this new one.
On 12/11/2019 at 7:27 AM, Alisa said:
I think it’s better suited for greenhouses. The beauty of the fruits is magnificent: both shape and color. I think many people who have the right conditions will put this on their keeper list for its unfussy nature, yield, and looks. Really enjoyed growing this new one.
Allow me to drop a quote from a private message. I hope Galya — my neighbor — won’t mind 😉, I sent her MB seeds.
“..showed itself really well in the greenhouse, which is rare for me, so it immediately moved to the must-grow list. Everything about this variety is top notch — the yield, the taste, the looks! …Black Heart with a Beak is a permanent fixture now too!”
Edited December 11, 2019 by m_Kallista
One of my absolute favorites too.
There are tomatoes I can eat straight up, like fruit, and Marmalade Bulb is one of them. Extremely delicious to me. The flesh truly is like marmalade. Tops my tomato collection. I’ll grow it forever.
Edited December 12, 2019 by TatyanaSh
Hey folks, such lovely reviews… Honestly so glad we sent our Marmalade Bulb out into the world and that it brought y’all joy with its flavor, looks, and performance:)
Olya Pskovishna kindly shared her Marmalade Bulb seeds with me, huge thanks for that! The 2019 season was tough, long cold spring and a weird summer. Grew one MB plant in the greenhouse, didn’t get sick, yield was average. Taste-wise, the whole family voted it the most delicious tomato of 2019. Now I want to compare it to Wine Jug and Bedouin.
On 12/13/2019 at 4:11 AM, Tyapochka said:
Hey folks, such lovely reviews… Honestly so glad we sent our Marmalade Bulb out into the world and that it brought y’all joy with its flavor, looks, and performance:)
Tanya, half the forum was singing your praises. It scattered and flew all over the country. We were just talking about it here.
Recently got Marmalade Bulb seeds from Volgograd. I’ll be sowing them this spring and trying to tame it in our Siberian climate. Read so much about this variety, don’t know how I’ll wait till spring.
Bulb is definitely staying in my garden. Thanks to Irina Skripkina for the seeds! And a special shoutout to Valentina (Tina)! My bulbs are nice and big and sweet. Good yield. Couldn’t find a photo on the vine. Got to point out this tomato has a very special color, almost pearlescent.
Edited December 22, 2019 by ytanya
I grew Marmalade Bulb for the second year. Extremely happy with it — sweet, productive! Everyone I shared it with absolutely loves it.
Shot a video of it this season.
Gonna try to insert a photo now, don’t know how it’ll turn out….
Edited December 24, 2019 by Pirina
Greenhouse Behavior and Plant Variations
I have two MB vines in the poly greenhouse, but they are so different! The first one is in the center of the bed, near the greenhouse wall, very massive, turned into a huge nitrogen hog like a lot of stuff did this year, trusses are incomplete, fruits are large. The second one is sitting in an unventilated corner by the greenhouse door, the vine is small, half the size of the first, didn’t hog nitrogen, more fruits per truss but the fruits are smaller than the first one’s. Both grown from the same seed source.
Here’s the fat one (the photo doesn’t show the full mass of the plant and that its fruits are bigger)…
And here’s the runt..
Edited June 27, 2020 by T@tka
Out of three Marmalade Bulb plants, one grew with “bulb” shaped fruits (taking a long time to ripen), but the other two grew… heart-shaped ones (more like mid-season). Either a seed mix-up happened, or some ancestral genes popped up…
Here’s a photo of the normal bulbs
And here are the heart-shaped type fruits
And here’s the vine with the heart-shaped fruits. Got to say, they turned out more productive and earlier.
I’ll save seeds from the actual bulbs shaped like bulbs, but debating whether to save seeds from the heart-shaped ones.
On 8/9/2020 at 12:58 PM, Prostoy chaynik said:
And here’s the vine with the heart-shaped fruits. Got to say, they turned out more productive and earlier.I’ll save seeds from the actual bulbs shaped like bulbs, but debating whether to save seeds from the heart-shaped ones.
If it’s tasty and productive in your conditions, and you want to keep growing it, then you absolutely can and should save seeds, but you need to call it something like “not-a-bulb”, or any other name to tell them apart.
On 8/9/2020 at 4:20 PM, Alisa said:
If it’s tasty and productive in your conditions, and you want to keep growing it, then you absolutely can and should save seeds, but you need to call it something like “not-a-bulb”, or any other name to tell them apart.
Yeah, it tastes exactly the same, yield is just higher. I saved seeds from this fruit too, I’ll just keep them around as “Hearty Bulbs” or something, just for myself 🙂
Bulb is on my favorites list. Planted 4 vines this year. I like the taste too. Good for fresh eating and for canning. Doesn’t crack. The color washes out a bit in direct sun. It stays brighter under the leaf canopy.
And this specimen is from a megabloom
Very productive and delicious tomato with tender sweet flesh and thin skin. A favorite forever!
Sharing my thoughts while memories are fresh.
This is the only tomato variety that, at the end of the season (when boxes of tomatoes are sitting all over the house), I wouldn’t share with anyone, and ate it all by myself under the covers at night)
Ripens perfectly on the counter, very tasty, high yielding. Started fruiting very late for me – end of July. But then it suddenly exploded with a ton of fruit at once. Very few ripened on the vine. Didn’t crack.
Staying on my keeper list.
Grew outdoors under row cover, good yield and flavor.
Taste, Texture, and Gel Discussion
Are Marmalade Bulb and Black Pear not the same variety?
On 10/1/2021 at 12:35 PM, Rastishka said:
Are Marmalade Bulb and Black Pear not the same variety?
Black Pear was totally different for me.
A reliable comrade. Tasty, sweet, productive. Thanks to Tanya @Tyapochka for bringing it to the forum. Been planting it for several years straight now.
Edited December 30, 2021 by Olya Pskovishna
On 10/1/2021 at 12:35 PM, Rastishka said:
Are Marmalade Bulb and Black Pear not the same variety?
Completely different in both plant structure and fruit taste.
Marmalade Bulb grew for me in 2021, excellent yield and very good taste. Liked the variety.
On 1/3/2022 at 2:47 PM, Oksana Evgenievna said:
very good taste.
I hear they’re a bit runny inside?
On 1/3/2022 at 2:51 PM, Apelsinka said:
I hear they’re a bit runny inside?
They’re full of it)))
It’s juicier, sure, than a lot of ribbed sacks and truffles, but definitely not watery.
On 1/3/2022 at 3:08 PM, Shevyachok said:
They’re full of it)))
:))) Luda, I know you love heart-shaped varieties and all sorts of sacks, and they are mostly kinda mealy. Does Bulb have a similar texture?
On 1/3/2022 at 2:51 PM, Apelsinka said:
I hear they’re a bit runny inside?
It’s Marmalade, after all 😆 But as usual, to each their own. The seed cavities are pretty large, there are a lot of seeds, and the surrounding “liquid” is definitely there. But it’s not liquid, to be more precise about the laws of physics, I’d call it gel.
On 1/3/2022 at 3:11 PM, Olya Pskovishna said:
I’d call it gel.
Got it, it’s definitely a matter of taste, I like mine denser. Though I should try planting it and judge for myself.
Are Marmalade, Chocolate, and Blue Pear similar in taste?
Marmalade Bulb and Blue Pear are not similar in taste… 🤷♀️ Didn’t grow the others in the same year, so I’m afraid I’d be lying.
For me it’s not mealy/floury at all. Blue Pear tastes completely different (like an antho), while MB is a black tomato. The gel is there, yes, and it’s awesome!
On 1/3/2022 at 3:16 PM, Shevyachok said:
Blue Pear tastes completely different (like an antho)
I’ve never grown anthos yet, only dark varieties. Do anthos have a weird specific taste, maybe not everyone’s cup of tea?
On 1/3/2022 at 6:14 PM, Apelsinka said:
I’ve never grown anthos yet, only dark varieties. Do anthos have a weird specific taste, maybe not everyone’s cup of tea?
I don’t know about everyone, but I like them. My Blue Pear was from @Olya Pskovishna and turned out EXTREMELY productive!
Got to repeat it somehow. Maybe in 2023?!
On 1/3/2022 at 6:14 PM, Apelsinka said:
I’ve never grown anthos yet, only dark varieties. Do anthos have a weird specific taste, maybe not everyone’s cup of tea?
Last year I grew various bulbs, all were successful. Pear’s taste isn’t as overpowering as some anthos, and I really liked it for canning.
On 1/3/2022 at 6:14 PM, Apelsinka said:
I’ve never grown anthos yet, only dark varieties. Do anthos have a weird specific taste, maybe not everyone’s cup of tea?
Blue Pear from Dukhov was significantly smaller and sweeter than Marmalade Bulb. Denser. The antho flavor, by the way, is practically unnoticeable in it, it just adds sweetness and that’s it. Marmalade Bulb grew outdoors in the dirt and it wasn’t “runny” there. Juicy, yes, but quite moderate, not watery. The flavor is balanced, with a pleasant sweetness. How to put it more accurately, MB has firm meaty flesh, as a pear should, and at the same time decent-sized seed cavities with lots of tasty gel. The flesh is sweet, the gel is greenish with a little zing. A classic flavor combo for a dark tomato
Edited January 3, 2022 by Oksana Evgenievna
Found a photo of Marmalade Bulb. 2021. The color is slightly lighter and more purplish-pink, photo taken under artificial light. These were probably the ones I saved for seed; I usually take pictures before gutting them: the weight, the look, usually a sliced shot too, but couldn’t find the sliced one.
Edited January 4, 2022 by Oksana Evgenievna
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste, and Growing Tips
- 🌿 Plant: Tall, indeterminate regular-leaf vine that handles temperature swings well. It produces medium-to-large pear or bulb-shaped fruits (roughly 5.3-8.8 oz / 150-250 g). The fruits ripen to a muted matte burgundy, retaining a characteristic greenish, puckered spot on the blossom end.
- 📈 Yield: Exceptionally high for most growers, setting fruit on every truss without dropping blossoms. Some noted it takes a while to get going but eventually loads up heavily, especially in a greenhouse.
- 👅 Taste: Widely praised as one of the best-tasting dark varieties, possessing a sweet, balanced flavor. The texture is distinctive: a meaty outer wall paired with large seed cavities full of sweet-tart, jelly-like green gel (which gives the variety its “Marmalade” name).
- ☀️ Growing Tips: Multiple growers (like Tiffany and Alisa) noted this tomato needs sufficient heat, sun, and warm soil to develop its signature sweetness. It generally performs much better and produces sweeter fruits when grown in a greenhouse rather than outdoors in cooler climates. Avoid excess nitrogen, as T@tka noted it can turn into a “nitrogen hog” (all leaves, poor fruit set).
- 📦 Storage: Doesn’t crack easily, ripens excellently on the counter, and stores well.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: A massive response from 24 growers across a wide range of climates, spanning USDA Zones 3 through 6.
