Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-6 Experience)
Marsha’s Starfighter Heart (Serdtse Marshi).
One of the lines from the Star Wars Project bred by Marsha Eisenberg down in South Florida, which is why this selection got named Marsha’s Heart.
Ran it in the greenhouse. The vines cleared 6.5 ft (2 m) easily. Sturdy, vigorous plants, though the foliage has that classic droopy, weeping look typical of most oxheart varieties.
The fruit are ornate, painted-striped hearts topping out around 12.5 oz (350 g). Slices open to dense, deep crimson-red meat. Extremely heavy cropper and crazy sweet! Easily one of my top favorites of the entire past season. Totally thrilled with it.
Next season I plan to grow Marsha’s Beefsteak side-by-side to compare the two.
Big shoutout to Natalya Pavlovna (@Yaroslavna) for the seeds! 😘
Edited December 20, 2020 by Inn@
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Props to Inna for getting this newcomer posted in our variety database! 🌹
Here are the notes on this line:
Marsha’s Starfighter Heart (Serdtse Marshi). A distinct line from the Star Wars Project led by Marsha Eisenberg in South Florida.
Seeds were sent directly to me by Marsha for regional trials under my northern conditions.
Grown under cover in polycarbonate high tunnels. Tall, strong vines with weeping foliage, reaching 6.5 ft (2 m) and higher. Highly productive, pushing out clusters of 6-7 elongated heart-shaped fruit. The skin clearly displays detailed, wavy striping, with a subtle anthocyanin blush capping the crown.
Fruit shape can vary across plants, ranging from plump, rounded hearts to slender elongated ones with a sharp pointed beak. All share dense, juicy flesh with a balanced, sweet-tart complexity.
The variety adapted beautifully to our cooler northern climate. Growers in other regions are sending back glowing reviews too. A standout line that will definitely earn a following among heirloom collectors and everyday gardeners alike!
Edited December 20, 2020 by Yaroslavna
Marsha’s Starfighter Heart. Wonderful variety 👍 Heavy yielder, top-tier taste, and an absolute standout discovery among the exotics along with Marsha’s Beefsteak.
Indeterminate vine, trained to two stems. Fruit are plump to elongated hearts up to 10.5 oz (300 g), reddish-brown with golden-olive striping. Meat inside is sweet 😋 and deep burgundy.
Late in the season, once cooler weather and shorter daylight hours set in, the newly ripening fruit come out noticeably paler.
Edited September 29, 2021 by Svetikk
Repeated it again this season, and it held every single trait: flavor, yield, and stunning looks.
I grew Marsha’s Beefsteak this year as well, so I had the perfect chance to compare the two head-to-head.
Inn@: I grew Marsha’s Beefsteak this year as well, so I had the perfect chance to compare the two head-to-head.
Inna, which of the two did you like better?
YANGUN: Inna, which of the two did you like better?
Irina, just wrote a breakdown on that over in the Beefsteak thread today! 🙂
Marsha’s Starfighter Heart.
Gorgeously bred variety, checks all the boxes for looks, flavor, and production!
Didn’t get any monster fruit, mostly stayed medium-sized. Matured right at mid-season.
Seeds courtesy of Lyubasha (@Vesennyaya). Thanks! 😊
Marsha’s Heart is a very tasty, eye-catching tomato. Yield turned out about average in my garden.
Beautiful, medium-sized rounded hearts, burgundy-brown with olive-gold striping, weighing up to 10.5 oz (300 g).
Turned out mid-early for me and yielded heavily. The meat is deep, rich burgundy with plenty of natural sweetness.
Edited November 24, 2022 by Nadine
Marsha’s Heart.
Fell completely in love with this one. Grew it right out in the dirt. Height topped out around 4-4.5 ft (1.2-1.3 m).
Fruit were mostly elongated pointed hearts. Heavy producer, excellent sweet flavor. The first ripe fruit were rich brown with green striping, while later in the season the striping showed noticeably more green.
Big shoutout to Lyudmila (@Shevyachok) for the seeds!
Full Summary: Plant Habit, Fruit Phenotypes & Climate Response
- 🌿 Plant Stature & Foliage: Vigorous indeterminate vine climbing over 6.5 ft (2 m) in high tunnels, but holding to a manageable 4-4.5 ft (1.2-1.3 m) when planted outdoors in open beds. Carries classic weeping, droopy regular foliage that provides open airflow through the canopy. Handles training to 2 leaders with ease.
- 🍅 Fruit Morphology & Color: Shapes range from plump, rounded hearts to elongated, pointed-beak forms weighing 8-12.5 oz (225-350 g). The exterior is an ornate tapestry of mahogany-brown and bronze overlaid with metallic olive-gold striping and dusky purple anthocyanin caps. Interior features dense, meaty dark burgundy flesh with tiny seed cavities.
- 👅 Flavor Profile: Highly rated for sweetness paired with a rich, savory, earthy tang typical of premier black and antho tomatoes. Slices cleanly like solid meat without turning to watery seed pulp.
- ☀️ Light & Temperature Shifts: Skin coloration is highly responsive to weather. Peak summer sun and high UV produce intense anthocyanin caps and sharp contrast striping. As daylight and ambient temperatures fade in late autumn, newly ripening fruit finish with noticeably paler skin and softer green striping.
- 📈 Yield & Setting: Consistently sets full trusses of 6-7 fruit without blossom drop, demonstrating outstanding fruit-setting reliability compared to finicky heirloom beefsteaks.
- 🌎 Proven Climates: Heavily proven across short northern summers (USDA Zone 3 in Siberia and the Urals, Zone 4 across Central Russia) as well as the warmer steppe of Zone 5b/6a.
Marsha’s Starfighter Heart was developed by independent American breeder Marsha Eisenberg of South Florida as part of her internationally celebrated Star Wars Series. Originating from complex crosses involving Rebel Starfighter Prime and green-fleshed striped lines like Xanadu Green Goddess, Eisenberg selected two parallel sister lines:• Marsha’s Starfighter Beefsteak: Broad, multi-locular oblate fruit with higher juice content and classic beefsteak slicing qualities.
• Marsha’s Starfighter Heart: Pointed to blunt heart-shaped fruit with dense, solid meat, smaller seed locules, and slightly higher brix concentration.
Growers observing color shifts late in the season are seeing plant biochemistry in action: the dark purple anthocyanin pigment requires direct sunlight and UV radiation to synthesize in the fruit skin. Under late autumn’s lower sun angles and shorter days, antho synthesis drops significantly, causing the underlying mahogany and green-chlorophyll stripes to appear lighter and more pastel.
