Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-6 Experience)
Minusinsk Apple. A gorgeous variety. Became one of my absolute favorites of the 2017 season. Very heavy yielder, tall indeterminate (hit about 5.5 ft / 1.7 m in the greenhouse), mid-season. The fruits weigh up to 2.2 lbs (1 kg), oblate and apple-shaped, pink color. Very delicious, meaty, sweet, and tender.
This has been one of my favorites for two years running now. Good yields, grew them in the greenhouse pruned to 2 leaders (you can do 1 leader as well). All the tomatoes are huge, beautiful oblate pink stunners up to 1-1.5 lbs (500-700 g), and some hit the 2.2 lbs (1 kg) mark. Really great taste, true classic pink heirloom flavor 👍
Edited March 5, 2019 by Pomidoroved
Greenhouse: 2 leaders. Outdoors: 2 leaders.
Vine is strong, stems are thick. Leaves are large, long, and drooping, but it’s not super bushy. Responds really well to feeding. A single-leader vine takes up about 1.5 ft (50 cm) of space. Foliage coverage is maybe 50%.
The fruits are large, flat, and juicy. The flavor is a bit unbalanced to me, the sweetness really dominates, and it’s lacking in the other departments. Much like Khulouri from Adjara, I’d give it a 4.8 out of 5. I haven’t had much luck with yields yet, though the greenhouse did better than outdoors at around 9 lbs (4 kg) per plant. I saved seeds for next time.
Outdoors | Greenhouse:
Minusinsk Apple grew tall and vigorous for me, with light green foliage. Yields were pretty good, fruits were massive, up to 1 lbs (500 g). Good, classic tomato flavor.
Full Summary: Plant Habit, Yields, and Sweet Taste
- 🌿 Plant & Foliage: Indeterminate, mid-season. The vine is vigorous and thick-stemmed, but the foliage itself is light green, long, and classically “wispy” or drooping. Because the canopy isn’t overly dense, it allows for good airflow and sunlight penetration. Responds well to pruning (1 or 2 leaders) and feeding.
- 🍅 Fruit & Shape: Enormous pink slicers. The shape is generally flat-round (oblate) with some fruits taking on a slightly rounded “apple” appearance. They easily reach 1.1-1.5 lbs (500-700 g), with several growers reporting 2.2 lb (1 kg) monsters under greenhouse conditions.
- 📈 Yield: Generally very high, especially in a greenhouse environment where they are protected from extreme weather. One grower noted around 8.8 lbs (4 kg) per plant even on a lighter year.
- 👅 Taste: A distinctly sweet, meaty, and tender “classic pink” heirloom flavor. While most growers consider it an absolute favorite, one noted that the sweetness heavily overpowers the acidity, making the flavor profile lean entirely toward the sweet side.
You’ll often see the word “Minusinsk” attached to many Russian heirloom tomatoes. Minusinsk is a historic town in southern Siberia (USDA 3b) famous for its unique microclimate that allows for surprisingly good tomato growing despite the brutal winters. Every August, the town holds a massive “Tomato Champion” festival where locals compete to weigh in the largest tomato. That tradition has spawned dozens of incredible, cold-tolerant, giant-fruited heirloom families that American growers absolutely love today.
