Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-5)
Seed packet description: Early hybrid (95-105 days). Indeterminate, tall plant, reaching over 6.5 feet (2 m), with sparse foliage. The first truss sets above the 8-9th leaf, with subsequent ones every 3 leaves. Trusses are both simple and complex, holding 30-40 fruits each. Fruits are oval, weighing 0.7-1.2 oz (20-35 g), bright red, very firm, and sweet. Yields about 1-1.2 lbs/sq ft (5-6 kg/m²).
Photo credit: Tatiana; hoya.
Edited January 25, 2015 by Drosera
Grew this in 2016. It was my first time, total newbie here. Seeds and results are in the pics.
Grew Nastya Slastena in 2015. The fruits are very sweet but tiny, and I got a lot of cracking. The vines are super aggressive, they completely took over a corner of my greenhouse. Won’t be growing it again.
My mom has been growing Nastya Slastena since 2010. I sent her the original seeds from SeDeK. The packet said F1, but surprisingly, my mom has been saving her own seeds this whole time and sharing them with friends. Last October I brought some of my mom’s tomatoes home and saved seeds for myself.
This year the vine grew over 6.5 feet (2 m) tall. I tied it straight up at first, but then I saw it was still blooming heavily, so I let it vine out sideways. It produces really well, it’s a super sweet cherry tomato, and I love that my little daughter happily eats them up. Grew it to a single stem, and this past weekend (Oct 21) I pulled the last green ones to ripen on the counter indoors. It was actually still blooming!
I also planted one outside, but it just can’t handle our climate at all… Barely put out one truss and didn’t even reach 3 feet (1 m), though to be fair, our weather was terrible this year. I saved seeds from my own plants again. Honestly, I’m not convinced it’s a true hybrid. Even Kulik has Nastya Slastena in his catalog now.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate, early season. Very tall and aggressive vines that can easily surpass 6.5 feet (2 m) in a greenhouse. Requires heavy pruning and staking, or it will take over its space. Struggles in poor weather outdoors.
- 📈 Yield: Extremely high in a greenhouse setting. Produces massive multi-flora trusses containing 30-40 tiny oval cherries per cluster.
- 👅 Taste: Universally praised as very sweet, making it a great snacking cherry for kids.
- 📦 Storage: Prone to splitting/cracking on the vine, which reduces shelf life. However, late-season green fruits can be successfully ripened indoors on the counter.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Growers in USDA Zones 4 and 5, dealing with short northern summers.
