Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-7 Experience)
Novichok Pink tomato.
Description:
High-yielding mid-early variety for growing out in the dirt and in hoop houses. 115-125 days from emergence to the start of ripening. Plants are not tree-type, determinate growth habit, 20-33 inches (50-85 cm) tall, moderately branching. The first cluster forms above the 6-7th leaf, subsequent ones every 1-2 leaves. There are 5-6 fruits per cluster. Yield is up to 13.2 lbs/sq m (6 kg/sq m) or about 3.3-4.4 lbs (1.5-2 kg) per bush. Plants ripen their harvest all at once. Fruits are pink, elongated-oval, smooth, weighing 2.5-3.5 oz (73-102 g) up to 5 oz (150 g), with 3-5 locules, highly transportable, and easily detach from the stem. The fresh flavor is excellent. Resistant to root-knot nematodes, moderately resistant to early blight. Fruits are resistant to over-ripening and mechanical damage. Usage: all-purpose. Excellent for whole-fruit canning. The fruits are absolutely delicious when processed! They do not over-ripen!
My seeds were originally from the Poisk company, now I use my own saved seeds. The fruits are firm, handle transportation well, and store for a long time. Great for canning and drying.
There is also just regular Novichok (mine are from Aelita) and Novichok Deluxe (from Gavrish).
The descriptions are pretty much identical, the only difference seems to be the fruit color.
Has anyone grown these?
Quote Olga44: “There is also just regular Novichok (mine are from Aelita) and Novichok Deluxe (from Gavrish). The descriptions are pretty much identical, the only difference seems to be the fruit color. Has anyone grown these?”
Yes, of course, there is just regular Novichok (the red one), from various seed companies. I’ve known the red Novichok since childhood, but I only stumbled across the Pink one about three years ago. To me, the red one seems a bit more plain, ordinary, I guess. I can’t quite explain the exact difference, but I like the taste of the pink one much more.
Ah, thanks so much! I’ll look around locally for the pink one.
Is it worth planting? I have seeds for it too.
Edited March 15, 2016 by Drosera
It’s a beautiful tomato. I planted it last year under an apple tree (it was quite shady under there and we had a cold summer), but it still managed to ripen on the bush (though only the first cluster, because October hit and it ran out of time, my fault for planting late). But the flavor was absolutely mind-blowing.
I really liked this variety. Firm, stores extremely well. The flavor is excellent for such a dense fruit. But it’s probably better suited for southern, hot, sunny regions, since it leans towards being a late variety. I absolutely loved it for sun-drying and for making achuchuk, since it has very little liquid inside.
There is also a Novichok from the Primorsky Vegetable Experimental Station (POOS) in Surazhevka. This year I planted Novichok from POOS and Novichok Deluxe from Gavrish. You can already see a difference in the seedling stage: the POOS Novichok emerged on day 5, while the Gavrish one took 7 days. I’ll keep observing them.
Quote Bad Samaritan: “You can already see a difference in the seedling stage: the POOS Novichok emerged on day 5, while the Gavrish one took 7 days. I’ll keep observing them.”
That’s not really a difference. One batch of seeds was just slightly drier than the other.
Quote Olviya: “That’s not really a difference. One batch of seeds was just slightly drier than the other.”
Last year I grew Novichok from POOS, and this year from both POOS and Gavrish. As of today, the seedlings have leveled out in growth and handled potting up very well—the only difference now is the tags on the cups. We’ll see how they grow from here.
For some reason, my Novichok didn’t store well; the fruits started going bad after 2 weeks. The yield was decent, but could have been better because the bush got hit by leaf mold and I had to strip the leaves off. The flavor of the fruits is a solid 4. But I admit I’m pretty spoiled when it comes to tomato flavor. For drying, though, it’s a 5+. Seeds were from Poisk.
Edited March 24, 2022 by Natalya79
Novichok Pink.
A short, highly productive variety. The bush reaches up to 24 inches (60 cm), sprawling (not tree-type), and requires good tying up. Mid-season, fruits are pink, oval, meaty, very firm, up to 4 oz (110 g). They store well and are perfectly suited for canning, sun-drying, and any kind of processing.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant: Determinate, mid-early bush. Plants remain compact, generally staying between 20-33 inches (50-85 cm) tall. While short, the bushes are sprawling and require sturdy support to hold up the fruit weight. Good resistance to nematodes, though some growers noted susceptibility to leaf mold in damp conditions.
- 📈 Yield: Very high. The plants are workhorses that tend to set heavily and ripen their crop uniformly all at once, making them ideal for large batch processing.
- 👅 Taste: While not a gourmet slicer, it is considered much tastier and sweeter than the classic red “Novichok” variety. It offers a very solid, pleasant tomato flavor that intensifies dramatically when dried or cooked.
- 📦 Texture/Usage: Pink, smooth, oval-shaped plums typically weighing 2.5-5 oz (73-150 g). The flesh is notably firm, dense, and low in liquid. This structural integrity gives them exceptional shelf life and makes them a top choice for whole-fruit canning, sun-drying, and thick sauces.
The Russian word Novichok translates to “Novice” or “Newbie”—likely named because this sturdy bush is so foolproof and easy to grow that even a complete beginner can get a massive harvest out of it.One of the forum users mentioned using this tomato specifically to make Achuchuk. Achuchuk (also spelled Shakarob) is a traditional Uzbek side dish made entirely of very thinly sliced tomatoes, onions, and salt, with zero oil added. Because it relies heavily on the tomatoes’ natural juices, a meaty, low-liquid paste tomato like Novichok is often preferred by home canners who preserve jars of Achuchuk to use as a winter base for pilaf and meat dishes.
