📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bizon Oranzhevyi (Orange Bison)
- 🌍 Origin: A popular Russian commercial variety introduced by the “Poisk” seed company as part of their “Vkusnoteka” (Flavor Library) series. The name means “Orange Bison”.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Does well in both greenhouses and out in the garden. It responds great to pruning (a lot of folks grow it to 2 leaders) and definitely needs heavy-duty staking.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright orange, oblate (flat-round) beefsteaks. They can get absolutely massive—the seed packet claims up to 800-900g (1.7-2 lbs), though 300-500g (10-18 oz) is much more standard for home growers.
- 👅 Flavor: Exceptionally sweet. Growers constantly praise its high sugar content with practically zero acid. A true “sweet tomato.”
- ⚖️ Yield: Production can be hit or miss depending on soil and heat, but when the plant is happy, it pumps out a lot of fruit.
This one is from the “Vkusnoteka” (Flavor Library) series. Here’s the description from the seed packet:
“A golden treat up to 800-900g (1.7-2 lbs). Magnificent rich flavor with a great sugar/acid balance. A mid-late variety for high tunnels. The plant is tall (indeterminate), requires pruning and staking. The fruits are large, weighing up to 800-900g, oblate, slightly ribbed, and orange in color. Excellent for fresh eating and making sauces.”
I grew this one in my greenhouse back in 2019. It definitely lived up to the description. I only pulled about 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg) of tomatoes from it total. They were all pretty much the exact same size, right around 10.5 oz (300g). Very sweet tomatoes, I didn’t taste any acidity in them at all.
Vladimir wrote:
…I only pulled about 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg) of tomatoes from it total. They were all pretty much the exact same size, right around 10.5 oz (300g). Very sweet tomatoes, I didn’t taste any acidity in them at all.
Only 6-7 tomatoes off one plant?! So that’s basically just 2, maybe 3 trusses tops. That’s a pretty dismal yield.
I grew this one back in ’17. Good flavor, but the yield was really disappointing.
I grew Orange Bison in the 2019 season—seeds were from Poisk (Vkusnoteka series). I have zero complaints about it, actually quite the opposite! The fruits are orange, ranging from large to just downright massive. Great flavor, and I was super happy with the yield. Grew it to two stems, didn’t count the trusses, but the plant was absolutely loaded. It earned a spot on my permanent grow list for tasty, heavy producers. Definitely a re-grow for me.
Mine grew outdoors in the open garden. The plant was mid-sized, about 4 to 4.5 ft (1.2-1.4m) tall. Good production—all the lower trusses set fruit perfectly. Even during a heatwave, it managed to set fruit on every single cluster, though it dropped to just 1 or 2 tomatoes per truss. Large fruits, mostly in the 10.5-18 oz (300-500g) range. Really good flavor.
This is only my second year really getting serious about growing tomatoes, so I’m still dialing in my variety list. The soil in my greenhouse isn’t in great shape yet either, which is probably why I didn’t get the kind of yields this variety is actually capable of.
