🍅 Quick take: Raya Rey is a standout indeterminate, mid-season variety bred by the late master breeder Fred Hempel (Artisan Seeds). It produces gorgeous, crack-proof elongated cocktail fruits featuring deep chocolate skins painted with vivid metallic stripes. Inside, the flesh delivers a firm yet jelly-like bite bursting with rich, sweet tomato flavor. Reviewers in short-season regions highlight its heavy production, incredible disease resistance, and legendary hang time on the vine. Full summary ↓
Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-5 Experience)
Raya Rey is one of the final releases bred by Fred Hempel, a brilliant scientist, master breeder, and an absolute heavyweight in the heirloom tomato world. His breeding work earned worldwide acclaim from both backyard gardeners and professional colleagues alike.
Back in late 2021, Karen Olivier sent me a package with a few new lines, and Raya Rey was among them. I finally got around to growing it out this past summer.
Planted two vines right on the edge of the greenhouse, getting almost full-day sun. Very vigorous, tall growers with heavy, extended production all season long. You can easily train them to 3 stems, they have strong, thick stalks that handle that kind of fruit load without missing a beat.
The fruits on Raya Rey are stunning. Rich chocolate skin shot through with bright, contrasting stripes. They have a pleasant, firm snap on the outside with juicy, gel-like flesh inside and a deep, sugary flavor. These beauties simply do not crack. They can hang fully ripe on the vine for weeks without going soft or losing any of their rich flavor. Post-harvest shelf life off the vine was just as impressive.
A truly promising variety with tremendous fruit-setting ability, high tolerance to typical tomato leaf diseases, and great resilience in unpredictable weather. In our northern climate, it performed as a true mid-season tomato.
Raya Rey stands as a wonderful tribute to the great Fred Hempel, who passed away on October 31, 2023.
Back in late 2021, Karen Olivier sent me a package with a few new lines, and Raya Rey was among them. I finally got around to growing it out this past summer.
Planted two vines right on the edge of the greenhouse, getting almost full-day sun. Very vigorous, tall growers with heavy, extended production all season long. You can easily train them to 3 stems, they have strong, thick stalks that handle that kind of fruit load without missing a beat.
The fruits on Raya Rey are stunning. Rich chocolate skin shot through with bright, contrasting stripes. They have a pleasant, firm snap on the outside with juicy, gel-like flesh inside and a deep, sugary flavor. These beauties simply do not crack. They can hang fully ripe on the vine for weeks without going soft or losing any of their rich flavor. Post-harvest shelf life off the vine was just as impressive.
A truly promising variety with tremendous fruit-setting ability, high tolerance to typical tomato leaf diseases, and great resilience in unpredictable weather. In our northern climate, it performed as a true mid-season tomato.
Raya Rey stands as a wonderful tribute to the great Fred Hempel, who passed away on October 31, 2023.
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So heartbreaking that Fred is no longer with us. A true legend of a breeder in every sense of the word.
Pure candy! Another masterpiece from Fred!
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate, vigorous, thick-stemmed vines with strong vertical growth. Reaches easily over 6.5 ft (2 m) in a greenhouse setting. Yaroslavna notes it holds up remarkably well when trained to multiple stems (up to 3 main leaders). Mid-season maturity.
- 📈 Yield: Heavy, extended production across the whole summer. Excellent blossom set even through unpredictable summer weather swings.
- 👅 Taste & Texture: Intensely sweet, complex heirloom flavor. The exterior has a firm texture that resists splitting, while the interior is filled with rich, melting gel. Described by Aleksandr as “pure candy.”
- 📦 Storage & Hang Time: Top-tier. One of the rare varieties that can sit fully ripe on the vine for prolonged periods without cracking, leaking, or softening, followed by exceptional counter shelf life after picking.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Two northern European growers located in USDA Zones 4 and 5 (Northern Yaroslavl and Mogilev), proving this variety can shine even in cold-climate setups with shorter growing seasons.
🍅 Grown Raya Rey? Share your zone, setup (greenhouse vs open field), and flavor notes in the comments below! Don’t forget to attach your photos!
👨🌾 Editor’s Note: Breeding Origins (Fred Hempel & Karen Olivier)
Raya Rey is one of the final releases created by renowned California geneticist and breeder Fred Hempel (Artisan Seeds / Baia Nicchia Farm in Sunol, California), who passed away in late 2023. Known for groundbreaking cultivars like Blush, Maglia Rosa, and the Jazz series, Fred frequently collaborated with fellow breeders worldwide. The seed distribution mentioned here came directly from Canadian breeder Karen Olivier (Northern Diversities Skoolhouse Veggies), famous for breeding the Short Tartan and True North series.
Raya Rey is one of the final releases created by renowned California geneticist and breeder Fred Hempel (Artisan Seeds / Baia Nicchia Farm in Sunol, California), who passed away in late 2023. Known for groundbreaking cultivars like Blush, Maglia Rosa, and the Jazz series, Fred frequently collaborated with fellow breeders worldwide. The seed distribution mentioned here came directly from Canadian breeder Karen Olivier (Northern Diversities Skoolhouse Veggies), famous for breeding the Short Tartan and True North series.
