🍅 Quick take: The Eastern European heirloom strain grown under the name Red Alert (Signal Trevogi) is a mid-to-late season, semi-determinate workhorse reaching 3.3 to 5 ft (1-1.5 m). It pumps out clusters of firm, crack-proof red cocktail fruits weighing 1 to 2.8 oz (30-80 g) sporting ribbed shoulders and a sharp, distinctive pointed beak. Prized for its astonishing shelf life and tough skins that never split in hot brines, it doubles in fruit size when moved from outdoor beds into high tunnels. Greenhouse vs outdoor sizing ↓ | Storage & canning ↓ | The seed identity mix-up ↓ | Full summary ↓
Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-4 Experience)
Another absolute favorite of mine. I have grown this for multiple seasons now, and as a garden workhorse, it never lets me down.
Bright red cocktail fruits weighing about 1 to 1.4 oz (30-40 g) with subtle shoulder ribbing and a sharp, pointed tip. Very firm fruits that hang forever on the vine and ripen off the counter with zero fuss (we are still finishing off the last ones right now) 👍 Excellent yields both outdoors in open beds and inside the greenhouse. Superb for whole-jar pickling and dries down nicely for dehydrated tomatoes.
The plant stays manageable, hitting around 5 ft (1.5 m) in the greenhouse. Easily carries 1 to 2 main stems. I have clocked it as a solid mid-late season variety.
First photo is 2014 outdoors, second photo is 2015 in the greenhouse:
Edited November 4, 2015 by Drosera
Bright red cocktail fruits weighing about 1 to 1.4 oz (30-40 g) with subtle shoulder ribbing and a sharp, pointed tip. Very firm fruits that hang forever on the vine and ripen off the counter with zero fuss (we are still finishing off the last ones right now) 👍 Excellent yields both outdoors in open beds and inside the greenhouse. Superb for whole-jar pickling and dries down nicely for dehydrated tomatoes.
The plant stays manageable, hitting around 5 ft (1.5 m) in the greenhouse. Easily carries 1 to 2 main stems. I have clocked it as a solid mid-late season variety.
First photo is 2014 outdoors, second photo is 2015 in the greenhouse:
Edited November 4, 2015 by Drosera
Katyusha, what kind of vine height did you get in the open ground outdoors? Huge thanks for the seeds 😘
Milochka, outdoors it topped out around 3.3 to 4 ft (1-1.2 m). But you definitely get a better crop inside the greenhouse 🙂
I know GalyaP grew hers outdoors too, maybe she can chime in on height?
I know GalyaP grew hers outdoors too, maybe she can chime in on height?
Red Alert grown outdoors in open ground, 2014 season. Seeds sourced from Popenko.
Greenhouse Sizing vs Outdoor Performance
My vine turned out to be a light producer with very mediocre flavor 🙁 Trained it to 2 leaders.
Won’t be growing it again.
Won’t be growing it again.
Last season I planted it both outdoors and in the greenhouse. Ran it with 3 leaders (carried 5 full trusses). For me, it performed as a mid-late variety (first fruits broke color August 11).
Heavy producer with pretty decent flavor. The big surprise was that greenhouse fruits were twice as large as the outdoor ones, sizing up around 2.5 to 2.8 oz (70-80 g). Once it started setting and ripening, it just powered through right until the bitter end, it was literally the last vine I cleared out of the greenhouse.
Heavy producer with pretty decent flavor. The big surprise was that greenhouse fruits were twice as large as the outdoor ones, sizing up around 2.5 to 2.8 oz (70-80 g). Once it started setting and ripening, it just powered through right until the bitter end, it was literally the last vine I cleared out of the greenhouse.
My vine turned out to be a light producer with very mediocre flavor 🙁 Trained it to 2 leaders. Won’t be growing it again.
Elena, funny how differently varieties behave in different gardens 🤷 I honestly cannot praise its yield enough: pretty, tasty, and legendary shelf life. Irina hit the nail on the head: inside the greenhouse, the fruits easily size up twice as big 😉
Turned out on the later side for me too. The vine only managed to finish two clusters, but I really enjoyed the flavor and size 😘 Real cuties, probably right around 2 oz (60 g) each.
End-of-Season Counter Storage and Whole-Jar Canning
Here is my Red Alert (Signal Trevogi). The variety ripened late, but proved to be intensely productive with unbelievable post-harvest shelf life. We are still eating them fresh right now, and off the counter they actually taste even sweeter!
A premier canning tomato: the skins never split in hot brines, and they hold together beautifully in jars. I put them up in pickled jars and packed them whole in pure tomato juice. Grew mine outdoors in open beds. Sourced the seeds from Katyusha Zhavoronok 🙂 🙏🙏🙏
On the plate, those red saladettes with the pointed beak are Red Alert. Photographed just a week ago.
A premier canning tomato: the skins never split in hot brines, and they hold together beautifully in jars. I put them up in pickled jars and packed them whole in pure tomato juice. Grew mine outdoors in open beds. Sourced the seeds from Katyusha Zhavoronok 🙂 🙏🙏🙏
On the plate, those red saladettes with the pointed beak are Red Alert. Photographed just a week ago.
In my garden, Red Alert was definitely mid-late. Height stayed around 4 ft (1.2-1.3 m).
Inside the greenhouse a lot of blossoms blasted and dried up, but outdoors in the open ground it set gorgeous, full trusses. If we had enjoyed a proper summer instead of a cold autumn, they probably would have ripened on the vine, but I had to pick them green. They ripened off the counter cleanly without shriveling.
Canned in brine, the taste mimics whole tomatoes packed in their own juice 😋 Planning to repeat it this coming season. Big thanks to Lena Danko for the seeds 🙏
Inside the greenhouse a lot of blossoms blasted and dried up, but outdoors in the open ground it set gorgeous, full trusses. If we had enjoyed a proper summer instead of a cold autumn, they probably would have ripened on the vine, but I had to pick them green. They ripened off the counter cleanly without shriveling.
Canned in brine, the taste mimics whole tomatoes packed in their own juice 😋 Planning to repeat it this coming season. Big thanks to Lena Danko for the seeds 🙏
Svetlana, completely agree, it definitely leans late. Inside the greenhouse it has plenty of runway to produce heavy yields, whereas outdoors in cold climates the harvest is somewhat more modest.
The Seed Identity Mix-Up: Dwarf Bush vs Beaked Saladette
Out of 5 seeds from Dukhov, only 2 germinated for me, Katyusha. And right during the seedling phase, both croaked.
I wanted to give it another shot this spring (still have 5 seeds left in the stash), but ended up crossing it off my start list in favor of exciting new trials…
I wanted to give it another shot this spring (still have 5 seeds left in the stash), but ended up crossing it off my start list in favor of exciting new trials…
Out of 5 seeds from Dukhov, only 2 germinated for me, Katyusha. And right during the seedling phase, both croaked. I wanted to give it another shot this spring (still have 5 seeds left in the stash), but ended up crossing it off my start list in favor of exciting new trials…
Alyonushka, that is such a shame!
I can’t imagine my garden without it 😄 Heavy trusses, crazy productive, and that cute pointed tip 😘
Planted it back in 2015 from Popenko’s seeds, and it was a complete bust, neither yield nor flavor showed up (which unfortunately happened with almost everything I ordered from Popenko that year 😮). The catalog description sounds wonderful, but now I’m gun-shy. The ladies on the board sent me their own saved seeds recently, so maybe I will give it a second chance. I grew it in a greenhouse.
Reading Gusev’s catalog description and I am totally scratching my head: he lists it as an “early-season superdeterminate”. And looking at his photos, there is zero pointed beak on the fruit.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant & Growth Habit: Semi-determinate to compact indeterminate vine. Reaches 3.3 to 4 ft (1-1.2 m) in open ground and stretches up to 5 ft (1.5 m) in high tunnels. Best managed by training to 2 or 3 main leaders. Mid-to-late season maturity.
- 📈 Yield & Fruit Size: Outstanding multi-truss yields that produce until frost. Fruit sizing is highly dependent on growing environment: outdoor garden beds yield firm 1 to 1.4 oz (30-40 g) cocktail fruits, while greenhouse culture doubles fruit mass to 2.5-2.8 oz (70-80 g).
- 🥫 Canning & Storage: Built like iron. The firm, durable skins do not burst in boiling pickling brines or hot-pack canning. Off the vine, unripe green fruit ripens on the kitchen counter without wrinkling, allowing fresh eating through late autumn.
- 🎯 Fruit Morphology: True-to-type regional seed produces scarlet plum/cocktail fruit with subtle vertical fluting and a prominent pointed blossom beak.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Extensively trialed across northern short-season zones including the Moscow Region, Saint Petersburg, and the Urals (USDA Zones 3 and 4).
🍅 Grown this beaked Red Alert strain? Did yours size up into a 3 oz saladette or stay as a 1 oz cocktail? Share your seed source, yields, and canning recipes in the comments below!
