Quick Summary of Zarzhavevshaya Dusha (Rusty Soul)
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zarzhavevshaya Dusha
- 🌍 Origin: A relatively recent artisanal variety developed by the famous Latvian tomato breeder, Valdis Puliņš. The name translates to “Rusty Soul” (or “Rusted Soul”).
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A massive, incredibly vigorous plant that can easily handle being pruned to multiple stems (3-4 leaders) without sacrificing fruit size.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, slightly ribbed beefsteaks. Standout feature: The skin has a slight fuzziness to it, similar to a peach. Important Note: There are currently two distinct color variations circulating under this name (a crimson-pink version and a true rusty-ochre version).
- 👅 Flavor: Consistently rated as sweet and delicious regardless of which color variation you grow.
A variety bred by Valdis Puliņš. I received the seeds directly from the breeder himself. The variety was basically undergoing a grow-out trial for me.
It performed magnificently during this rather difficult season. It’s a massively powerful bush. I grew it to 4 stems. I was still picking the last tomatoes off it on October 15th. It produces large tomatoes all the way up to the top of the vine. The tomatoes are slightly ribbed and have a light fuzziness (peach skin) to them. A true beauty. Much respect to Valdis!
Lyudmila, what is that white thing visible under the bush in the first photo? Are you putting something under the plant for support?
My fruits turned out completely different. They were a rusty color on the outside and ochre on the inside. It’s either an off-type (wrong seed) or a genetic segregation. They were tasty and sweet, though.
TatianaSh wrote:
My fruits turned out completely different. They were a rusty color on the outside and ochre on the inside. It’s either an off-type (wrong seed) or a genetic segregation.
Tanya, there are actually 2 versions of Zarzhavevshaya Dusha currently going around. There is the rusty/ochre one like you had, and the crimson one.
As mentioned in the thread, you might end up with one of two different colors when growing Rusty Soul. Because this is a relatively new artisanal line developed by Valdis Puliņš, the genetics are still “segregating” (settling down). Some growers get a crimson/dark pink tomato, while others get a true rusty/ochre-colored fruit. Both versions retain the signature large size, the slight fuzziness on the skin, and the fantastic sweet flavor.
