Quick Summary of Santa Klaus (Santa Claus)
- 🌍 Origin: This thread reveals a classic seed mystery! There are actually two distinct versions of the Santa Klaus (Santa Claus) tomato circulating in Russia. One is a commercial release from the “Sibsad” seed company, while the other is a treasured family heirloom from the Nizhny Novgorod region.
- 🌿 Version 1 (Commercial “Sibsad”): A determinate (bush) plant, growing to about 1 meter (3 ft). Produces small, round/plum-shaped red tomatoes weighing 100-150g (3.5-5 oz). Growers report mixed results regarding earliness and flavor, with some noting susceptibility to green shoulders.
- 💖 Version 2 (The Forum Heirloom): This is the star of the show! Passed down by a forum member’s mother, it is a vigorous indeterminate plant reaching up to 2 meters (6.5 ft). It features classic “wispy” (drooping) foliage and produces massive, stunning pink-raspberry heart-shaped tomatoes weighing 200-600g (7-21 oz), with some reaching 700g (1.5 lbs).
- 👅 Flavor (Heirloom): Outstanding. The flesh has a sugary, watermelon-like texture with very few seeds. It has a thin skin and a perfectly balanced, sweet flavor.
- 💡 Pro Tips (Heirloom Version): It performs best when pruned to 2 stems. It responds very well to feeding and fertilizer without getting overly vegetative (too leafy).
Tomato variety SANTA KLAUS (Santa Claus).
Description:
An early-season determinate variety for open ground and plastic greenhouses. The truss is simple with 5-7 round, red, smooth, and beautiful fruits weighing up to 150 grams (5 oz). The plant sets up to 12 compact trusses. The uniform and early ripening time, along with the high marketability of the fruits, will appeal to both amateur gardeners and commercial agricultural producers.
My Santa Claus does not fit this description at all. It is an indeterminate, completely loaded with elongated, medium-to-large pinkish-raspberry hearts. Delicious and beautiful! 👍 The seeds came from the mother of one of our forum members, which means it’s already an old heirloom!
Nina, your Santa is simply SUPER!!! And you can clearly see that there are very few seeds. 👍👍👍👍👍
I grew Santa Claus last year outdoors in open ground. Seeds were from Sibsad. It was a determinate, did not set 12 trusses. The fruits were about 100g (3.5 oz), the taste was ordinary, nothing special, and it was neither early nor did the crop ripen uniformly.
This is what mine looked like on July 20, 2014… Grown outdoors in open ground.
Seeds from Sibsad…
I liked it. I will try it again this year… but using my own saved seeds, acclimated to my region. 🙂
Nina said:
My Santa Claus does not fit this description at all. It is an indeterminate, completely loaded with elongated, medium-to-large pinkish-raspberry hearts. Delicious and beautiful! 👍 The seeds came from the mother of one of our forum members, which means it’s already an old heirloom!
Nina, your Santa Claus is gorgeous! I didn’t plant it in 2014 and already regretted it. When my mother grew it, it was incredibly productive, and the largest one weighed 700g (1.5 lbs).
Mine was neither early nor a heavy yielder. The tomatoes were dense, and towards the end of the season, it managed to set a few more. They were bright red, but I did like the taste. Grew in a high tunnel (plastic greenhouse).
Nina, thank you so much for the seeds! I really loved this variety, the tomatoes are delicious 😋 👍 🎩
Just like Svetlana’s, my Santa Claus grew as a determinate, about a meter (3 ft) tall. It was productive, and the taste was a solid 4 out of 5, but the green shoulders ruined everything.
This is what my Santa Claus looks like.
This is the Santa Claus from Galina’s mother. Her description is spot on, I completely agree with it. It’s a striking variety, I really liked it.
Height is up to 2m (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse, and 1.5m (5 ft) outdoors in open ground. Sparse, wispy, drooping foliage. The fruits are pink hearts, weighing 200-600 grams (7-21 oz). The skin is thin, and the inside has a sugary texture. Best pruned to 2 stems. It responds well to fertilizers but doesn’t get overly vegetative (doesn’t just push leaves).
In the Nizhny Novgorod regional forum thread, Santa Claus is a family heirloom variety from our friend. It is an excellent pink-fruited oxheart. I also grew it at the dawn of my tomato-growing youth from seedlings gifted to me by my very first forum friend, Galina.
