Quick Summary of Santa Maria
- 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded variety circulated by Russian seed collectors (seeds in this thread originate from V. Popenko).
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It is highly praised for its exceptional heat tolerance. Growers report it sets fruit perfectly without dropping blossoms (no skipped trusses) even during a 1.5-month-long severe heatwave in the greenhouse.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, elongated (plum/paste or long slicer shape). They have dense, meaty flesh and a distinctly beautiful “sparkling” skin. Fruits typically weigh 170-200g (6-7 oz).
- 👅 Flavor & Skin: Very tasty, with a pronounced sweetness—not bland at all. Note on the skin: Skin thickness varies depending on watering and weather. In extreme heat with irregular watering, it can develop a thick skin (making it perfect for whole canning), but under normal conditions, the skin is tender.
- ⏳ Maturity: Mid-season, though growers note it is often one of the first varieties to start setting fruit and ripening in the greenhouse.
Indeterminate, mid-season salad variety. It was among the first to start setting tomatoes in the greenhouse, and among the first to ripen. I liked the variety, all the fruits, at any time of the summer, were tasty, with sweetness, not bland.
The fruits are elongated, red, meaty, with sparkling skin. There were 3-4 fruits in the trusses, there were no skipped trusses, despite 1.5 months of heat; it grew in the greenhouse. The downside is the thick skin on the fruits (but in this hot summer, many varieties had thick skin for me). Fruit weight is 170 – 200 grams (6-7 oz). I will definitely repeat it.
Seeds from V. Popenko.
The last trusses under the greenhouse roof at the very end of September:
Lena, since it’s thick-skinned, it’s probably good for pickling/canning?
Len, yes, it should be good for canning, and the size is suitable — it will fit through a mason jar neck. But I only used them in salads (the thick skin didn’t bother me) or for tomato juice. I try to pick smaller tomatoes for canning — up to 130 grams (4.5 oz) maximum. Well, it’s not entirely thick-skinned anyway)))
By the way, many of mine were also thick-skinned this year. Probably because of the heat and irregular watering.
A very tasty little tomato with delicate flesh. The skin is thin, even tender. The only thing is — the yield was a bit weak for me this time. True, you have to take into account that this tomato is heat-loving, and mine grew outdoors in open ground. I will continue trying to tame it)
