🍅 Quick take: Shal is an indeterminate, mid-season oxheart producing medium-sized, pink-red heart-shaped tomatoes on vines with distinctly wispy foliage. The fruits are dense, meaty, and nearly seedless, delivering a classic, old-fashioned tomato flavor. In northern Zone 4 trials, it stood out for unusually heavy truss production compared to typical shy-bearing oxhearts. Full summary ↓
Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4 Experience)
Indeterminate, mid-season fresh slicer with thin, wispy foliage. The fruits are medium-sized pink-red hearts with very few seeds. The taste is a standard, classic tomato flavor. Yield was very good, setting plenty of fruits on every cluster.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage
- 🌿 Plant: Indeterminate vine displaying the slender, delicate “wispy” foliage typical of heart-shaped heirlooms. Requires proper staking to support multi-fruit trusses.
- 📈 Yield: Above average for an oxheart. Rather than setting sparse single fruits, it develops generous clusters with high fruit counts per stem.
- 👅 Taste: Straightforward, traditional tomato profile with balanced acidity. Dense, fleshy interior with minimal seed cavities and almost no watery gel.
- 📦 Storage: Meaty, firm flesh makes it great for thick slicing, fresh salads, or reducing into rich sauce without having to cook off excess water.
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Seasoned grower ElenaN in USDA Zone 4 (Kostroma, Russia).
