Quick Summary of Sherkhan (Shere Khan)
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety. Named “Sherkhan” (after the tiger Shere Khan from The Jungle Book) due to its distinctive striped skin.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). The seed packet states a compact height of 60 cm (24 inches). However, greenhouse growers report it can act very vigorously, growing up to 1 meter (3 ft) tall with thick, tree-like stems and abundant suckers.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Egg-shaped (oval) and slightly ribbed fruits with 3-4 locules. Unripe fruits are light green with dark stripes; ripe fruits turn red with subtle striping. Average weight is 60–80 g (2.1–2.8 oz), with the first fruits reaching up to 120 g (4.2 oz).
- 👅 Flavor & Texture: The flesh is notably dry and the fruits are somewhat hollow inside. While some growers find the fresh taste unimpressive, this dry, hollow texture makes them absolutely perfect for sun-drying (dehydrating) and pickling.
- ⏳ Maturity & Yield: Early season (95–105 days from germination). It has a long-fruiting season, producing tomatoes well into the autumn.
Description from the seed packet:
An early-ripening (95-105 days from germination to fruiting) variety for growing in open ground and under temporary plastic shelters. The plant is determinate, short, 60 cm (24 inches) tall. The leaf is medium-sized, dark green, simple truss, jointed stalk (pedicel). The fruit is egg-shaped, slightly ribbed, with 3-4 locules. The color of the unripe fruit is light green with stripes, mature — red. The average fruit weight is 60-80 g (2.1-2.8 oz), the first ones up to 100-120 g (3.5-4.2 oz). Taste qualities are excellent. Marketable yield under plastic shelters is up to 9 kg/m2. Fruits are ideal for fresh consumption, salads, pickling, and whole-fruit canning.
Photo author: forzicia
My Sherkhan turned out round. I didn’t like the fresh taste, but pickled it was delicious. It is great for sun-drying — it is hollow inside, you just cut it in half and put it in the oven (or microwave).
In the greenhouse, it grew like a tree: a thick stem and large leaves, with so many suckers that you can’t keep up with removing them. There were also a lot of fruits, and they kept ripening until October (until I pulled the plant out). Outdoors in open ground, it was about a meter (3 ft) tall and the tomatoes weren’t as big.
We got our seeds from Tomatinka. The bush is short and spreading (we didn’t tie it up). Mid-season and has a long-fruiting season, still producing fruits. I rate the yield as good; the taste in autumn is better, around 4.5 out of 5.
The seeds were from the “Gavrish” company. In the greenhouse, it grew up to a meter (3 ft). Lots of fruits — variegated, beautiful. This was in 2014, so I didn’t weigh them and don’t have photos. Weight up to 100g (3.5 oz).
The flesh is very dry. I couldn’t stuff them because they were thin-walled and irregularly curved (ribbed). I won’t plant them again.
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