Quick Summary of Smuglyanka (Dark-Skinned Girl)
- 🌍 Origin: This thread highlights a classic naming conflict! There are two completely different tomatoes sold in Russia under the name Smuglyanka (which translates to “Dark-Skinned Girl,” a famous Russian term of endearment and song).
- 🌿 Version 1 (Breeder N. Borzykh): A moderately tall, mid-season indeterminate. It is notably shade-tolerant and produces complex (multi-branching) trusses. The fruits are dark/black cocktail-sized tomatoes weighing 40-60g (1.4-2.1 oz). They have a tart flavor, making them excellent for canning whole.
- 🍅 Version 2 (Aelita Seed Company): A commercial determinate (bush) variety growing 60-90 cm (2-3 ft) tall. It produces large, flat-round, mahogany/brown beefsteaks weighing 170g (6 oz) and up. It has buttery, meaty flesh and a sweet, fruity flavor.
- 💡 Pro Tips: If you are buying seeds for this variety, check the description carefully to know whether you are getting the black cocktail tomato or the large mahogany beefsteak! Both are highly rated, but they are entirely different plants.
A variety bred by N. Borzykh. The bush is moderately tall, mid-season, and productive. It is very shade-tolerant and produces complex (multi-branching) flower trusses.
The fruits are cocktail-sized—40-60g (1.4-2.1 oz)—and black/dark in color. The flavor has a nice acidity/tartness, making them excellent for canning in jars.
Tatiana said:
The fruits are cocktail-sized—40-60g, black, flavor with acidity, excellent for canning.
I have nothing to add to that description except a photo! I liked the variety a lot!
Tanya, thank you for the seeds 🌹
I actually found a completely different description for this name:
Tomato Smuglyanka
Medium-early.
Originator: Agricultural firm “AELITA”
An amazing variety with large fruits of original coloring. For salads, medium-early. From germination to first harvest is 110-115 days. For plastic tunnels and open ground. Determinate plants, 60-90 cm (2-3 ft) tall. The fruits are meaty, weighing 170g (6 oz) and above. The taste is wonderful, the tomatoes are sweet and juicy. Yield under plastic cover is high – 7-8 kg/m².
Has anyone tried growing this one?
I grew the Smuglyanka from Aelita last year. I didn’t take any photos. The bush was planted in an unlucky spot, so (and I blame the location for this) there weren’t many fruits—about 2-4 per truss—but they were large! And they were very uniform in size, the ones on the bottom trusses were the exact same size as the ones on top.
The taste didn’t fluctuate throughout the summer, despite the weather being absolutely freezing and awful! Even so, it turned out to be one of the most delicious tomatoes I grew. It didn’t take the #1 spot, simply because my personal preferences (I love buttery, meaty flesh with low moisture and a fruity flavor) forced me to traditionally lean towards Southern Tan (Yuzhny Zagar) and Malachite Box. But it easily made my Top 5!
The fruits are oblate (flat-round), brownish-red, very striking, with slight greenish streaks on the shoulders. It didn’t crack. Beautiful. A pure salad tomato. I am very satisfied with it and it is firmly in my planting plans for next year—only this time, I will give it a better spot in the garden! )))
Oh, and the bush is very well-behaved and non-aggressive. Very few suckers, and it only grew to 1.4m (4.5 ft) in the greenhouse.
