Quick Summary of Sofia’s Red Comet (Ryzhaya Kometa Sofii)
- 🌍 Origin: A magnificent modern breeding line created by Russian breeder Sofia Saakova. The name translates to “Sofia’s Red Comet” (or literally “Ginger/Red-haired Comet”).
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, growing to about 1.8m – 2m (6 – 6.5 ft). Mid-early ripening.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: The breeder’s description calls for bright orange, heart-shaped fruits with good anthocyanin (purple/black) shoulders, weighing 200-400g (7-14 oz).
- ⚠️ Genetic Stability: Important Note: This is a relatively new variety still in the stabilization stage. Many growers report segregation (the variety is unstable). Some get the intended orange hearts with heavy anthocyanin, others get barely any anthocyanin, and some end up with blocky/barrel-shaped fruits instead of hearts.
- 👅 Flavor & Texture: Despite the genetic variations in shape and color, growers unanimously agree that the flavor is absolutely phenomenal. The yellow/orange flesh is dense, juicy, and extremely sweet. Very few seeds.
A variety bred by Sofia Saakova.
Breeder’s description:
Sofia’s Red Comet. One of the lines from my “Star Series,” one of my most favorite varieties. It has shown good stability, but at this stage of stabilization, it can still segregate (unstable). Indeterminate 1.8m-2m (6-6.5 ft). Mid-early. The fruits are bright orange, heart-shaped, with good anthocyanin expression. 200-400g (7-14 oz). The flesh is yellow, dense, juicy, very, very sweet—an incredibly delicious tomato. Very few seeds in the fruits.
For me, the variety turned out to be very productive and beautiful. All the tomatoes are large.
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I grew it for the first time in 2023, the seeds were from Sofia, I found them mixed in with the “Fire Comet” variety. Tasty, sweet, with heavy anthocyanin expression.
I repeated it from my own saved seeds this season, and the anthocyanin barely showed up by the end of the season, just a little bit on the upper trusses.
This is the version of this variety I got this year. It made it into my Top 10 best-tasting varieties of 2025. The only issue was that the fruits cracked. The fruits were barrel-shaped (blocky), not looking like hearts at all.
Apparently, this variety will live on in many different variations due to its genetic instability. I will repeat my version next season to see how it performs in terms of taste on a second run.
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