Quick Summary of Solokha
- 🌍 Origin & Name: A popular Eastern European variety. “Solokha” is a female name, famously known as the lively, mischievous village witch in Nikolai Gogol’s classic tale “The Night Before Christmas”.
- 🔍 The “Two Strains” Mystery: Forum discussions reveal there are at least two distinct genetic lines circulating under this name:
1. The Siberian Garden (SibSad) Strain: A determinate (short) bush up to 65-100 cm (2-3 ft), producing dense, raspberry-pink plum/pear-shaped tomatoes weighing 120-160g (4-5.5 oz).
2. The Ukrainian Strain (via private collectors): An indeterminate (tall) vine reaching 1.5m (5 ft) or more, highly disease-resistant, producing massive yields of rounder pink/red fruits.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Regardless of the strain, the fruits are highly valued for their dense, meaty texture, making them excellent for fresh eating and perfect for canning.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Generally grown outdoors (open ground). Known to be heat-tolerant and capable of setting fruit “like crazy” even in adverse conditions.
Solokha:
Seeds are from SibSad (Siberian Garden).
A mid-early variety for open ground. The plant is determinate, up to 65 cm (25 inches) tall, pruned up to the first truss. The fruits are pear-shaped, weighing 120-160g (4.2-5.6 oz). The color is raspberry-pink. They are very dense. Towards the top of the bush, the tomatoes got smaller.
Left – Solokha, right – Torbay.
I grew Solokha for 3 years. Seeds from SibSad. The fruits looked just like the ones on the seed packet. The variety is definitely not early; for example, Bull’s Heart started ripening 2 weeks earlier. My bushes were taller, somewhere around 1 meter (3 feet). The fruits were pink, around 150 grams (5.3 oz), with an ordinary taste. Disease resistance is average (meaning some individual bushes got sick). The yield is average, about 2 kg (4.4 lbs) per plant. Overall, it performed like a very mediocre variety for me.
I planted Solokha in 2012. It performed extremely well 👍. Despite the terrible heat, it set fruit like crazy. It grew outdoors in open ground, and I didn’t prune it. The taste was very good with a nice touch of sweetness. Dense, meaty, and very productive. From two bushes, I harvested 4.7 kg (10.3 lbs) and 4.3 kg (9.5 lbs). The seeds were from SibSad. Now I save my own seeds 🧺.
My Solokha is an indeterminate, seeds were from Valentina Redko.
Solokha (Ukraine strain) – tall, very low-maintenance, and disease-resistant. Lots of fruits on the bush, weighing 160g (5.6 oz). They are very tasty both fresh and canned. An excellent variety. I got 7 kg (15.4 lbs) per bush.
It grew outdoors, reaching about 1.5 m (5 feet) in height. Overall, I really liked this variety for its taste, yield, and disease resistance. 👍 It’s just a pity I only had one plant. 😃
Lyuba, yours are also 160g. Just divided by three! 😃 They look soooo appetizing! 😋 👍
Galina said:
Lyuba, yours are also 160g. Just divided by three! 😃 They look soooo appetizing! 😋 👍
Galina, my friend grew them in a greenhouse and hers turned out larger than mine 😉, mine grew outdoors and were smaller, but the taste is also different. Mine are tastier. 😃
The seeds were exactly the same.
Lyuba, how was Solokha’s overall yield for you in open ground?
And our Solokha is completely different. A small bush with pink-raspberry tomatoes, but they are also quite large 😋.
Galina said:
Lyuba, how was Solokha’s overall yield for you in open ground?
Galina, the kids constantly kept coming to the dacha and picking the tomatoes (I was stuck at home at the time 😞). My husband said it’s a great variety and we should definitely keep growing it.
We had tomatoes all the way until autumn. 😉
Svetlana, it’s beautiful, and tasty and productive too! Do you need to prune it? And whose seeds are those?
Elena said:
Svetlana, it’s beautiful, and tasty and productive too! Do you need to prune it? And whose seeds are those?
I pruned it just a little bit, the seeds are from Schastliviy Sad (Happy Garden).
I liked the Solokha variety for its unusual fruit shape and excellent taste. In the greenhouse, it was 1-1.2 meters (3-4 feet) tall, productive, mid-season ripening. Medium-sized fruits, raspberry-colored, plum-shaped. Very tasty, sweet.