Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-4 Experience)
Strawberry Leopard (USA). Got my seeds from V. Redko. The bush is mid-height, early season. Fruits are red with yellow “freckles,” weighing about 10.5-14 oz (300-400 g). The flesh is sweet, juicy, and really meaty with hardly any seeds. It started blushing on July 4th (sowed the seeds March 3, planted out in the greenhouse May 3).
To be honest, it tasted absolutely amazing as the very first tomato of the year. But once the main crop of heirlooms started ripening, it tasted pretty basic in comparison. Good yields.
I grew this variety too, seeds also from V. Redko. I had two plants going, one in the greenhouse and one out in the dirt. It’s mid-height and pretty darn early. Flavor was just your standard, run-of-the-mill tomato taste. Yield was nothing to write home about either. And there were absolutely zero speckles or freckles on any of the tomatoes, unlike what the description promised.
Just how early are we talking here?
In the greenhouse, it started ripening in late June. I sowed seeds on March 10 and planted them in the greenhouse on April 20. For the one out in the dirt, I planted it in early May and it started ripening in early July.
It was my earliest one too, grew it out in the dirt. The bush got to about 4 ft (1.2 m) tall, good yield, weights were around 4-7 oz (120-200 g). But I didn’t get any freckles on a single tomato either. Starting to think we’re dealing with an off-type here… 😞
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and The “Freckle” Mystery
- 🌿 Plant: Semi-determinate, reaching about 4 ft (1.2 m). A notably early variety that performs well both in greenhouses and outdoors.
- 📈 Yield: Generally good, especially for an early-season variety, though some growers found it underwhelming.
- 👅 Taste: As is common with ultra-early tomatoes, the flavor is highly appreciated when it’s the first ripe fruit of the season, but growers note it falls flat and tastes “basic” once the sweeter mid-season heirlooms arrive.
- 🍅 Fruit Size & Appearance (The Mix-up): Supposed to be a red slicer weighing 10.5-14 oz (300-400 g) with distinctive yellow spots or “freckles.” However, multiple growers from the same seed source reported growing plain red tomatoes, indicating a highly unstable seed line or an accidental cross.
