Quick Summary of Sakharnyi Bizon (Sugar Bison)
- 🌍 Origin: A famous Russian amateur selection that has become a commercial classic (popularized by companies like Siberian Garden / SibSad). The name translates to “Sugar Bison” and it is considered the forefather of many modern Russian pink varieties.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Highly debated! Seed packets often list it as determinate (80-100 cm / 3 ft), but most growers report it behaves as an indeterminate or semi-determinate, reaching 1.2 – 1.5m (4-5 ft) or taller in a greenhouse. Some strains exhibit Potato Leaf (PL) foliage, while others have regular leaves.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large to giant pinkish-red tomatoes. Shapes can vary from round beefsteaks to blunt, elongated hearts. Weight typically ranges from 200g (7 oz) to massive 600g (1.3 lbs) fruits. They have thin skin which can crack if overwatered, but the cracks heal well.
- 👅 Flavor: Living up to its “Sugar” name, it is incredibly sweet, meaty, and juicy. Excellent for fresh eating and makes fantastic tomato juice.
- 📈 Yield: Seed packets boldly claim up to 25 kg (55 lbs) per plant, which is an exaggeration, but growers confirm it is a very heavy and reliable yielder under good conditions.
Description from the seed packet:
“One of the best varieties of amateur breeding. The forefather of many promising varieties and types. A very adaptable variety based on its characteristics. Advantages of the variety: large fruits (from 250 to 600g / 8.8-21 oz) with fairly early ripening times, combined with a determinate bush type (80-100 cm / 2.5-3.3 ft). The variety is famous for its very tasty, meaty, sugary pink fruits.”
Photo author: Galya-64
Sakharnyi Bizon was my sweetest variety last season. The bush was a bit fussy, so the yield wasn’t great. Next season I will definitely plant it again.
Ilya, is it really early and determinate, as written in the first post?
NATA-HA said:
Ilya, is it really early and determinate, as written in the first post?
Natalia, in my greenhouse it was of medium height (1.2-1.5 meters / 4-5 feet). I wouldn’t call it early. It turned out to be more mid-early.
And my packet says: “Giant tomato. The plant is vigorous, tall, fruits are large, round, weighing 300g (10.5 oz) and more, excellent taste. The color of the fruit and flesh is deep red. Mid-season variety.” — nothing about height in cm or whether it’s det/indet. I’ll just see what grows, if it grows.
And I also found this description online:
Description of Sugar Bison Tomatoes
Ripening: Mid-early
Main advantage: Characterized by drought resistance and high fruit setting.
Growing: Open / Closed ground (greenhouse)
Days to maturity: 110 – 120 days
Fruit Color: Pink-red
Flesh: Meaty
Weight: 350 – 400 g (12-14 oz)
Plant Height: 1 – 1.5 m (3.3 – 5 ft)
Bush: Determinate
Total Yield: up to 25 kg (55 lbs) per bush
Viktoria. said:
Total Yield: up to 25 kg (55 lbs) per bush
I got 3-4 kg (6.6-8.8 lbs) per bush at best. I can’t call Sugar Bison high-yielding, but I will still plant it again. It’s just too delicious.
Well, maybe under certain conditions it will be more productive. I will only be trying it for the first time, provided the seeds in the packet are actually Sugar Bison.
Everyone praises the taste, so I decided to try it, but I suspect I might not like it—I don’t like overly sweet ones.
Viktoria. said:
Everyone praises the taste, so I decided to try it, but I suspect I might not like it—I don’t like overly sweet ones.
Well, that’s a very interesting review of a variety! 😆
Mine has potato leaf (PL) foliage. A very vigorous bush right from the seedling stage.
Mine didn’t seem to sprout at all.
I grew it for the first year. It turned out to be early, very productive—8 trusses on the bush, with 6-7 fruits averaging about 200g (7 oz) each. Sweet, juicy, excellent for making juice. Mine cracked, but I think that’s because peppers were growing nearby, so it got extra moisture. Either way, the cracks were kind of neat—just the thin skin bursting, they didn’t rot and the edges didn’t get rough/corky.
Second year growing it outdoors in open ground. The yield is excellent. Now I understand why this variety became the forefather of many modern pink varieties.
In 2019, growing outdoors, I didn’t prune them at all, and I was up to my ears in tomatoes. In 2020, it was a rainy summer, I constantly battled with suckers and basal shoots, and there were few tomatoes (about 2 per truss), but they were large and sweet, shaped like elongated hearts.
And I will show you what Sakharnyi Bizon looks like when sliced open.
Sugar Bison in 2021 was taller than last year. Seeds were from the same packet. I pruned it to 1 stem, had 2 bushes, the fruits were smaller but still tasty, it seems I overfed them.
On 11/15/2021 at 10:11 PM, Inna5867 said:
Sugar Bison in 2021 was taller than last year. Seeds were from the same packet. I pruned it to 1 stem, had 2 bushes, the fruits were smaller but still tasty, it seems I overfed them.
Could you please tell me which seed company/producer you used?
On 02/03/2022 at 2:09 PM, Jewel said:
Could you please tell me which seed company/producer you used?
SibSad (Siberian Garden). The seeds had been sitting around for a couple of years, I just got lucky…
This year it is my record holder for yield. From 300g (10.5 oz) and up. There were only about 3 small ones.
