Quick Summary of Supermodel
- 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the Siberian Garden (SibSad) seed company.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (short bush), usually growing to about 70 cm (27 inches). It is highly suited for outdoor growing (open ground).
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Designed to be an elongated pinkish-red paste/icicle tomato, roughly 10-15 cm (4-6 inches) long. However, growers frequently note that SibSad seed packets are notoriously inconsistent, often producing “chubby” or barrel-shaped fruits rather than the slender “model” shape advertised.
- 👅 Culinary Use: Highly versatile. The flesh is dense, meaty, and sweet. Growers highly recommend it for fresh salads, canning/marinades, and it is considered excellent for making sun-dried tomatoes.
- ⏳ Maturity: Opinions vary based on growing zones. Some find it to be a late-season “slow thinker,” while others successfully direct-sow it outdoors with early, heavy yields.
It seemed identical to Petrusha (Petrusha-Gardener) and Pink Stella to me. But slightly smaller. And it cracked less, unlike the first two. The bush is short. The fruits are tasty. They are great for eating fresh, for marinades/canning, and for making sun-dried tomatoes.
Vera, I also planted Supermodel last season (Galina Esme sent me the seeds).
It was quite late, BUT the fruits are really meaty and sweet, fruit length is 10-15 cm (4-6 inches), and the bush height was about 70 cm (27 inches). I haven’t tried it in marinades, I only planted two bushes, but it is excellent in fresh salads!
I planted Supermodel this year. But all my determinate varieties got sick with some unknown crud. I can only say one thing – it was not a twin to Petrusha for me. The shape is a bit different, more elongated. Seeds were from SibSad (Siberian Garden), 2011 batch.
Mine didn’t have model looks at all 😃, it looked more like a little barrel. SibSad seeds.
Oh, this SibSad is full of miracles – everyone grew something different.
I wrote that it is smaller and skinnier than Petrusha. But regarding it being late… no. I direct-sowed it right into the garden bed and it managed to set fruit very well… 😕
I planted Supermodel last season, really liked the variety. True, the fruits are not as elongated as shown on the SibSad seed packet, but they are tasty and meaty. This season I will definitely plant about 3 bushes in open ground!
Determinate, average yield, tasty and sweet, but the “Supermodel” shape wasn’t great – it was kind of like an icicle, but very chubby, and there were some crooked wonky ones too.
Supermodels back in the day used to be exactly like this: with some meat and curves on them. The creators of the variety clearly like curves; they aren’t dogs to throw themselves at bones 🙂.
The variety grew in open ground, late harvest, showed itself to be a “slow thinker”, taste rating is a 4 (out of 5).
