📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vinson (Vinson Watts)
- 🌍 Origin & Name Confusion: This variety circulates in Eastern Europe simply as “Vinson”. However, based on the description (large pink beefsteaks with Potato Leaf foliage), it is almost certainly the legendary American heirloom Vinson Watts, brought over and shortened in translation. Vinson Watts is a famous heirloom from Virginia/Kentucky that was meticulously preserved for over 50 years.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching over 6.5 ft (2 m) in a greenhouse. It features prominent Potato Leaf (PL) foliage and grows into a vigorous, sturdy plant.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, smooth, flat-round (oblate) beefsteaks. The color is a beautiful pinkish-crimson. Weights typically range from 10.5 to 21 oz (300-600 g).
- 👅 Flavor: Highly praised for its excellent, sweet, and aromatic flavor. However, as noted in the thread, it requires plenty of sunshine to reach its full flavor potential—if shaded or grown in poor weather, it can taste a bit bland.
- ⏳ Maturity & Yield: Early to mid-early. Many growers note it is one of the very first large-fruited beefsteaks to ripen in the greenhouse. Extremely heavy yielder, highly recommended for regions with short, unstable summers.
Seeds from V. Redko.
Her description for “Vinson”: “Fruits are flat-round, smooth, crimson/pink color, weighing 10.5-21 oz (300-600 g). The flesh is dense, aromatic, with excellent taste.”
Grew it in the greenhouse. Tall, indeterminate. Potato Leaf (PL). Excellent yield. My fruits weighed 10.5-12.3 oz (300-350 g).
Edited Nov 12, 2014 by Ovechka
And the height? 😉
Kristina, I edited my post. It’s tall, indeterminate.
I also grew Vinson from V. Redko. The variety is extremely productive; if I remember correctly, it even set trusses every two leaves instead of three. It was one of the very first large-fruited greenhouse varieties to ripen for me.
However, I absolutely did not like the taste of the fruits – they were bland. I tasted them several times throughout the summer.
This variety would be great for regions with cold, unstable summers, where it will still deliver a heavy, reliable yield.
My Vinson was also from V. Redko. Taste-wise, it was the best out of the 200 varieties I grew. It was planted right by the greenhouse door on the south side, so it got a ton of sunshine. Maybe that’s why?
I had 3 plants growing in the greenhouse, all three were roughly 5 ft (1.5 m) tall. Potato leaf. It ripened as one of the very first, in early July. Liked the taste. Though we aren’t spoiled by great weather up here.
Grew the Vinson variety this year, seeds were sent to me from Ukraine. Loved the variety, both heavy-yielding and delicious.
Grew it in the greenhouse, pruned it to 3 main stems. Extremely productive and delicious. Potato leaf, the bush is very vigorous. Loved it a lot.
Definitely a candidate to grow again next year.
Will always plant this one. A very reliable variety.
Unlike you respected veterans of the tomato front, I’ve only been heavily involved with this vegetable for 4 years, but it seems to me that based on the combination of characteristics: fantastic taste, high yield, huge fruit size, early maturity, disease resistance, and decent shelf life—the Vinson variety is one of the absolute best in its category.
Respected tomato growers! Is the Vinson variety you are all describing here the exact same thing as Vinson Watts?
