📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vostochnaya Pyshka (Eastern Pyshka)
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial/heirloom variety. The name translates to “Eastern Pyshka” (a pyshka is a plump doughnut, often used to describe something very plump, round, and meaty). It was popularized by Russian seed collector V. Redko.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Growers note this plant is an absolute monster. It is extremely vigorous and can easily shoot past 8.2 feet (2.5 m) in a greenhouse.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large pinkish-red beefsteaks, typically weighing 10.5-21 oz (300-600 g). The flesh is very dense, meaty, and features a classic sugary/granular texture when sliced.
- 👅 Flavor: Known for being exceptionally sweet with virtually zero acidity. A perfect slicing tomato for those who prefer mild, low-acid profiles.
- ⚠️ Grower’s Note: This plant sets a heavy load of massive fruits very early. You absolutely must provide extra staking and support for the fruit clusters, otherwise the trusses will kink and snap under the sheer weight!
“Mid-season, tall. Fruits are pinkish-red, weight 10.5-21 oz (300-600 g), meaty, the flesh is granular/sugary and sweet. The flavor is ideal.” (This is the variety description from Redko).
I grew it in the greenhouse. Yield was good. I rate the flavor a 5 out of 5, perfectly balanced. This variety is definitely going on my permanent grow list.
One of my heaviest yielders this year. Good salad slicing flavor, overall I was very pleasantly surprised by it. I’ll definitely be planting it again.
A very vigorous plant, it set a ton of large fruits early on (growing in a poly greenhouse). Mine grew over 8.2 feet (2.5 m) tall, it’s not just a plant, it’s an absolute monster! It absolutely requires heavy-duty staking for both the main plant and the fruit trusses. I’d say as soon as the baby tomatoes reach the size of a plum, you need to tie up the trusses or prop them up somehow… I didn’t keep a close eye on mine, and a bunch of trusses kinked and broke 😞
It was one of the very first varieties to start ripening for me this year. The tomatoes are sweet, absolutely zero acidity. My husband said, “Plant these, and plant a lot of them!” Big thanks to Angelina for the seeds!
Here are a few photos of the ones that already ripened. I couldn’t get a good shot of them hanging on the plant (just red spots hiding in the greenery) because my tomato jungle wouldn’t let me get a good camera angle 🤪
