{"id":1026,"date":"2026-08-27T14:29:59","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=1026"},"modified":"2026-08-27T14:30:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T14:30:22","slug":"fat-boatswain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/fat-boatswain\/","title":{"rendered":"Fat Boatswain Tomato Review: Striped Determinate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-auto kksr-align-left kksr-valign-top\"\n    data-payload='{&quot;align&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;1026&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;valign&quot;:&quot;top&quot;,&quot;ignore&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;reference&quot;:&quot;auto&quot;,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;count&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;legendonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;readonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;starsonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;best&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;gap&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;greet&quot;:&quot;Rate this&quot;,&quot;legend&quot;:&quot;0\\\/5 - (0 votes)&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Fat Boatswain Tomato Review: Striped Determinate&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;_legend&quot;:&quot;{score}\\\/{best} - ({count} {votes})&quot;,&quot;font_factor&quot;:&quot;1.25&quot;}'>\n            \n<div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 0px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                \n\n<div class=\"kksr-legend\" style=\"font-size: 19.2px;\">\n            <span class=\"kksr-muted\">Rate this<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<h2>Quick Summary of Tolstyi Botsman (Fat Boatswain)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83c\udf0d <strong>Origin:<\/strong> A commercial Russian variety introduced by the &#8220;Semena Altaya&#8221; (Seeds of Altai) company. The rather unique name translates to &#8220;Fat Boatswain&#8221;.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf3f <strong>Plant Habit:<\/strong> Determinate (bush). Intended for growing outdoors in open ground.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf45 <strong>Fruit Characteristics:<\/strong> Striped bicolor tomatoes (red with golden\/yellowish streaks). The largest fruits reach about 220g (7.7 oz). <strong>Note:<\/strong> Some growers report getting plain red fruits with no stripes, indicating potential seed mix-ups (off-types) from the vendor.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc45 <strong>Flavor:<\/strong> Widely considered a disappointment. Most growers rate the taste as completely mediocre (sweet-and-sour at best, &#8220;tasteless&#8221; at worst).<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udee1\ufe0f <strong>Disease Resistance:<\/strong> Very poor. In seasons with high disease pressure, this variety is often one of the very first to succumb entirely to late blight (phytophthora).<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udcc9 <strong>Overall Verdict:<\/strong> The general consensus on the forum is to skip this one. It grows very slowly, gets sick easily, and doesn&#8217;t offer a good enough flavor to justify the effort.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"add-review-cta\" style=\"margin: 20px 0; padding: 15px; background: #f9f9f9; border-left: 4px solid #4CAF50; border-radius: 4px;\"><strong>\ud83c\udf45 Grown this variety?<\/strong> <a href=\"#wpdcom\">Click here to add your own photos and review below!<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">\u041e<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Ovechka (Lyudmila) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Forum Pioneer (13,966 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Russia<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>I grew the variety &#8220;Tolstyi Botsman&#8221; (Fat Boatswain) from the <em>Semena Altaya<\/em> seed company in 2012 in open ground. Determinate. The fruits filled out very slowly. The weight of the largest fruit was 220g (7.7 oz). The taste was sweet-and-sour.<\/p>\n<div class=\"forum-gallery\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/7\/66-310114082355.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/7\/thumb_66-310114082355.jpeg\" alt=\"Fat Boatswain striped tomato on scale\" width=\"160\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/7\/66-310114082327.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/7\/thumb_66-310114082327.jpeg\" alt=\"Green striped Tolstyi Botsman tomato\" width=\"160\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">S<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">salix (Iva) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Grower (631 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Unknown<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>I also grew it in 2012, seeds from the same manufacturer. It was quite late. It set a lot of fruits, but I never got to taste them ripe, because despite all my preventative spraying, the entire plant got wiped out by late blight (phytophthora). Out of 17 varieties I grew, only two got infected, and one of them was Fat Boatswain. I cut the infected spots off all the green tomatoes and canned them green into a traditional relish\/salad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">M<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Meri <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (3,474 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Western Siberia, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Lyuda, did you prune (sucker) your &#8220;Fat Boatswain&#8221;? Yours looks very nice in the photo and actually has stripes. Many people complained that theirs didn&#8217;t have any stripes and were just regular red tomatoes, probably mixed-up seeds (off-types). I included it in my planting plans for the open ground, I&#8217;ll plant 2 bushes. The seeds have been sitting around for 2 years, I need to try them\u2014maybe I&#8217;ll get lucky and it will actually match the variety description.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">\u041e<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Ovechka (Lyudmila) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Forum Pioneer (13,966 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Russia<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Meri, I don&#8217;t even remember if I pruned it or not. I didn&#8217;t really like the taste. But yeah, it was pretty, nice and striped.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">D<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Drozd (Olga) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Vegetable Grower (153 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Unknown<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>I didn&#8217;t like Fat Boatswain either, there are much better varieties out there.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">V<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Vladvlad (Vladimir) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (1,180 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Cheboksary, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>This is what it looks like&#8230; in its packaging&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"forum-gallery\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/43\/12284-021214174044.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/43\/thumb_12284-021214174044.jpeg\" alt=\"Fat Boatswain original Russian seed packet\" width=\"160\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">S<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Sofia <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Grower (764 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Unknown<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>I grew it this year from that exact same packet. It was absolutely nothing special. I could easily add it to my list of total disappointments.<\/p>\n<div class=\"forum-gallery\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/31\/22-210814062603.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/31\/thumb_22-210814062603.jpeg\" alt=\"Harvest of striped Tolstyi Botsman tomatoes\" width=\"160\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Quick Summary of Tolstyi Botsman (Fat Boatswain) \ud83c\udf0d Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the &#8220;Semena Altaya&#8221; (Seeds of Altai) company. The rather unique name translates to &#8220;Fat Boatswain&#8221;. \ud83c\udf3f Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Intended for growing outdoors in open ground. \ud83c\udf45 Fruit Characteristics: Striped bicolor tomatoes (red with golden\/yellowish streaks). The largest fruits &#8230; <a title=\"Fat Boatswain Tomato Review: Striped Determinate\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/fat-boatswain\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Fat Boatswain Tomato Review: Striped Determinate\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,52,5],"tags":[54,74,182,43,49,122],"class_list":["post-1026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bicolor","category-bush-and-dwarf","category-russian-eastern-european-heirlooms","tag-bush-tomato","tag-determinate-tomato","tag-late-blight","tag-late-season","tag-open-ground","tag-striped-tomato"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1026"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1028,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026\/revisions\/1028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}