{"id":1477,"date":"2026-09-01T09:47:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=1477"},"modified":"2026-09-01T09:54:59","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T09:54:59","slug":"black-giant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/black-giant\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Giant (Cherniy Gigant ) Tomato Review"},"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;1477&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;Black Giant (Cherniy Gigant ) Tomato Review&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 Cherniy Gigant (Black Giant)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83c\udf0d <strong>Origin:<\/strong> A popular commercial Russian heirloom. Some experienced growers note it is practically identical to the well-known variety <em>Cherniy Slon (Black Elephant)<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf3f <strong>Plant Habit:<\/strong> Indeterminate (tall), usually reaching 1.5 &#8211; 2 meters (5-6.5 ft). Some growers report it can terminate its own growth (top itself out) in late summer. It features <strong>potato leaf (PL)<\/strong> foliage.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf45 <strong>Fruit Characteristics:<\/strong> Deep burgundy\/dark red beefsteaks with distinct, stable ribbing at the shoulders. Despite the name &#8220;Giant&#8221;, average weights are typically 200-300g (7-10 oz), with larger fruits reaching about 480g (1 lb).<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc45 <strong>Flavor &amp; Texture:<\/strong> Highly rated for its juicy, meaty texture and sweet, rich flavor profile typical of dark Russian varieties.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83e\uddec <strong>Genetics Note:<\/strong> Be aware that some seed lines may be unstable. Growers have reported heavy segregation (off-types), resulting in striped variations or differing fruit colors from a single seed batch.<\/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\">M<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Marisha (Marina) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (3,652 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p><strong>Cherniy Gigant (Black Giant).<\/strong> I got my seeds from D. Gusev <em>[a known Russian seed collector]<\/em>. It was tall, reached 160 cm (5.2 ft), but it topped itself (terminated growth) in mid-August. According to the seller&#8217;s description: <em>&#8220;Up to 1 kg (2.2 lbs) in weight. Juicy, tasty, meaty. High yielding! The bush is simply covered with huge tomatoes, which is rare for large-fruited varieties.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>What actually happened: the fruits have a beautiful, consistently ribbed floral shape, dark red color, weighing mostly 200-300 grams (7-10 oz), the largest was 480 grams (1 lb). It didn&#8217;t set large clusters\u2014consistently 2-3 fruits per truss. Good yield, tasty tomato. I&#8217;m thinking, out of the old &#8220;black&#8221; varieties, I&#8217;ll plant a maximum of two (I have a lot of new ones to try), and I used to grow 6 dark varieties&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><em>Edited January 29, 2015 by Drosera<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments\/57870_0fe133b810522ca9dc019b5033cb339291068bf6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments\/57870_0fe133b810522ca9dc019b5033cb339291068bf6.jpg\" alt=\"Harvested Cherniy Gigant ribbed dark tomatoes\" width=\"300\" height=\"400\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">A<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Anastasi@ (Nastya) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Member (407 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>It grew in the greenhouse, and on the first two trusses of the &#8220;giant&#8221;, it set many small fruits the size of a walnut \ud83d\ude02, but in August, when it got cooler, the variety showed itself in all its glory! Very tasty!!! \ud83d\udc4d<\/p>\n<p>Not exactly a &#8220;giant&#8221;, of course (for me, giant fruits are 700g \/ 1.5 lbs and above), but averaging 300g (10 oz) combined with good yield.<\/p>\n<p>I will definitely repeat it from my own saved seeds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">I<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">ilja (Ilya) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Member (758 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Klinsky District, Moscow Region (USDA Zone 4a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>My Black Giant segregated heavily (produced off-types). I ended up with 3 variations. The first had slight burgundy swirls. The second variation had solid burgundy fruits, and the third turned out to be the most interesting. In addition to the dark color, it also had beautiful striping.<\/p>\n<p>In all variations, the fruits were juicy and sweet. In the greenhouse, the bushes were about 2 meters (6.5 ft) tall.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65134_a31388dc0996acbfc1ddf8221ba8a25246030a55.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65134_a31388dc0996acbfc1ddf8221ba8a25246030a55.jpg\" alt=\"Black Giant off-type solid burgundy tomato\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65136_3d36c6aef9c4d6b578d801e17ffc018bbff9c2cd.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65136_3d36c6aef9c4d6b578d801e17ffc018bbff9c2cd.jpg\" alt=\"Striped off-type of Cherniy Gigant tomato\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65138_0330fb0d1c42f2db2c961f9142580fe75a9c8492.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65138_0330fb0d1c42f2db2c961f9142580fe75a9c8492.jpg\" alt=\"Striped tomato cut in half showing dense flesh\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">A<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Alisa <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (6,406 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>ilja (Ilya) said:<\/strong><br \/>\nMy Black Giant segregated heavily&#8230; The second variation had solid burgundy fruits, and the third turned out to be the most interesting. In addition to the dark color, it also had beautiful striping&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>They are all handsome, especially the striped one, you simply can&#8217;t take your eyes off it! What were their ripening times? Did they differ from each other? And how did the yields compare?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">I<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">ilja (Ilya) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Member (758 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Klinsky District, Moscow Region (USDA Zone 4a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Alisa said:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat were their ripening times? Did they differ from each other? And how did the yields compare?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The first variation (with redder fruits) was culled and given to relatives to eat \ud83d\ude42 It ripened the very first among the 3 variations, and I would classify it as mid-season. The other two variations started ripening a little later.<\/p>\n<p>As far as I remember, the variation with stripes on the fruits didn&#8217;t have a very good yield, but the soil in that greenhouse was depleted (tired), and many varieties performed poorly there. The other two variations (1st and 2nd) grew in new beds, and their yield was good.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65140_756e1a92c4ecf8d68a3a3fb0b092146a74952246.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65140_756e1a92c4ecf8d68a3a3fb0b092146a74952246.jpg\" alt=\"Harvest of varying Black Giant off-types\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65142_634adc7888281fab816847a5afa205f9d94e8e2f.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65142_634adc7888281fab816847a5afa205f9d94e8e2f.jpg\" alt=\"Striped phenotype growing on the vine\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65144_f43c9bbd6d3a6818c953258c9cb6f0656935d410.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/65144_f43c9bbd6d3a6818c953258c9cb6f0656935d410.jpg\" alt=\"Sliced burgundy tomato off-type\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">A<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Alisa <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (6,406 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>ilja (Ilya) said:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe first variation (with redder fruits) was culled and given to relatives to eat&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>They look so alive! I would eat all that &#8220;cull&#8221; right now in a fresh salad! I wish summer would come sooner!<\/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\">tomatinka (Vera) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (14,911 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Tyumen Region, Siberia (USDA Zone 3a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Black Giant and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/black-elephant\/\">Black Elephant (Cherniy Slon)<\/a> were identical for me. Grew outdoors in open ground. Bushes were about 1.5 meters (5 ft) tall. Yield and taste are good. IMHO. <strong>Potato leaf.<\/strong> Irina, you wrote that you don&#8217;t plant these kinds, right? I didn&#8217;t include anything with a potato leaf in your seed package.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Quick Summary of Cherniy Gigant (Black Giant) \ud83c\udf0d Origin: A popular commercial Russian heirloom. Some experienced growers note it is practically identical to the well-known variety Cherniy Slon (Black Elephant). \ud83c\udf3f Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), usually reaching 1.5 &#8211; 2 meters (5-6.5 ft). Some growers report it can terminate its own growth (top itself out) &#8230; <a title=\"Black Giant (Cherniy Gigant ) Tomato Review\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/black-giant\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Black Giant (Cherniy Gigant ) Tomato Review\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,89,5],"tags":[19,33,82,28,126,15],"class_list":["post-1477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beefsteak-large-slicers","category-black-purple-tomatoes","category-russian-eastern-european-heirlooms","tag-dark-tomato","tag-indeterminate","tag-meaty-tomato","tag-potato-leaf","tag-russian-heirloom","tag-sweet-flavor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1477","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=1477"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1486,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1477\/revisions\/1486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}