{"id":1498,"date":"2026-09-01T10:38:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T10:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=1498"},"modified":"2026-09-01T10:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T10:38:08","slug":"black-baron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/black-baron\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Baron (Cherniy Baron) 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;1498&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 Baron (Cherniy Baron) 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 Baron (Black Baron)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83c\udf0d <strong>Origin:<\/strong> A Russian commercial variety. <strong>Important Note:<\/strong> There is significant seed confusion (off-types\/mix-ups) on the market depending on the seed company (e.g., Aelita vs. Johnsons).<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf45 <strong>Phenotype 1 (The True Baron):<\/strong> From some &#8220;Aelita&#8221; seed batches, growers get the correct variety\u2014a mid-season indeterminate producing beautiful, oblate (flattened-round) dark brown\/burgundy fruits with slight ribbing. Weights range from 100g to 350g (3.5 &#8211; 12 oz). Meaty, sweet, and highly praised.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf45 <strong>Phenotype 2 (The &#8220;Kumato&#8221; Type):<\/strong> From other batches (including English &#8220;Johnsons&#8221; seeds), growers report a completely different tomato: smaller (100-150g), perfectly round fruits that look and grow exactly like the commercial <em>Kumato<\/em>. These bushes are extremely powerful (&#8220;like baobabs&#8221;) and yield heavily, though taste reviews on this version are mixed.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf3f <strong>Plant Habit:<\/strong> Both versions produce exceptionally strong, thick-stemmed bushes. Some grew so sturdy outdoors that they barely needed staking.<\/li>\n<li>\u23f3 <strong>Yield &amp; Climate:<\/strong> Both versions are known for high yields and good disease resistance. The smaller &#8220;Kumato-type&#8221; needs a lot of heat to develop proper sweetness, otherwise, it can taste bland in cooler, northern regions.<\/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\">S<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Sofia 27 (Sofia) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (2,154 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Indeterminate, mid-season ripening. I grew 1 bush in the greenhouse. Yield was average. It&#8217;s a very meaty, sweetish little tomato. Fruit weight is from 100-350g (3.5 &#8211; 12 oz), very few seeds.<\/p>\n<p>The fruits are very beautiful, bright brown; you can&#8217;t confuse this variety with any other dark-fruited one. I constantly admired it. Unfortunately, I didn&#8217;t manage to take photos while it was growing or cut in half. I only remembered to do it when we had eaten almost everything and only a few small tomatoes were left. I will definitely grow it again.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/95\/13683-161015020036.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/95\/thumb_13683-161015020036.jpeg\" alt=\"Harvested dark brown Black Baron tomatoes\" width=\"89\" height=\"160\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">G<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">garnet (Svetlana) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Member (436 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd North-Western Siberia (USDA Zone 2b\/3a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Two absolute baobabs (huge trees) grew out of my seeds \ud83d\ude32. I trained them to 2 stems. Moreover, they developed and set fruit identically both in the open ground and in the greenhouse. Outdoors, you didn&#8217;t even need to tie them up\u2014the stems were so powerful, and the leaves balanced them out.<\/p>\n<p>They didn&#8217;t get sick with anything, and the yield was good. My fruits were about 100-150g (3.5-5 oz). Round shape, beautiful, even brown color, but the taste seemed&#8230; like nothing. Mushy, bland-sour. Maybe in southern regions, it would be tastier \ud83d\ude44<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/63328_df4344beaa2999e760167e5336aae0c7d8677868.jpg\" alt=\"Round Kumato type Black Baron variation\" width=\"1028\" height=\"497\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">T<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Tomatanya (Tatiana) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Moderator (10,243 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Leningrad Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Yes, Sveta, the variety turned out to be completely different from what was pictured on the packet. To me, it looks exactly like a <em>Kumato<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/94\/30-111015081040.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/94\/thumb_30-111015081040.jpeg\" alt=\"Round Kumato looking dark tomatoes\" width=\"160\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a><\/p>\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 27 (Sofia) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (2,154 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>My Black Baron was from <em>Aelita<\/em> [a Russian seed company], from a packet just like this. The fruits were oblate (flattened-round) with slight ribbing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/96\/13683-261015140141.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/96\/thumb_13683-261015140141.jpeg\" alt=\"Aelita seed packet for Cherniy Baron\" width=\"89\" height=\"160\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">G<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">garnet (Svetlana) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Member (436 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd North-Western Siberia (USDA Zone 2b\/3a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Tomatanya said:<\/strong><br \/>\nYes, Sveta, the variety turned out to be completely different from what was pictured on the packet. To me, it looks exactly like a Kumato.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Yeah, exactly, that&#8217;s what it was like \ud83d\ude1e. Once I tasted it, I didn&#8217;t even bother taking pictures. I thought it was just me being clumsy (having two left hands) and failing to grow foreign seeds from a &#8220;solid&#8221; packet \ud83d\ude06. I have no faith in <em>Johnsons<\/em> seeds anymore \ud83d\ude0e<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/94\/30-111015081040.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/94\/thumb_30-111015081040.jpeg\" alt=\"Off type round dark tomatoes on branch\" width=\"160\" height=\"120\" \/><\/a><\/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\">Danko (Elena) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (10,117 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>The fruit shapes are completely different! I&#8217;ll try to find the <em>Aelita<\/em> seeds. \ud83e\udd2b<\/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\">Veronika <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (3,436 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Girls, what was the batch number on the <em>Johnsons<\/em> seeds?<\/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\">Anela (Elena) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (3,216 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia (USDA Zone 4a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Sofia 27 said:<\/strong><br \/>\nMy Black Baron was from Aelita, from a packet just like this. The fruits were oblate with slight ribbing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I bought this exact Black Baron today&#8230; could you tell me the batch number?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/96\/13683-261015140141.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/96\/thumb_13683-261015140141.jpeg\" alt=\"Seed packet picture\" width=\"89\" height=\"160\" \/><\/a><\/p>\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 27 (Sofia) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (2,154 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Elena, the batch number is 16.560, expires 12\/2018.<\/p>\n<p>I will also repeat it this year, so we can compare notes.<\/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\">Anela (Elena) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (3,216 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia (USDA Zone 4a)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Sofia 27 said:<\/strong><br \/>\nElena, the batch number is 16.560&#8230; I will also repeat it this year, so we can compare notes.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I have the exact same batch! Good, we will compare \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\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\">Serafima (Tamara) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Member (130 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>I also had the English seeds, they looked exactly like the ones in garnet&#8217;s photo (the round ones). But I actually liked the taste\u2014they were sweetish and not watery, and very productive. They bore fruit for a very long time, and the taste improved significantly at the end of summer when the plant finally soaked up enough heat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">E<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Elka (Elena) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (2,169 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd South of Arkhangelsk Region, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Sofia 27 said:<\/strong><br \/>\nMy Black Baron was from Aelita, from a packet just like this.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>I had seeds from exactly the same packet and the exact same batch number, but it grew out looking like Tomatanya&#8217;s (the round <em>Kumato<\/em> type). It was no taller than a meter (3.2 ft) in my polycarbonate greenhouse, compact, with a sturdy trunk. The fruits were dense and juicy, and I liked the taste, so I will try it again.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/96\/13683-261015140141.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/96\/thumb_13683-261015140141.jpeg\" alt=\"Aelita seed packet\" width=\"89\" height=\"160\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Quick Summary of Cherniy Baron (Black Baron) \ud83c\udf0d Origin: A Russian commercial variety. Important Note: There is significant seed confusion (off-types\/mix-ups) on the market depending on the seed company (e.g., Aelita vs. Johnsons). \ud83c\udf45 Phenotype 1 (The True Baron): From some &#8220;Aelita&#8221; seed batches, growers get the correct variety\u2014a mid-season indeterminate producing beautiful, oblate (flattened-round) &#8230; <a title=\"Black Baron (Cherniy Baron) Tomato Review\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/black-baron\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Black Baron (Cherniy Baron) Tomato Review\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,5],"tags":[19,33,49,126],"class_list":["post-1498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-black-purple-tomatoes","category-russian-eastern-european-heirlooms","tag-dark-tomato","tag-indeterminate","tag-open-ground","tag-russian-heirloom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1498","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=1498"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1500,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1498\/revisions\/1500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}