{"id":165,"date":"2026-08-18T11:30:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:30:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=165"},"modified":"2026-08-18T11:30:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T11:30:51","slug":"first-mate-tomato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/first-mate-tomato\/","title":{"rendered":"First Mate Tomato (Pervyy Pomoshchnik): Russian Growers 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;165&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;First Mate Tomato (Pervyy Pomoshchnik): Russian Growers 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 First Mate (Pervyy Pomoshchnik)<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83c\udf0d <strong>Origin:<\/strong> A stunning tricolor\/bicolor heirloom. In the Russian tomato community, it circulates under the direct translation <em>&#8220;Pervyy Pomoshchnik&#8221;<\/em> (First Mate).<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf3f <strong>Plant Habit:<\/strong> An indeterminate (tall) variety, though some growers describe it as a &#8220;short indeterminate&#8221; as it often tops out around 1.5\u20131.8m (5\u20136 ft) in the greenhouse. It has regular leaf (RL) foliage. Performs well when trained to 2 stems.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83c\udf45 <strong>Fruit Characteristics:<\/strong> Large, oblate (flattened-round) beefsteaks. The coloring is incredible: a tricolor blend of yellow, green, and red\/pink blushes. Weight typically ranges from 400g to a massive 600g (14\u201321 oz). The cross-section is a beautiful marbled pattern.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udc45 <strong>Flavor &amp; Texture:<\/strong> Highly rated! Very juicy, sweet, and delicious.<\/li>\n<li>\u26a0\ufe0f <strong>Growing Tip:<\/strong> When growing from swapped seeds, pay attention to the seedling stage\u2014it should have a regular leaf (RL). If you see potato leaves (PL) or other variations, the seed has likely segregated or crossed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\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\">tomik (Tamara) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (3,337 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>I grew this variety from seeds from different sources\u2014one from Germany and one from Kulik. They turned out to be completely identical.<\/p>\n<p>Indeterminate, about 1.8m (6 ft) tall, grew in the greenhouse, mid-season ripening. The fruits are large, 400\u2013600g (14\u201321 oz), oblate, tricolor, and very tasty \ud83d\ude0b I really liked the variety!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/143\/13426-030916182738.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/143\/thumb_13426-030916182738.jpeg\" alt=\"Large First Mate tricolor beefsteak tomato on scale\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/145\/13426-090916125217.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/145\/thumb_13426-090916125217.jpeg\" alt=\"Harvest of First Mate striped tricolor tomatoes\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/141\/13426-210816020103.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/141\/thumb_13426-210816020103.jpeg\" alt=\"First Mate tomato ripening on the vine\" \/><\/a><\/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 Pro Grower (758 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Klin District, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>I also liked this variety very much.<\/p>\n<p>Seeds were from Popenko. In the greenhouse, the bush height was up to 1.5 meters (5 ft). The fruits are very tasty, juicy, and sweet. The yield is good.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/attachments01\/64723_da92df9c4ea8f266b81af0cc5484b533c36809ad.jpg\" alt=\"First Mate tricolor tomatoes growing on bush\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">Z<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">zastenchivaya (Elena) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (2,986 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Lipetsk, Russia (USDA Zone 4\/5)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Could someone please tell me what kind of leaf it is supposed to have? Because mine seems to have segregated (didn&#8217;t grow true to type)&#8230;<\/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\">GalinaD (Galina) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (10,874 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Cherepovets, Vologda Region, Russia (USDA Zone 3\/4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Lena, the leaf is regular (RL), ordinary.<\/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 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>ilja wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\nI also liked this variety very much. Seeds were from Popenko. In the greenhouse, the bush height was up to 1.5 meters (5 ft). The fruits are very tasty, juicy, and sweet. The yield is good.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Could you please tell me what kind of leaf it had?<\/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\">Svetikk (Svetlana) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (29,344 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>Grew it in 2017 in the greenhouse, trained to 2 stems. It&#8217;s a short indeterminate, regular leaf (RL). I really liked the taste!<\/p>\n<p>And what a beautiful cross-section it has! Yield is good, fruit weight up to 400g (14 oz). A very worthy exotic variety.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/191\/166-050917123455.jpeg\" alt=\"Beautiful marbled tricolor cross section of First Mate\" \/><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/uploads\/newforum\/galleries\/191\/166-050917124417.jpeg\" alt=\"First Mate tomato sliced on a plate\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Quick Summary of First Mate (Pervyy Pomoshchnik) \ud83c\udf0d Origin: A stunning tricolor\/bicolor heirloom. In the Russian tomato community, it circulates under the direct translation &#8220;Pervyy Pomoshchnik&#8221; (First Mate). \ud83c\udf3f Plant Habit: An indeterminate (tall) variety, though some growers describe it as a &#8220;short indeterminate&#8221; as it often tops out around 1.5\u20131.8m (5\u20136 ft) in the &#8230; <a title=\"First Mate Tomato (Pervyy Pomoshchnik): Russian Growers Review\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/first-mate-tomato\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about First Mate Tomato (Pervyy Pomoshchnik): Russian Growers Review\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66,1,94],"tags":[98,157,72,33,156,71,155],"class_list":["post-165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bicolor","category-beefsteak-large-slicers","category-heirloom-other","tag-bicolor-beefsteak","tag-exotic-tomato","tag-greenhouse-tomato","tag-indeterminate","tag-regular-leaf","tag-sweet-tomato","tag-tricolor-tomato"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165","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=165"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165\/revisions\/166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}