{"id":6072,"date":"2026-10-22T13:44:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T13:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=6072"},"modified":"2026-10-22T13:45:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T13:45:02","slug":"oslinye-ushi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/oslinye-ushi\/","title":{"rendered":"Donkey Ears (Oslinye Ushi) Tomato Review & Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\ud83c\udf45 Quick take:<\/strong> Oslinye Ushi (Donkey Ears) is a mid-season, indeterminate<\/strong> pink\/raspberry elongated plum tomato<\/strong>. Known for its classic oxheart-style wispy, drooping foliage, the vine produces large, meaty, and sweet fruits weighing up to 14 oz (400 g). While most growers praise it as a highly productive workhorse with excellent flavor, it requires consistent watering to prevent fruit cracking. Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/div>\n

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Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-7 Experience)<\/h2>\n

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Marisha (Marina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,652 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Oslinye Ushi variety (mine are from V. Redko). Indeterminate, mid-season (first fruits ripened in the greenhouse in very early July). The shape is a large plum, slightly ribbed near the stem, raspberry-red, up to 10.5 oz (300 g), tasty, 3-6 tomatoes per truss. Pruned it to two stems, height reached 6.5 ft (2 m), doesn’t take up much space and requires moderate suckering. Will definitely plant it again next year, it’s a tasty and productive tomato. You just want to hold these big plums in your hand.\"Donkey<\/a>
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Svetlyachok-plyus (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,450 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In the photo showing the cross-section, the flesh has a literal diamond sparkle \ud83d\ude0d Gorgeous!<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tomatanya (Tatiana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (10,247 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Leningrad Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Grew Donkey Ears this season, seeds from T. Yashchenko. The vine is tall, sparse foliage, internodes are spaced far apart. The fruits are large, soft, and don’t store for long.\"Donkey<\/a>
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Tatiana21 (Tatiana) \ud83c\udf31 Beginner (82 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Hey folks, is the Donkey Ears variety meaty or not? I really like meaty, sweet tomatoes, but my kids prefer juicy ones. I end up having to split my grow list 50\/50 for us and them, it’s such a headache. So glad this forum exists.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tomatanya (Tatiana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (10,247 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Leningrad Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
It’s meaty but not overly dense, a little grainy in texture, so it should be perfect for you \ud83d\ude09<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Marina \u2b50 Pro Grower (2,483 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
As usual, my experience is completely different from everyone else’s. Didn’t work out for me. Barely pumped out 2 tomatoes by the end of the season. It didn’t like my greenhouse, probably needs more heat.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Marisha (Marina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,652 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Marina wrote:<\/strong>
\nAs usual, my experience is completely different from everyone else’s. Didn’t work out for me. Barely pumped out 2 tomatoes by the end of the season.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Marina, where did you get your seeds from???<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Marina \u2b50 Pro Grower (2,483 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Seeds from Redko (some folks shared). But her S. Marzano, which is a det, did really well for me.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Pani Tomat (Irina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (8,773 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
My variety is from Yashchenko T. Beautiful, tasty, but I can’t get good yields out of it, neither outdoors nor in the greenhouse.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Nelli (Nelli) \u2b50 Pro Grower (27,498 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Fryazino, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mine was absolutely loaded in the greenhouse…\"Donkey<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Pani Tomat (Irina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (8,773 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Guess I’m just a terrible grower then \ud83d\ude1b \ud83d\ude1b \ud83d\ude1b<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Yaroslavna (Natalya) \u2b50 Pro Grower (6,275 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Yaroslavl Region, Russia (USDA Zone 3-4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Nelli wrote:<\/strong>
\nMine was absolutely loaded in the greenhouse…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Agree with Nelli, this variety was a massive yielder for me too \ud83d\ude4c Our dear Tomatanya kindly shared the seeds, big shoutout to her for that \ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udf39\ud83c\udf39 Grew it in the greenhouse, pruned to 3 stems. The fruits are all large, kind of oval and flattened on the sides. A very worthy variety for growing in our climate, mostly for fresh eating\/salads \ud83d\ude0b<\/p>\n

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Lidiya (Lidia) \u2b50 Pro Grower (16,152 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Mine were low yielding and half hollow. Grew them in the greenhouse, I guess they didn’t like something.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mila (Lyudmila) \u2b50 Pro Grower (8,501 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Lidiya wrote:<\/strong>
\nMine were low yielding and half hollow. Grew them in the greenhouse, I guess they didn’t like something.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lidia, mine were total duds back in 2013 too, even though they grew in the greenhouse in a sunny spot \ud83d\ude1b But Angelina’s were absolutely gorgeous \ud83c\udf89 \ud83c\udf89 \ud83c\udf89 Guess it depends on the seed source, plus our weather conditions just didn’t suit it \ud83d\ude33<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Irina F (Irina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (2,225 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Novosibirsk, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Grew in the greenhouse, topped out around 6.5 ft (2 m). Not too many suckers, the plant doesn’t take up much room. Trusses have about 4 fruits each, very uniform, almost all the exact same weight. Pruned to 2 stems. The flesh is sugary on the cut, meaty, leaning more towards sweet.\"Donkey<\/a>
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tomik (Tamara) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,337 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Really happy with this variety! It was super productive, kept fruiting right up until frost. But with big temperature swings between day and night, the last fruits started cracking. Tasty, meaty, definitely repeating it. Seeds are from Slovakia.\"Donkey<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Sofiya 27 (Sofia) \u2b50 Pro Grower (2,154 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Planted two vines, one outdoors and one in the greenhouse. The outdoor one was a low yielder. Tall vine, not many suckers. One of the first to start ripening. The one in the greenhouse was incredibly productive. Fruits are meaty and tasty.\"Donkey<\/a>
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Matilda (Larisa) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,431 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Odessa, Ukraine (USDA Zone 7)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I planted 2 vines in the greenhouse in a less-than-ideal spot. Both performed amazingly! They were among the first to ripen and pumped out fruit steadily until frost. The yield was fantastic. Full, rich flavor, meaty fruits with no hollow spots. Didn’t drop blossoms, didn’t catch any diseases. By fall, I tied them in an arch under the roof, they were way over 6.5 ft (2 m) tall. Huge thanks to Vera from Rostov-on-Don for the seeds! \ud83c\udf39 \ud83e\udd20 \ud83d\ude18 There was one minor drawback. They reacted to my habit of heavy watering, some fruits cracked \ud83d\ude33\"Donkey<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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ZhavoronoK (Ekaterina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,619 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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A productive and gorgeous stunner. Mine turned out a bit on the dry side, I probably messed something up, maybe it needed more potassium. But overall I’m happy with the variety. Thanks GalinaD for it \ud83c\udf39\"Donkey<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Lana_s_Kavkaza (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (19,268 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Pyatigorsk, Russia (USDA Zone 6)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Good variety, some individual fruits were massive. It doesn’t really like extreme heat, though. It was over 95 F (35 C) in the greenhouse all summer, it set fruit okay but did drop some blossoms.\"Donkey<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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ilja (Ilya) \u2b50 Pro Grower (758 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Excellent variety! Heavy yielder, the fruits are very tasty, sweet, and tender. Reached over 6.5 ft (2 m) in the hoophouse.\"Donkey<\/a>
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ElenaPr (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,433 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
This beauty is tasty, sweet, and very tender. Grew it outdoors, some fruits cracked. The plant itself isn’t very vigorous.\"Donkey<\/a>
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El’vira (Elvira) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,193 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Here is my Donkey Ears tomato. We liked it, grew in the hoophouse, productive, on the sweeter side, but the flesh was a little dry.\"Donkey<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Lana_Sadovnica (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (291 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Donkey Ears got a permanent spot in my greenhouse about three years ago, and looks like it’s here to stay. The plant is compact, tall (well, it’s an indet!), thin foliage. Yield is excellent, sets fruit even right under the ceiling. The tomatoes are meaty, at least 4-5.5 oz (120-150 g), the big ones up to 14 oz (400 g). For canning, they only fit in the jar if you slice them. Taste is pretty standard. Just a really solid garden tomato, it’s just not round \ud83d\ude04 but hey, to each their own…. Picture is of them still green (hope it attaches) \ud83d\ude42\"Donkey<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Yulya (Julia) \u2b50 Pro Grower (27,113 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Aleksandrov, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Ordered seeds from Ilya Korolev. A very successful workhorse of a variety. Unfussy, heavy yielding, tasty. The vine isn’t very strong, but it’s tall and sets every truss without dropping blossoms. The only downside is that it cracks. Then again, with constant rain, that’s no surprise.\"Donkey<\/a>
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Valtwelve (Valeriy) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,847 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Between Samara and Ufa, Russia (USDA Zone 3-4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Seeds from V. Redko. Greenhouse. Pruned to 1 stem. When it was a seedling, I called it an “ugly, sprawling mess”, it was all spread out and the leaves hung down like wet rags. The seedling got overgrown. It set and grew 2 tomatoes and then finally started actually growing. Weak plant. But it did grow eventually and set more fruit. Foliage is medium, droopy. Reacts poorly to feeding when loaded with fruit. Plant density at the bottom is 60%, at the top 20%. Width of one stem is about 16 inches (40 cm). Taste is good, similar to Bull’s Heart but not as rich and slightly less sweet. Edible even when not fully ripe: 4.9 out of 5 stars. I’m going to work on getting better yields out of it. Definitely planting again.\"Donkey<\/a>
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Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste & Common Issues<\/h2>\n