{"id":6509,"date":"2026-10-27T12:39:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T12:39:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=6509"},"modified":"2026-10-27T12:58:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T12:58:31","slug":"german-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/german-gold\/","title":{"rendered":"German Gold Tomato Review & Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\ud83c\udf45 Quick take:<\/strong> German Gold is a late-season, indeterminate<\/strong> Mennonite heirloom that produces massive, incredibly tender bicolor beefsteaks. Growers swear by its world-class, melt-in-your-mouth flavor, with some ranking it as the absolute best-tasting mater in their garden. While yields can definitely be on the lower side, the eating experience makes it worth the garden space. The thread also dives into a classic seed-saver dilemma: trying to figure out if “German Gold”, “Old German”, and “Mammoth German Gold” are actually just the exact same genetics circulating under different catalog names. Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/div>\n

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Jump to: The Naming Debate<\/a> | Full Summary<\/a><\/p>\n

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Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-5 Experience)<\/h2>\n

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Cherry (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (6,822 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Baranovichi, Belarus<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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German Gold. Got the seeds as a gift straight from Germany. Indet, yellow-pink, and an absolute monster of a sprawling vine with huge regular leaves. Grew it in the greenhouse, it hit about 5.5 ft (1.7 m) tall, pruned to a single leader. I did let one late sucker slide on one of the plants, and it actually managed to set and ripen a couple of late ones.<\/p>\n

Yields were definitely on the lower side for me, but the flavor is out of this world!!! Took my #1 spot for taste out of everything I grew in 2012. The flesh is incredibly tender. It’d be a downright sin to cook these down for sauce or even chop ’em up for a salad. You just gotta eat it in thick slices straight off the vine, naked… not even a dash of salt!<\/p>\n

My biggest one weighed in at 22.8 oz (647 g). Set fruit for a long time and managed to size up some big ones on the upper trusses right before the season shut down. Loved it for both the looks and the taste.<\/p>\n

\"German<\/a>
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\n\"German<\/a>
\n\"German<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Esme (Galina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,701 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Olga, sure sounds like you\u2019ve got a classic bicolor on your hands!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Cherry (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (6,822 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Baranovichi, Belarus<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Galina, I wasn’t totally sure! I remember reading on Tania’s site (from Canada) that bicolors specifically have two-toned flesh. But this one is marbled on the outside too. That’s why I hesitated to call it that \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Drosera (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,415 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Yekaterinburg (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Olga, bicolors are actually two-toned inside and out.<\/p>\n

That first pic is absolutely gorgeous — you’ve got pink and yellow fruit hanging on the exact same cluster!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Cherry (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (6,822 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Baranovichi, Belarus<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Well, I’ve got no problem calling them bicolors then! \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

Sveta, as they ripen, they start off yellow, shift to yellow-pink, and eventually blush pink with these little yellow flecks or stripes. And the inside looks exactly like the photo. Really cool genetics — pink skin, yellow flesh.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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vavladi (Valentina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,043 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Olga, Tania’s database actually lists this exact one as a late-season indet bicolor. I grew it this year from Popenko’s seed stock. Saying I “really liked it” is an understatement, it\u2019s a spectacular variety! Just like Gusev says, it’s an absolute masterpiece. Phenomenal flavor, gorgeous to look at, and it was actually a heavy producer for me.<\/p>\n

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The Naming Debate<\/h3>\n
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Lena leo_leo_1 \u2b50 Veggie Grower (810 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Val, are you sure we’re talking about the exact same variety? Because “Old German” literally translates to… well, Old German.<\/p>\n

And this is “German Gold.”<\/p>\n

Old German.
\nGerman Gold.<\/p>\n

They sound super similar in seed catalogs, but they could easily be two completely different strains \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ellena (Elena) \u2b50 Veggie Grower (135 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Mikhaylovsk (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Did some digging online, and it really looks like it’s the exact same tomato. Both histories say they’re 19th-century Mennonite heirlooms. The specs are identical too: bicolor, indet, late-season beefsteak. A real stunner of a tomato, regardless.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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IrinaA \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,492 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Sverdlovsk Region (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Quote by Ellena
\nDid some digging online, and it really looks like it’s the exact same tomato…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s so pretty, we might as well just compromise and call it “Old German Gold” lol.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ellena (Elena) \u2b50 Veggie Grower (135 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Mikhaylovsk (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Quote by IrinaA
\nIt’s so pretty, we might as well just compromise and call it “Old German Gold” lol.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Honestly, yeah – just to save everyone the headache \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Marina \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,182 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Quote by Ellena
\nDid some digging online, and it really looks like it’s the exact same tomato…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Are you kidding me ??? I literally just started 5 seeds of each under lights, darn it. Could’ve used that cell space to trial something else.<\/p>\n

I bet it\u2019s gonna be the exact same story with ‘Australiets’ and ‘Aussie’, right? Probably the exact same seed. \ud83d\ude42 \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Ellena (Elena) \u2b50 Veggie Grower (135 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Mikhaylovsk (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Quote by Marina
\nI bet it\u2019s gonna be the exact same story with ‘Australiets’ and ‘Aussie’, right? Probably the exact same seed. \ud83d\ude42 \ud83d\ude41<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Marina, yep, looks like it. Popenko lists it in his catalog as: “Australiets (Aussie)”. And another seed vendor site literally says: “Tomato Aussie, Heirloom (Australian Tomato, 10 seeds. Indet).”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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IrinaA \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,492 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Sverdlovsk Region (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Wait, so does that mean Olya was actually reviewing Old German this whole time? Because the “German Gold” in the main database photos looks like a pure yellow tomato.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Marina \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,182 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Quote by Ellena
\nMarina, yep, looks like it. Popenko lists it in his catalog as: “Australiets (Aussie)”.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thanks for the heads-up, I’ll definitely keep that in mind for my grow list \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Cherry (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (6,822 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Baranovichi, Belarus<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Quote by IrinaA
\nWait, so does that mean Olya was actually reviewing Old German this whole time? Because the “German Gold” in the main database photos looks like a pure yellow tomato.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ladies, I just labeled it based on exactly what was printed on the seed packet. And it specifically said “German Gold.”<\/p>\n

Honestly (just eyeballing the photos), I think Val and I grew two entirely different strains. Hers is a paler yellow and much rounder. I didn’t get a single perfectly round fruit; mine were all wonky, ribbed, oblate beefsteaks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage<\/h2>\n