{"id":6812,"date":"2026-10-31T16:36:58","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T16:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=6812"},"modified":"2026-10-31T16:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T16:39:04","slug":"midnight-in-moscow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/midnight-in-moscow\/","title":{"rendered":"Midnight in Moscow (Polnoch v Moskve) Tomato Review & Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\ud83c\udf45 Quick take:<\/strong> Midnight in Moscow<\/strong> (Polnoch v Moskve) is an indeterminate<\/strong>, mid-season<\/strong> Russian heirloom black beefsteak documented on Tatiana’s TOMATObase. Vines have an unusually slender, open canopy and produce 10.5-14 oz (300-400 g) dusky pinkish-brown to dark mahogany beefsteaks with rich crimson marbling inside. Growers praise its exceptional sweet-yet-tangy flavor that blends dark tomato complexity with pink slicer sweetness, though it struggles with rot if hit by cold, waterlogged midsummer nights. Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/div>\n

Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-6 Experience)<\/h2>\n
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ElenaN (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (28,513 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Kostroma, Russia (USDA Zone 3\/4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Indeterminate, mid-season slicer. Grew it inside the greenhouse, yield was very good. Fruits are medium to large pinkish-purple-black beefsteaks with a beautifully balanced flavor profile leaning sweet. The vine itself is slender and delicate. Definitely keeping this in the yearly rotation. Seeds originally from Germany.<\/p>\n

\"Midnight<\/a>
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Aglaya (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,132 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Elena, how is the flavor and juice level? Is it comparable to Chocolate Stripes?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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ElenaN (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (28,513 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Kostroma, Russia (USDA Zone 3\/4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Olga, you won’t believe it, but I have never grown Chocolate Stripes<\/a>! \ud83d\ude48 Just never got around to it.<\/p>\n

Flavor on Midnight in Moscow is super balanced, you get both sweetness and acid, with the sweetness taking center stage. Slices are very meaty: not dry by any stretch, but not runny or watery either. Gorgeous internal color. It proved its flavor again this season, so it is an absolute lock for next year. Photos from this year are coming soon, just haven’t sorted through them yet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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ElenaN (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (28,513 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Kostroma, Russia (USDA Zone 3\/4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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On ElenaN said:
\nPhotos from this year are coming soon, just haven’t sorted through them yet.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Olga, finally got around to uploading them! Gorgeous interior color. Seedling stage and early fruit set shown below:<\/p>\n

\"Midnight<\/a>
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Aglaya (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,132 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Elena, looking at the slices, does it lean more meaty than juicy?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Svetikk (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (29,711 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Loved this variety, both gorgeous and delicious. \ud83d\udc4d \ud83d\ude0b Flesh is an extraordinary pinkish-brown, darker on the inside than on the outside skin. Indeterminate, grew it in the greenhouse trained to 2 stems. Heavy cropper, mid-season.<\/p>\n

Seeds came from V. Redko via Katya (Zhavoronok). Quite meaty, holds up well on the counter for a while, but still plenty of juice, fruit up to 14 oz (400 g). Nothing but positives, definitely repeating. \ud83d\udc4f<\/p>\n

Used the flash on these photos, so color looks slightly lighter than in real life:<\/p>\n

\"Midnight<\/a>
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ElenaN (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (28,513 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Kostroma, Russia (USDA Zone 3\/4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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On Aglaya said:
\nElena, looking at the slices, does it lean more meaty than juicy?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Olga, it leans meaty, but it has plenty of juice too, not dry at all. Mouthwatering cross-section with deep raspberry-crimson swirls running through the meat. African Vining, by comparison, has significantly less juice.<\/p>\n

Edited February 15, 2017 by ElenaN<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Drosera (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,415 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Yekaterinburg, Urals (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Midnight in Moscow is one of the absolute tastiest dark varieties out there. Big thanks to Elena for the seeds! \ud83d\udc90<\/p>\n

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ilja (Ilya) \ud83c\udf31 Member (758 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Klin, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Midnight in Moscow. Tall grower, hit 6 ft (1.8 m) in my greenhouse, heavy cropper, mid-season maturity. Fruits are large, oblate, dark purple-black slicers. Juicy-meaty interior, fantastic sweet flavor.<\/p>\n

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Tomatanya (Tatyana) \u2b50 Section Moderator (10,247 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Leningrad Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4\/5)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My plants stayed fairly short (had 3 vines), roughly 4 ft (1.2 m) in the greenhouse. Set fruit in one concentrated burst, then ripened pretty much in a single flush. Not a late variety at all, more like mid-early here. Juicy, delicious, nice sugar content.<\/p>\n

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Lana_s_Kavkaza (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (19,273 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Pyatigorsk, Russia (USDA Zone 6)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Really impressed. Fruits were all big, meaty, and very flavorful. In protected greenhouse beds, vines grew moderately tall, around 5.2 ft (1.6 m).<\/p>\n

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Svetikk (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (29,711 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Grew this one again, and once more it delivered big time. \ud83d\udc4d \ud83d\ude0b \ud83d\ude4c<\/p>\n

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0lgusha19 (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,603 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Southern Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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What a gorgeous stunner. Absolute dream tomato.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Nata N. (Natalya) \u2b50 Pro Grower (37,265 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Dmitrovka, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Total flop for me this year. It was a miserable season for tomatoes, barely had any warm sunny days all summer. Most fruit on this variety started rotting right on the vine during the cold July nights. Other varieties handled the chill and damp way better.<\/p>\n

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Murka (Masha) \u2b50 Pro Grower (9,788 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Ran it this season, seeds came from Svetikk. Gorgeous fruit that kept their large size right up until the end of the run. Flavor is excellent, sweet with just a touch of tartness.<\/p>\n

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Irina Fedorova \ud83c\udf31 Member (1,664 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Kaliningrad, Russia (USDA Zone 6)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My Midnight in Moscow from Svetikk was fantastic: heavy yield, gorgeous fruit, great flavor. Tomatoes are still hanging on the vines right now. Will probably pick every last one tomorrow though, temperatures just plunged and we got hit with snow pellets today.<\/p>\n

Edited September 19, 2019 by Irina Fedorova<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Midnight<\/a>
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Tatka (Tatyana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (35,243 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Kazan, Tatarstan, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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On 1\/10\/2016 at 7:41 AM, ElenaN said:
\nDefinitely keeping this in the yearly rotation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Elena, quoting your 2017 season review report:<\/p>\n

Midnight in Moscow (Marianna’s Heirloom 2016). Grew it from two separate sources: my own seed line and Marianna’s. Marianna’s version turned out 1.5 times more productive than my original line, planted right side-by-side. Summer favorite: early, delicious, wonderful variety. Rated 4.95\/5.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Marianna’s yielded better, but how did the flavor compare? Was one sweeter?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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ElenaN (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (28,513 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Kostroma, Russia (USDA Zone 3\/4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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On 7\/2\/2020 at 3:24 PM, Tatka said:
\nMarianna’s yielded better, but how did the flavor compare? Was one sweeter?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Flavor-wise, they were virtually identical.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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OlyaSashina (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,355 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Bor, Nizhny Novgorod Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Turned out to be a very heavy cropper. Beefsteaks averaged around 10.5 oz (300 g). The flavor hit the sweet spot: has that deep complexity you expect from a black tomato, but with the bright sweetness of a pink slicer. Inside it looks mostly crimson, with seeds nestled in green gel like true blacks. Vibrant flavor, barely cracked at all despite growing in partial shade. Definite keeper for next year.<\/p>\n

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Full Summary: Plant Habit, Productivity, Flavor, and Weather Sensitivity<\/h2>\n