{"id":6872,"date":"2026-11-01T17:08:18","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T17:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=6872"},"modified":"2026-11-01T17:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T17:09:17","slug":"mortgage-lifter-yellow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/mortgage-lifter-yellow\/","title":{"rendered":"Mortgage Lifter Yellow & Bicolor Tomato Review & Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\ud83c\udf45 Quick take:<\/strong> Mortgage Lifter Yellow<\/strong> (frequently sold in Eastern Europe as the red-and-yellow Mortgage Lifter Bicolor \/ Pesta Strain<\/strong>) is an indeterminate<\/strong>, mid-to-late season<\/strong> heirloom beefsteak reaching 4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m) with large, meaty, flattened-round fruits and very few seeds. While growers praise its rich, juicy, sweet flavor, experiences with yield vary wildly depending on the seed source – ranging from complete blossom drop to heavy crops that beat late blight in Siberia. Jump to Strain & Seed Source Discussion \u2193<\/a> | Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/div>\n

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Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 2-6 Experience)<\/h2>\n

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OlgaZ \ud83c\udf31 Growing Enthusiast (54 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Tall vine in the greenhouse, compact habit with sparse foliage. The tomatoes are oblate, red-and-yellow bicolors – large, meaty, and super tasty. Mid-late maturity. Only one catch: low yield.<\/p>\n

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Esme (Galina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,701 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Well yeah, Elena, in vendor promos every single variety is a heavy yielder and just plain amazing…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Olesenka (Olesya) \ud83c\udf3f Experienced Grower (120 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Agreed, yield is pretty poor. I grew 4 plants outdoors last year and only got 3-4 fruits per vine, didn’t really impress me. Bought my seeds from Gusev*<\/a> and just saved a few seeds to keep in my collection.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Valeriya (Valeriya) \ud83c\udf3f Experienced Grower (110 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I ordered mine from Gusev last year too. Honestly, my yield actually turned out just as heavy as in the seller’s video.<\/p>\n

But they were among the very first plants to get hit with disease, and it was so heartbreaking watching all those huge, once-gorgeous tomatoes rot away… \ud83d\ude22<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Strain Confusion: Yellow vs. Bicolor vs. Radiator Charlie’s Pink<\/h3>\n
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Ellena (Elena) \ud83c\udf3f Experienced Grower (135 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Mikhailovsk, Stavropol Krai, Russia (USDA Zone 6)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I’ve been digging into these Lifters and there are actually two different ones here: a bicolor and a yellow. The thread title says “Yellow”, but the very first photo is actually Mortgage Lifter Bicolor. True Mortgage Lifter Yellow is solid yellow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Semechka \u2b50 Pro Grower (23,546 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Krasnoyarsk Suburbs, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Man, that’s a really low yield.. how’s the taste though?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Alyona Latviya (Alyona) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,366 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Latvia (USDA Zone 5)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Help me out please, folks! I’m trying to track down info on this specific Mortgage Lifter strain<\/p>\n

So this one isn’t a bicolor, it’s a large pink beefsteak. I bought the seeds, but I can’t find any real grow reports on it. I know there’s a whole family of different strains under this name. I really like this seed seller and never had issues with them, just coming up short on practical info…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Svetikk (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (29,773 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Stupino District, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Alyona Latviya said:<\/strong>
\nHelp me out please, folks! I’m trying to track down info on this specific Mortgage Lifter strain: https:\/\/www.ebay.co.uk\/itm\/390858293276<\/p>\n

So this one isn’t a bicolor, it’s a large pink beefsteak. I bought the seeds, but I can’t find any real grow reports on it. I know there’s a whole family of different strains under this name. I really like this seed seller and never had issues with them, just coming up short on practical info…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mortgage Lifter is an indeterminate variety. It was bred by Marshall Byles, the owner of a small radiator repair shop, who spent 6 years crossing the four largest tomato varieties he knew of – German Johnson, Beefsteak, and two unknown Italian and English varieties. The tomato was originally named after Byles’ working nickname, Radiator Charlie’s, and folks drove hundreds of miles just to buy his seedlings. Selling plants for $1 each – serious money back then – he paid off his $6,000 mortgage in 6 years and renamed the variety Mortgage Lifter. In 1985, he shared seeds with a heritage seed cooperative, and the variety quickly gained a following among tomato lovers worldwide.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Alyona Latviya (Alyona) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,366 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Latvia (USDA Zone 5)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Yeah, I’ve read that same folklore everywhere, it’s copy-pasted on every site… Aside from saying it’s an indet, it tells you nothing about how the plant actually grows. So now I’m asking folks who have actually grown it \ud83d\ude42 The thing is, there are several versions of this variety out there. I didn’t want the bicolor, so I picked the regular pink beefsteak, and now I’m left with a bunch of questions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Elfiya (Alya) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,609 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Perm Region, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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I grew seeds that were brought over from Australia, and they gave me fantastic tomatoes this year. Both yield and flavor were spot on \ud83d\udc4d\ud83d\udc4d Mine were the bicolors though, not the red\/pink ones.<\/p>\n

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Alyona Latviya (Alyona) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,366 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Latvia (USDA Zone 5)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Elfiya said:<\/strong>
\nI grew seeds that were brought over from Australia, and they gave me fantastic tomatoes this year. Both yield and flavor were spot on \ud83d\udc4d\ud83d\udc4d Mine were the bicolors though, not the red\/pink ones.
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How tall did yours get? Basically I’m trying to figure out the vine and truss habit so I can put it in the right spot in the garden \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Elfiya (Alya) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,609 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Perm Region, Russia (USDA Zone 3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Reached about 6 ft (180 cm) tall. I trained it to two leaders, and maturity was mid-season.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Nadin (Nadezhda) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,756 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\ud83d\ude42 Well, I did not get along with this “wonder” at all. Seeds were from Gusev. It grew into some weird thing about 4 ft (1.2 m) tall in the greenhouse with a thick, stocky stem and super bushy foliage. All it ever put out were fused megablooms, and then it immediately dropped every single one of them. So I ended up with zero tomatoes off two plants. \ud83d\ude41 Had the exact same story with Arbuzny from the same vendor. Weird. \ud83d\ude1b<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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garnet (Svetlana) \ud83c\udf3f Experienced Grower (436 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Northwestern Siberia, Russia (USDA Zone 2-3)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Really liked this variety \ud83d\udc4d. Super juicy and delicious \ud83d\ude0b, gave me an above-average yield, mid-season, and managed to ripen before late blight hit. Sturdy, moderately tall plant. Seeds were from Kulik*<\/a>. Very few seeds inside the fruit.<\/p>\n

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