{"id":6919,"date":"2026-11-02T14:55:59","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T14:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=6919"},"modified":"2026-11-02T14:55:59","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T14:55:59","slug":"mule-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/mule-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Mule Team Tomato Review & Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\ud83c\udf45 Quick take:<\/strong> Mule Team<\/strong> is an American heirloom introduced by New Jersey seed collector Joe Bratka<\/strong>, famous for cranking out heavy, dependable crops like a team of work mules. It grows as an indeterminate<\/strong>, mid-season<\/strong> vine bearing large, flattened 10.5-17.5 oz (300-500 g) red beefsteaks. Northern growers find it sets fruit earlier than most large beefsteaks and holds firm enough to be canned in wedges without breaking down. Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/div>\n

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Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4 Experience)<\/h2>\n

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Marisha (Marina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,652 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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In local seed catalogs, vendors often sound this out literally as “Mule Time.” The real English pronunciation is Mule Team.<\/p>\n

Mule Team is an indeterminate vine, grown in the greenhouse, topped out around 7.5 feet (2.3 m), pruned to two stems. It was one of the very first varieties to start setting fruit. Very heavy yielder, orange-red fruit. Got my seed from V. Redko, whose catalog lists it as: “Tall, mid-season, orange-red fruits from 10.5 to 17.5 oz (300 to 500 g), excellent flavor, high yield.”<\/p>\n

Edited March 14, 2018 by Drosera<\/em><\/p>\n

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Marisha (Marina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,652 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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First fruit was dead-ripe, sweet and meaty, but I reckon it should have been picked a couple of days earlier.<\/p>\n

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AleksandrS (Aleksandr) \u2b50 Pro Grower (9,879 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Yaroslavl District, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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First fruit was dead-ripe, sweet and meaty, but I reckon it should have been picked a couple of days earlier.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So how was the flavor overall? Or does sweet automatically mean tasty in your book?<\/p>\n<\/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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Need to sample the next one and do a side-by-side comparison, especially since there are always plenty of big, red, heavy yielders competing in the patch. This one had sat a bit too long on the vine. I’ll post more notes on the flavor today or tomorrow. \ud83d\ude09<\/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 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Thanks Marina! \ud83e\udd24\ud83d\udc90 I’m growing Mule Team from Lena Leo this season. Wondering if it’s the exact same strain, definitely looking forward to comparing notes with yours!<\/p>\n<\/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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Elena, try tasting it both slightly before full red and at deep red maturity. Did Lena mention anything about the optimal picking stage? Redko’s photo showed light orange, but mine went all the way to deep red, and it felt like pulling it a hair sooner would have been better.<\/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 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Marina, she didn’t mention ripeness stages. She ordered hers from Tatiana, found it in the database:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/tatianastomatobase.com\/wiki\/Mule_Team<\/p>\n

Good call, I’ll definitely sample fruits at different stages of ripeness. \ud83d\udc90<\/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 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mid-season, indeterminate variety. Fruits are large, red, flattened beefsteaks with slight ribbing on the shoulders. Meaty with a very solid, well-balanced flavor profile. While it’s primarily a fresh salad slicer, you can easily can it in wedges because the flesh stays firm and won’t turn into soup in the jar. Grown outdoors in open ground, yield was average.<\/p>\n

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Marisha (Marina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,652 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Mule Team 2015 season crop.<\/p>\n

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Full Summary: Plant, Yield and Picking Notes<\/h2>\n