{"id":7017,"date":"2026-11-03T13:01:50","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=7017"},"modified":"2026-11-03T13:01:50","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:01:50","slug":"old-german","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/old-german\/","title":{"rendered":"Old German Tomato Review & Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n \n
\n \n
\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n Share your rating<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\ud83c\udf45 Quick take:<\/strong> Old German<\/strong> is a classic 19th-century indeterminate<\/strong> heirloom bicolor beefsteak preserved by Mennonite growers<\/strong> in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. It yields massive, oblate yellow-gold fruits marbled with ruby red that grow increasingly crimson as they dead-ripen. Northern cool-climate growers find it sweeter than Pineapple (Ananas)<\/strong>, but caution that it is a decidedly late-season vine<\/strong> that demands the absolute hottest, sunniest microclimate to finish before autumn frosts shut the garden down. Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4 & Cool-Climate Trials)<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
A<\/div>\n
\n
Alisa \u2b50 Pro Grower (6,406 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Old German
\nEdited September 21, 2015 by Drosera
\n\"Old<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
N<\/div>\n
\n
Nadfi (Nadezhda Ponomareva) \ud83c\udf3f Member (801 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
An heirloom variety preserved by German Mennonites from the state of Virginia.
\nIndeterminate vine, late-season maturity. The fruits are large, flat-round beefsteaks. Even stacked against other bicolors, this one really stuck in my memory for its exceptionally sweet flavor.
\n\"Old<\/a>
\n\"Old<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
O<\/div>\n
\n
Olga Gor (Olga) \ud83c\udf31 Member (108 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Grew Old German (Stary Nemetskiy) this year from V. Popenko seeds. Really loved it.
\nIt was a bit of a slow starter dragging its feet early in the summer, but once it got going, it cranked out a solid crop! Bicolor beefsteaks that turn redder the riper they get. Outstanding flavor!
\nEdited October 15, 2016 by Olga Gor<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
R<\/div>\n
\n
Radomila (Vera) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,756 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Gagarin District, Smolensk Oblast, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
And how was the overall yield on it?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
D<\/div>\n
\n
Di (Diana) \ud83c\udf3f Member (283 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Grew it back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. Both seasons, it was strictly late. Because of that sluggish timing, I would rate the actual harvested yield as low, even though the vines were still loaded with green fruit when frost shut the season down.
\nDelightful flavor, I would say noticeably sweeter than Pineapple (Ananas). But it is a real hassle to babysit, since it stays stubbornly late even when started from an extra-early seed sowing indoors. Might just need the absolute warmest, most sun-drenched microclimate in the patch to truly deliver.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Full Summary: Plant, Ripening Window, Flavor and Climate Demands<\/h2>\n