{"id":7280,"date":"2026-11-07T20:22:33","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T20:22:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=7280"},"modified":"2026-11-07T20:23:22","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T20:23:22","slug":"red-alert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/red-alert\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Alert Tomato Review & Photos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\ud83c\udf45 Quick take:<\/strong> The Eastern European heirloom strain grown under the name Red Alert<\/strong> (Signal Trevogi) is a mid-to-late season<\/strong>, semi-determinate<\/strong> workhorse reaching 3.3 to 5 ft (1-1.5 m)<\/strong>. It pumps out clusters of firm, crack-proof red cocktail fruits weighing 1 to 2.8 oz (30-80 g)<\/strong> sporting ribbed shoulders and a sharp, distinctive pointed beak. Prized for its astonishing shelf life and tough skins that never split in hot brines, it doubles in fruit size when moved from outdoor beds into high tunnels. Greenhouse vs outdoor sizing \u2193<\/a> | Storage & canning \u2193<\/a> | The seed identity mix-up \u2193<\/a> | Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/div>\n

Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-4 Experience)<\/h2>\n
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Zhavoronok (Ekaterina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,619 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Yaroslavl Highway, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Another absolute favorite of mine. I have grown this for multiple seasons now, and as a garden workhorse, it never lets me down.
\nBright red cocktail fruits weighing about 1 to 1.4 oz (30-40 g) with subtle shoulder ribbing and a sharp, pointed tip. Very firm fruits that hang forever on the vine and ripen off the counter with zero fuss (we are still finishing off the last ones right now) \ud83d\udc4d Excellent yields both outdoors in open beds and inside the greenhouse. Superb for whole-jar pickling and dries down nicely for dehydrated tomatoes.
\nThe plant stays manageable, hitting around 5 ft (1.5 m) in the greenhouse. Easily carries 1 to 2 main stems. I have clocked it as a solid mid-late season variety.
\nFirst photo is 2014 outdoors, second photo is 2015 in the greenhouse:
\nEdited November 4, 2015 by Drosera
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Mila (Lyudmila) \u2b50 Pro Grower (8,523 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Bulatnikovo, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Katyusha, what kind of vine height did you get in the open ground outdoors? Huge thanks for the seeds \ud83d\ude18<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Zhavoronok (Ekaterina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,619 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Yaroslavl Highway, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Milochka, outdoors it topped out around 3.3 to 4 ft (1-1.2 m). But you definitely get a better crop inside the greenhouse \ud83d\ude42
\nI know GalyaP grew hers outdoors too, maybe she can chime in on height?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Pani Tomat (Irina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (8,773 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Red Alert grown outdoors in open ground, 2014 season. Seeds sourced from Popenko.
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Greenhouse Sizing vs Outdoor Performance<\/h3>\n
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trofi (Elena) \u2b50 Pro Grower (10,716 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Southern Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
My vine turned out to be a light producer with very mediocre flavor \ud83d\ude41 Trained it to 2 leaders.
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kae-2 (Irina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (4,537 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Last season I planted it both outdoors and in the greenhouse. Ran it with 3 leaders (carried 5 full trusses). For me, it performed as a mid-late variety (first fruits broke color August 11).
\nHeavy producer with pretty decent flavor. The big surprise was that greenhouse fruits were twice as large as the outdoor ones, sizing up around 2.5 to 2.8 oz (70-80 g). Once it started setting and ripening, it just powered through right until the bitter end, it was literally the last vine I cleared out of the greenhouse.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Zhavoronok (Ekaterina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,619 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Yaroslavl Highway, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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My vine turned out to be a light producer with very mediocre flavor \ud83d\ude41 Trained it to 2 leaders. Won’t be growing it again.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Elena, funny how differently varieties behave in different gardens \ud83e\udd37 I honestly cannot praise its yield enough: pretty, tasty, and legendary shelf life. Irina hit the nail on the head: inside the greenhouse, the fruits easily size up twice as big \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Olena (Olga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,007 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Turned out on the later side for me too. The vine only managed to finish two clusters, but I really enjoyed the flavor and size \ud83d\ude18 Real cuties, probably right around 2 oz (60 g) each.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

End-of-Season Counter Storage and Whole-Jar Canning<\/h3>\n
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Galina P. \u2b50 Pro Grower (37,710 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Chekhov District, Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Here is my Red Alert (Signal Trevogi). The variety ripened late, but proved to be intensely productive with unbelievable post-harvest shelf life. We are still eating them fresh right now, and off the counter they actually taste even sweeter!
\nA premier canning tomato: the skins never split in hot brines, and they hold together beautifully in jars. I put them up in pickled jars and packed them whole in pure tomato juice. Grew mine outdoors in open beds. Sourced the seeds from Katyusha Zhavoronok \ud83d\ude42 \ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f\ud83d\ude4f
\nOn the plate, those red saladettes with the pointed beak are Red Alert. Photographed just a week ago.
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Drosera (Svetlana) \u2b50 Pro Grower (5,415 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Yekaterinburg, Urals, Russia (USDA Zone 3\/4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
In my garden, Red Alert was definitely mid-late. Height stayed around 4 ft (1.2-1.3 m).
\nInside the greenhouse a lot of blossoms blasted and dried up, but outdoors in the open ground it set gorgeous, full trusses. If we had enjoyed a proper summer instead of a cold autumn, they probably would have ripened on the vine, but I had to pick them green. They ripened off the counter cleanly without shriveling.
\nCanned in brine, the taste mimics whole tomatoes packed in their own juice \ud83d\ude0b Planning to repeat it this coming season. Big thanks to Lena Danko for the seeds \ud83d\ude4f
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Zhavoronok (Ekaterina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,619 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Yaroslavl Highway, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Svetlana, completely agree, it definitely leans late. Inside the greenhouse it has plenty of runway to produce heavy yields, whereas outdoors in cold climates the harvest is somewhat more modest.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Seed Identity Mix-Up: Dwarf Bush vs Beaked Saladette<\/h3>\n
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Alyona \u2b50 Pro Grower (10,109 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Out of 5 seeds from Dukhov, only 2 germinated for me, Katyusha. And right during the seedling phase, both croaked.
\nI wanted to give it another shot this spring (still have 5 seeds left in the stash), but ended up crossing it off my start list in favor of exciting new trials…<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Zhavoronok (Ekaterina) \u2b50 Pro Grower (3,619 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Yaroslavl Highway, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Out of 5 seeds from Dukhov, only 2 germinated for me, Katyusha. And right during the seedling phase, both croaked. I wanted to give it another shot this spring (still have 5 seeds left in the stash), but ended up crossing it off my start list in favor of exciting new trials…<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Alyonushka, that is such a shame!
\nI can’t imagine my garden without it \ud83d\ude04 Heavy trusses, crazy productive, and that cute pointed tip \ud83d\ude18<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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fire-cherry (Inga) \u2b50 Pro Grower (1,156 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Planted it back in 2015 from Popenko’s seeds, and it was a complete bust, neither yield nor flavor showed up (which unfortunately happened with almost everything I ordered from Popenko that year \ud83d\ude2e). The catalog description sounds wonderful, but now I’m gun-shy. The ladies on the board sent me their own saved seeds recently, so maybe I will give it a second chance. I grew it in a greenhouse.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Etoile (Natalya) \ud83c\udf31 Member (114 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Saint Petersburg, Russia (USDA Zone 4\/5)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Reading Gusev’s catalog description and I am totally scratching my head: he lists it as an “early-season superdeterminate”. And looking at his photos, there is zero pointed beak on the fruit.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Storage<\/h2>\n