Quick Summary of Yablochnyi Spas (Apple Feast)
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial/heirloom variety often distributed by well-known seed vendors like Valeriy Medvedev and Ilya Korolev. The name “Yablochnyi Spas” translates to “Apple Feast” (or Apple Savior), a traditional Russian agricultural holiday in August.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, very tall and vigorous, easily reaching over 2 meters (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse. A notable defining feature of this strain is its large Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. It performs best when pruned to 1 or 2 stems.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Perfectly round, smooth, and glossy red tomatoes that look like little apples. They are very uniform in size, typically weighing between 80–100g (2.8–3.5 oz). The skin is notably thin.
- 👅 Flavor & Culinary Use: Very juicy with a standard, pleasant tomato flavor. Highly versatile—great for fresh eating, but aesthetically perfect for canning. Note: Because of the thin skin, some growers report that they can split when hot water or boiling brine is poured over them during the canning process.
- ⏳ Yield: Exceptionally high. The plant is known to set beautiful, full trusses without skipping any blossoms.
Seeds from Valeriy Medvedev, indeterminate, in the greenhouse it grew over 2 meters (6.5 ft) tall. I grew it in 2 stems, the bush is vigorous, but falls a bit short compared to heavy-duty varieties like ‘De Barao’. It sets very beautiful trusses without skipping any. Size — not large, like little apples, smooth, round, red, weighing 80-100 g (2.8-3.5 oz), juicy, magnificent for canning and processing. The taste when fresh didn’t particularly impress me, I’d give it a solid 4.
Yana, what kind of leaves did this variety have? In your photo, they look like potato leaves, no? 📝
Yana: Seeds from Valeriy Medvedev… juicy, magnificent for canning and processing.
I also grew this variety this year, and also from Medvedev. I completely agree with the review, except that they didn’t suit me for canning at all. The size is excellent, but when pouring hot water over them, the tomatoes cracked, even if I pricked the base with a toothpick.
My plant had potato leaves, just like in Yana’s photo.
borchanochka: Yana, what kind of leaves did this variety have? In your photo, they look like potato leaves, no?
The leaf is a potato leaf.
Girls, then it turns out that this variety is actually ‘Yablonka Rossii’ (Little Apple Tree of Russia) 😳
borchanochka: Girls, then it turns out that this variety is actually ‘Yablonka Rossii’
No, it looks like this is a different variety. It reaches over two meters (6.5 ft) in height and requires pruning/suckering, and ‘Yablonka Rossii’ does not fit these parameters.
Yablochnyi Spas amazed me with its yield.
I received the seeds of this tomato as a gift when ordering tomatoes from Ilya Korolev. And I am very pleased with this variety. It has everything: aesthetics, taste, and versatility. Some complain that it bursts in jars during canning — in my opinion, these fruits are just very thin-skinned. The size and color of the fruits are exactly as described by Korolev — 80…100 g (2.8-3.5 oz), bright red, glossy, uniform, beautiful, and tasty. The leaf is a large potato leaf. I grew it in one stem, the tomato fruited without skipping any trusses. However, you can see it all in my short review video of this variety:
Tomato Yablochnyi Spas
