Quick Summary of Yarik
- 🌍 Origin: A very dependable Russian commercial/heirloom variety.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: An indeterminate (tall vining) variety, though some growers describe it as semi-determinate since it often stops around 1.5 meters (5 ft) tall in a greenhouse.
- 🧬 The Leaf Debate: There is a slight genetic mystery circulating among seed savers: while most growers get plants with Regular Leaf (RL) foliage, some report getting authentic Potato Leaf (PL) variations.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Classic red beefsteaks, oblate to round in shape. They are quite large for an early tomato, often reaching 200-300g (7-10.5 oz). They are dense, meaty, and very substantial.
- 👅 Flavor: The quintessential “old-fashioned” red tomato flavor. It has a neutral, balanced profile with a pleasant tartness, without being overly sugary.
- ⏳ Yield & Challenges: Valued as one of the very first large-fruited tomatoes to ripen in the garden. However, some growers warn that it can be susceptible to radial cracking at the stem, which can lead to rot if not picked promptly. It is also sensitive to excessive nitrogen (which leads to vegetative overgrowth).
A worthy variety, which I ordered in 2012 from V. Redko. It grew in a plastic film greenhouse for me, I trained it to two stems, the height was 1.5m (5 ft). Despite losing the two lower trusses due to the heat, it gave a very decent yield (7 kg / 15.4 lbs per bush). So its potential is not bad at all.
Round as a ball, dark pink, but still closer to red. Dense, meaty, good tomato flavor, without excessive sweetness or acidity. My men particularly like this kind of taste. It didn’t get sick with Late Blight (Phytophthora) at all. Well, maybe that’s because I planted tomatoes in this greenhouse for the first time, after cucumbers. I liked it very much. It will stay forever.
My Yarik was also from Redko, but my opinion of it is not as favorable.
Yes, the fruits are quite large, and the variety was very productive. But it was claimed to be the earliest among large-fruited varieties, and in reality, it didn’t turn out to be early at all.
And, the most major drawback – all the fruits cracked at the stem (radial cracking), and these cracks immediately started to rot. On other varieties there were very few such cracks, and they simply healed/dried over. I didn’t save seeds, I won’t plant it again.
Is it true that this Yarik doesn’t need to be pruned/suckered?
Quote by Lora_27:
Is it true that this Yarik doesn’t need to be pruned/suckered?
I pruned the suckers once and without much zeal, the bush grew way too dense.
Girls, what kind of leaf does it have?
Last season it was Potato Leaf (PL).
Quote by Svetlyachok-plyus:
…I liked it very much. It will stay forever.
You are right! I will plant it again this year! 😘
Quote by Mila:
Last season it was Potato Leaf
But my Yarik had regular leaf (RL). Does that mean it’s the wrong one? But I liked the variety anyway, even if it wasn’t the authentic one.
I currently have one plant growing, quite sturdy, didn’t stretch out. I can see that it won’t be early, because the buds are barely visible, while others already have open flowers (sown on February 19th). Here is an interesting thing I noticed – there are constantly root primordia and young short roots appearing on the stem above the ground. I have added extra soil twice already, and because of this, I transplanted it into a tall 7-liter (1.8-gallon) container, waiting to plant it in a bucket under the open sky. I chose this variety because of its low height.
Alexander Ivanovich, is your Yarik regular leaf? 😲 Mine is potato leaf (PL). Which Yarik is the correct one? 😳
There was no room in the greenhouse for Yarik. I planted it under low tunnels (hoop houses). It developed excellently until the cold weather hit 👍 We’ll see how it survives the cold snap.
Which one is correct, I don’t know, mine has a regular leaf. A problem arose with it – it experienced nitrogen toxicity (vegetative overgrowth), apparently I sloppily sprinkled complex fertilizer on already good soil, and it’s growing in a bucket, there’s nowhere for the soil solution with fertilizers to drain away. I transplanted it into poorer soil, waiting.
The very first large-fruited tomato to ripen. Quite a compact bush with regular leaves. One of the earliest.
The taste is quite neutral, leaning towards tart/acidic. It didn’t drop its blossoms in the heat. Liked it!
Excellent, tall (1.5 meters / 5 ft in the greenhouse) and productive variety of early ripening period. The fruits are red, quite large, oblate in shape. Good taste, sweet with a tart bite.
Yarik
A classic big red tomato!
I used to grow it in the open ground (apparently due to a lack of space indoors). In 2024, I refreshed the seeds and grew it in the greenhouse. A good red slicing tomato. More productive in the greenhouse.
The fruits are large – 200-300+ grams (7-10.5+ oz), universal in purpose.
