📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zagadka Doliny Roz (Mystery of the Rose Valley)
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom whose name translates to “Mystery of the Rose Valley”. As the name implies, its genetics are a bit of a mystery, and it currently circulates in at least two distinct versions among international seed savers.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall vine). A very vigorous plant that easily reaches 6.5 feet (2 m) in a greenhouse. Known for being an incredible workhorse and a heavy yielder.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Highly variable depending on the strain! Version 1 produces red, meaty plum or pepper-shaped fruits. Version 2 produces stunning raspberry-pink fruits with bizarre, heavily pleated, and ribbed shapes. Both have thick walls and few seeds.
- 👅 Flavor: Consistently rated as excellent. It has a perfectly balanced sweet and tart flavor profile. However, some growers note the fruits can be slightly soft and have a short shelf life.
A very heavy yielder and a tall indeterminate variety. Tastes great.
I’m growing two bushes in different greenhouses. The first one was the earliest and is still pumping out fruit even now. The shape ranges from a plum to a heart, and the color is red. The second one is a later variety, and the fruits ripen pretty much all at once; its shape is more pepper-like. I really liked both variants. Huge thanks to Angelina and the folks who shared seeds with me.
First bush:
Second bush:
Zagadka Doliny Roz (Mystery of the Rose Valley). An indeterminate, mid-season heavy yielder. The fruits are red and shaped like large, slightly ribbed plums with very few seeds. The flavor is exceptionally good and perfectly balanced between sweet and tart. Very meaty with thick walls. I really liked this variety.
Grew it in the greenhouse. The yield was just average. The flavor is good, but the fruits themselves are a bit on the soft side… they had basically zero shelf life for me.
I know that Mystery of the Rose Valley actually exists in two or even three different versions. Lyuda (@Shevyachok) shared some seeds with me that came all the way from America, so a massive thank you to her from the bottom of my heart! 😘
I grew this Mystery out, admired it all season long, and was honestly just so proud to be growing such unusual beauty. Grew the variety in the greenhouse. The bushes are tall, reaching about 6.5 feet (2 m). The tomatoes are pink, or honestly more of a raspberry color, with all sorts of bizarre and varied ribbed shapes. Extremely tasty. The yield was very decent. An absolute favorite! Earned a permanent spot on my grow list for sure.
@Inn@ Inna, in your capable hands, any “Mystery” will turn out a hundred times better and more beautiful!
I shared exactly one seed with a few local growers here in Omsk, and immediately sent the rest straight to you without a second thought. I knew right away you’d grow something absolutely mind-blowing out of them!!!
I’m going to grow it myself this year.
Shevyachok (Lyudmila) said:
…and immediately sent the rest straight to you without a second thought.
Lyuda, you actually blessed me with a whole two seeds of the Mystery! 🙏 Both of them successfully grew into massive, gorgeous bushes 👍
Inn@ (Inna) said:
Lyuda, you actually blessed me with a whole two seeds of the Mystery! 🙏 Both of them successfully grew into massive, gorgeous bushes 👍
Those seeds actually came from such a wonderful, bright soul over in California!
And in return, I sent her some Acqui Terme seeds! It became my season leader in terms of fruit weight, really made me happy! They are definitely similar to the Mystery, of course, but… still different.
The name Zagadka literally means “Mystery” or “Riddle”, and it couldn’t be more fitting! In the global heirloom tomato community, seeds are constantly traded across borders. This thread is a fascinating glimpse into how a Russian variety made its way to California, was likely crossed or segregated, and then the seeds were mailed back to Siberia!
Because of this international seed saving, you will notice two very different phenotypes (versions) of this tomato being discussed:
1. The Red Variant: Tends to be smoother, shaped like a fat plum or pepper, and bright red.
2. The Pink Variant: A stunning, deeply ribbed, bizarrely shaped raspberry-pink tomato that looks almost like a pleated accordion. Both versions are incredibly meaty and highly prized!
