📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zero
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial determinate variety bred for high yields and low maintenance.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Very compact, topping out around 2 feet (60 cm). It is a “plant and forget” type of tomato that requires absolutely no pruning or suckering.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, perfectly round, and incredibly uniform. The fruits are very firm and dense, making them visually appealing and durable.
- 👅 Flavor: Very average. It lacks the complex sweetness or acidity of good heirlooms, offering just a basic, run-of-the-mill tomato flavor. Better suited for the canning jar than the slicing board.
🍅 Grown this variety? Click here to add your own photos and review below!
This variety really didn’t blow me away. The yield is solid, I’ll give it that. But the flavor is just your standard, basic tomato taste. Nothing special.
The plant is pretty short, only about 2 feet (60 cm) tall, and I didn’t prune it at all. The fruits are all gorgeous, super uniform, and very firm. I bet it would hold up great for canning. I didn’t actually can any myself, though, so I can’t say for sure.
I highly doubt I’ll be planting this one again, there is way better stuff out there to grow.
👨🌾 Editor’s Note: The Commercial Trade-Off
Svetlana’s review perfectly highlights the classic trade-off with many commercial determinate varieties like Zero. Breeders design these plants to be short, require zero pruning, produce massive yields all at once, and yield rock-hard, perfectly uniform fruits that look great and survive shipping or boiling water baths. The sacrifice for all that durability and convenience? You lose the rich, complex heirloom flavor. If you want a workhorse for canning, this is great; if you want a juicy slicer for a BLT, look elsewhere!
Svetlana’s review perfectly highlights the classic trade-off with many commercial determinate varieties like Zero. Breeders design these plants to be short, require zero pruning, produce massive yields all at once, and yield rock-hard, perfectly uniform fruits that look great and survive shipping or boiling water baths. The sacrifice for all that durability and convenience? You lose the rich, complex heirloom flavor. If you want a workhorse for canning, this is great; if you want a juicy slicer for a BLT, look elsewhere!
