📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zlato (Gold)
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety. The name translates directly to “Gold”. It is specifically bred and marketed for its high carotene and sugar content.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Tall semi-determinate or indeterminate. Typically reaches about 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. Seed companies recommend pruning heavily to a single stem, but growers often let it branch out a bit more.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Medium-to-large oblate (flat-round) bright orange tomatoes. Standard weights fall in the 7 to 10 oz (200-280 g) range.
- 👅 Flavor: Extremely rich, sweet, and fruity. The flesh is dense and “buttery”, frequently compared to a thick orange jam or marmalade.
🍅 Grown this variety? Click here to add your own photos and review below!
Here is the description from the seed packet: A large-fruited, early-season, all-purpose variety. The plant reaches up to 5 feet (1.5 m) tall, producing large oblate (flat-round) bright orange fruits weighing 7-10 oz (200-280 g). The fruits stand out for their exquisite taste due to a high sugar and dry matter content, along with elevated carotene levels. Yield is about 1.2-1.3 lbs per square foot (6.0-6.3 kg/sq m). Best grown to a single stem with regular suckering (pruning) and tied to a support. Recommended for unheated hoop houses, low tunnels, and open ground.
Photo credit: Nadia
The flavor is incredibly rich, and the flesh is super buttery. It’s basically like eating an orange jam 😋
Mine grew outdoors in the dirt in a full-sun spot.
👨🌾 Editor’s Note: “Dietary” & Carotene Tomatoes
In Svetlana’s post, she quotes the seed packet mentioning “elevated carotene levels”. In Eastern Europe and Russia, orange and yellow tomatoes are heavily marketed as “dietary” and “medicinal” plants. They are prized by growers who have allergic reactions or acid-reflux issues with standard red tomatoes, as well as those looking for a massive boost of beta-carotene (Vitamin A) and lycopene in their diets!
In Svetlana’s post, she quotes the seed packet mentioning “elevated carotene levels”. In Eastern Europe and Russia, orange and yellow tomatoes are heavily marketed as “dietary” and “medicinal” plants. They are prized by growers who have allergic reactions or acid-reflux issues with standard red tomatoes, as well as those looking for a massive boost of beta-carotene (Vitamin A) and lycopene in their diets!
