Black Beefsteak heritage tomato on indeterminate plants
Description
Black Russian is a beefsteak tomato with a taste that is a blend of sugar and acid with spicy and smokey undertones. The flavour intensifies if the tomato is dried. A later-ripening, indeterminate, regular-leafed, medium sized (6-10oz) beefsteak with rich mahogany coloured fruits. It crops well on sturdy, not too tall, plants and only needs to be pruned sufficiently to maintain good air circulation. Good for sandwiches and sauces.
Similar in flavour to Cherokee Purple but its shape is more flattened and the seeds are not encased in green. A true beefsteak variety.
We grew this from 2013 to 2015 and have grown it numerous years since with “average” success, in general it seems to have about the same quantity of fruit as Black Brandywine but less than Black Krim and significantly less than Cherokee Purple. One presumes from its name that it originates from Russia but (as far as I can tell) there’s nothing to underwrite this. Many of the Black varieties seem to come from Russia or thereabouts and they have a different shape to the Brandywines.
Quick Facts
- Fruit Type: Beefsteak
- Fruit Shape: Flat/Round
- Fruit Size: Variable (2-5 inch)
- Fruit Colour: Manogany/Brown
- Flesh Colour: Brown
- Plant Type: Indeterminate
- Leaf Type: Regular
- Seed Type: Heritage
- Ripe Days: Mid/Late
- Taste: Rich
- Our Source: Just Seed
- Origin: Russia(?)
- Alternatives: Japanese Black Trifele, Black Brandywine, Black Krim, True Black Brandywine, Cherokee Purple
- Fruit per Truss: 6-10
- Truss Spacing: 15-18 inches
Buy Your Seeds Here
Prices given are for a packet of seeds (and may be wrong) different suppliers have different numbers of seeds in a packet.
- Brown Envelope Seeds £3.00
- Nicky’s Seeds £1.95
- Simpson’s Seeds £2.00
- Jungle Seeds £3.20
- Seed Parade £1.99
Buy Your Plants Here
Prices may be wrong and will be for different numbers of different sized plants.
Updated: 08/01/2024
Updated: 13/01/2021