As a few people have expressed an interest on more information about this variety, I thought those of us who are growing it could record our notes here.
This is my first year to grow Kibit's Ukrainian. They were started from seed back in November. (obtained from Amishland) However, I didn't move them to the greenhouse until March(?) so they didn't really take off until then. The light from my southern facing window was just enough to keep them alive but not enough for them to thrive. They did much better in the greenhouse.
Once they stated blooming, they began to reliably set clusters of five or six fruit. Since I started them early, I don't really know long they would normally take from transplant to first fruit. Mine took about seven weeks from fruit set to ripe, so I believe they would qualify as a mid season.
My first fruit set in late march and I got the first ripe one on May 13. Including the ten I have already harvested, there have been at least 34 tomatoes on each plant right now, with more flower clusters blooming. There was a cold spell where none of the blossoms set, so with more consistent temps, there might have been more.
Both of the plants are small, one at 17 inches and one at 28 inches, so the fruit set looks very heavy for their size. Mine are averaging about 1 oz. per tomato, with the largest being 1.5 oz and the smallest 3/4 of an oz. (They are about the size of a Roma, but a touch smaller and thinner.)
I'm thinking there is already at least two pounds of fruit on each of these little plants, and it looks like there will be much more as long as they stay healthy.
On mine, if you wait for them to look ripe, they become mushy or mealy. You have to pick them when they are a light reddish-orange and the last bit of green is just leaving the shoulder.
The taste is very good, but not sweet. More of an old fashioned acidy tomatoey taste. (almost, but not quite, tart) While they look a bit like Romas, they don't taste like them! My mother and I both agree that they are much more tasty.
We have eaten them plain and with dressing, but I also want to try them in cooking as I think that nice acidy flavor would do well in sauces.
As it stands today, I will definitely grow these again. They are a great little container tomato.
So that's what I have so far. Hopefully, some other people will let us know what they think.
