Ox Heart Tomato: 4 varieties, characteristics, photos, reviews

Ox Heart is a time-tested tomato variety. It was included in the register over 20 years ago. Moreover, this variety has many subspecies. Some of them are also included in the State Register, while others are the product of popular and amateur breeding. Let's look at the characteristics, cultivation, and care requirements of each variety.

Characteristics of the Ox Heart tomato variety in a table

Characteristic	Description
Description	Indeterminate late-ripening variety for open and closed ground
Ripening period	105-120 days
Fruit weight	Average 150 g, maximum 300 g
Description of the fruit	Pinkish-raspberry, heart-shaped, medium-ribbed. Taste good.
Productivity	630-690 c/ha
Usage	Suitable for salads.
Preferred growing regions	Any. Preferably grown in southern regions.
Disease resistance	To most diseases of nightshades.
Agricultural technology	Requires tying and shaping.
	2000
Originator	JSC "RESEARCH AND PRODUCTION CORPORATION "NK. LTD".

Photo gallery of the tomato variety 'Ox Heart'

A detailed description of the Ox Heart tomato variety

Let's take a closer look at the Ox Heart tomato variety.

Characteristics of the bush

Forms vigorous, tall bushes. In greenhouses, they can reach 2.2 m, and in open beds, 1.5 m. The first cluster forms above the ninth leaf. All subsequent clusters are spaced three leaf blades apart. A cluster typically produces 4-5 fruits.

Fruit characteristics

They are heart-shaped and slightly ribbed. The skin is thick. The tomatoes are a rich, pinkish-crimson color. They contain four seed clusters. Each fruit weighs 150-300 g.

Ripening time and yield

Typically, the ripened crop is harvested 115 days after germination (plus or minus a few days). The yield is high. One bush can yield 2-2.5 kg.

Advantages and disadvantages of the Ox Heart tomato variety

The variety has the following advantages:

• excellent marketability;
• high yield;
• the ability to use seeds from your own garden, since this is a variety, not a hybrid;
• high resistance to many nightshade diseases, including late blight;
• The fleshy structure of the fruit allows it to be used in salads and sliced ​​for table decoration.

There are also disadvantages:

• capricious in care (requires mandatory shaping and pruning);
• rather late ripening, which makes cultivation problematic in cold regions;
  poor shelf life;
• unsuitability for whole-fruit preservation due to the large size of the fruits.

There are plenty of downsides, but they're minor. The arguments in favor of this variety are more compelling, which is why it's so popular among gardeners.

Planting Tips for the Ox Heart Tomato Variety

Let's take a closer look at the planting and care features of the oldest representative of the Ox Heart variety.

This variety is grown in open beds in the south of Russia and in greenhouses in the central and northern regions.

Sowing seeds and growing seedlings

Seeds are sown 60-65 days before the intended permanent planting. When two true leaves appear, the seedlings are pricked out into individual containers. A week before planting, they should be hardened off by placing them outdoors daily, gradually increasing the time.

Planting in the ground

Planting in open beds begins in mid-May. Seedlings can be transplanted into the greenhouse as early as late April. This variety requires well-warmed, light soil with a high nutrient content. Beds previously used for peas, carrots, radishes, and onions are suitable. It is not recommended to grow tomatoes in the same spot two years in a row. The beds are tilled in the fall, adding mineral fertilizer and compost.

Planting is done in a staggered pattern. Space adjacent holes 50 cm apart, and rows 70 cm apart. It is recommended to plant no more than 4 plants per square meter.

Varieties of the Ox Heart tomato variety

The "Ox Heart" tomato is offered by several agricultural companies: Aelita, Sibirsky Sad, and Gavrish. There are also varieties bred by amateurs and local farmers. Let's take a closer look at the characteristics of each subtype.

Ox heart pink

A registered variety developed by the Aelita agricultural firm.

Characteristic	Description
Description	Mid-early indeterminate variety for open beds and greenhouses.
Ripening period	111-115 days
Fruit weight	160-210 g
Description of the fruit	Heart-shaped, ribbed, medium-dense, pink. Good flavor.
Productivity	950-1000 c/ha
Usage	Salad
Preferred growing regions	Any.
Disease resistance	Good.
Agricultural technology	Garter and shaping.
	2013
Originator	LLC "AGROFIRMA AELITA"

Photo gallery of the tomato variety 'Ox Heart Pink'

Planting tips for the 'Ox Heart Pink' tomato variety

Just like the previous species, in the south it is grown in open ground, and in greenhouses in central Russia and in the north.

Seedlings are planted throughout March. The soil should be light and nutritious. The seedlings are pre-treated with Kornevin. The seedlings are kept at a temperature of 22 to 24°C. A minimum of 12 hours of daylight is required. Moisten with a spray bottle.

The seedlings are transplanted to their permanent location at 50-60 days of age. The planting pattern is the same as for the previous variety.

Ox heart Minusinsk

This subspecies is part of the Minusinsk tomato series and is considered a folk selection. Unlike the first two, it grows well in northern regions.

Characteristic	Description
Description	Indeterminate mid-season variety for open ground and greenhouses.
Ripening period	115-125 days
Fruit weight	200-400 g
Description of the fruit	Pink, heart-shaped. Sweetish taste.
Productivity	1100-1200 c/ha
Usage	Salad and tomato processing.
Preferred growing regions	Any.
Disease resistance	High.
Agricultural technology	Formation in 2-3 stems, garter.
	Not included.
Originator	Folk selection.

Photo gallery of the tomato variety Volovye Serdtse Minusinskoye

Planting Features of the Ox Heart tomato variety Minusinskoye

This species is the most productive of all, provided that the planting and care rules are followed.

Growing seedlings is carried out in the same way as for the pink ox heart.

Planting in open ground occurs at 50-60 days of age. The soil must be dug over and supplemented with compost, humus, and mineral mixtures. No more than 3-4 bushes should be planted per square meter.

Read about other tomatoes in the Minusinsky series in the article19 Minusinsk tomato varieties with reviews, photos, and detailed descriptions.

Striped ox heart

The most exotic subspecies of the tomato variety, Ox Heart, with unusual striped fruits.

Characteristic	Description
Description	Semi-determinate mid-season variety for greenhouses.
Ripening period	110-120 days
Fruit weight	150-200 g
Description of the fruit	Heart-shaped, round, pink with yellow-orange stripes. The taste is sweet and pleasant.
Productivity	700 c/ha
Usage	Fresh consumption, production of juices and pastes.
Preferred growing regions	Southern.
Disease resistance	High.
Agricultural technology	Garter, formation into 1-2 stems.
	Not included.
Originator	Amateur selection.

Photo gallery of the tomato variety 'Ox Heart Striped'

Planting Features of the Striped Ox Heart Tomato Variety

This variety is grown only in warm regions; it is completely unsuitable for low temperatures.
Before sowing, the seeds should be treated with a light pink solution of potassium permanganate, rinsed, and thoroughly dried. They are sown in March in wooden or plastic boxes. You can make your own soil from peat, compost, garden soil, and a small amount of sand. The sowing depth is 2 cm. To speed up germination, moisten the soil with a spray bottle and cover with plastic or glass. Place in a warm place.

When more than half of the seedlings have emerged, remove the cover and place the containers in the brightest location. Daylight hours should be at least 12 hours. If necessary, provide supplemental lighting with phytolamps. Once two true leaves emerge, transplant the seedlings into separate containers.

Planting in a greenhouse occurs at 50-60 days of age. The planting pattern is 50x70 cm.

Features of caring for different varieties of the Ox Heart tomato variety

Caring for the Oxheart subspecies is no different. Bushes require mandatory side-sonning. Typically, 1-2 stems are left, removing other shoots and lower leaves. Numerous ovaries can form. However, no more than 6-8 should be left. Otherwise, the bushes will not have enough strength, and the harvest will be small. As the tomatoes grow, they should be tied to a trellis or other support.

Any variety of this cultivar thrives on moisture and requires ample watering. This should be done in the evening with warm, settled water. After watering, apply mulch to help retain moisture in the soil.

Fertilize the bushes 2-3 times during the growing season. Use a phosphorus-potassium mixture. Nitrogen fertilizers should also be applied at the beginning of the bushes' development and growth, then in smaller quantities.

Resistance of the Ox Heart tomato varieties and disease prevention

These varieties are resistant to many diseases. However, preventative measures are still a good idea. Before the first flowers appear, treat the bushes with Bordeaux mixture or a similar solution. If any plant shows signs of infection, it should be dug up and destroyed immediately. Re-treat the remaining bushes.

To prevent late blight, spray the plants with Fitosporin. You can also prepare a solution from whey:

• Dilute it in a bucket of water.
• Add 5-10 drops of iodine.
• Spray with the resulting mixture.

Pests that can attack bushes include aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies. To prevent these pests, spray the plants with celandine infusion, soapy water, or commercial insecticides.

Garlic, basil, and onions can be planted next to tomatoes. They will repel insects.

Harvesting, using and storing the Ox Heart tomato variety

On average, harvesting occurs 115 days after germination. It's important to note that this variety isn't intended for long-term storage, so it should be consumed as soon as possible.

Comparison of different varieties of the tomato variety "Ox's Heart" with other varieties in the table

Please note! How can you easily convert centners/ha to kg/sq.m? Simply divide by 100! For example, the Abakansky Pink tomato yields 400 centners of marketable fruit per hectare. This equals 4 kg per square meter. It's that simple! Also, keep in mind that typically no more than 3-4 plants are planted per square meter. This way, you can calculate the yield per bush. In the case of the Abakansky Pink, it's about 1 kg.

Variety	Ripening period (number of days from full germination to ripening) Yield of commercial fruits	Brief description	Fetus
Ox heart	105-120 days 630-690 c/ha	A late-ripening indeterminate variety for open ground and greenhouses. Requires staking and shaping. Suitable for salads. Grows best in southern Russia.	Heart-shaped, medium-ribbed, pink-raspberry, 150-300 g. Good taste.
Ox heart Minusinsk	115-125 days 1100-1200 c/ha	An indeterminate, mid-season variety for open ground and greenhouses. Requires staking and training. Suitable for salads and tomato processing.	Pink, heart-shaped, 200-400 g. Sweetish taste.
Striped ox heart	110-120 days 700 c/ha	A semi-determinate, mid-season variety for greenhouses. Requires staking and training. Suitable for fresh consumption, juice, and paste production. Preferred for cultivation in southern Russia.	Heart-shaped, round, pink with yellow-orange stripes. 150-200 g. Sweet, pleasant taste.
Ox heart pink	111-115 days 950-1000 c/ha	A mid-early indeterminate variety for open beds and greenhouses. Requires staking and shaping. Suitable for salads.	Heart-shaped, ribbed, medium density, pink, 160-210 g. Good taste.
Mom's Raspberry Heart	112-120 days 1200-1500 c/ha	A mid-season indeterminate variety for greenhouses and open ground. Suitable for salads and canning.	Heart-shaped, ribbed, pink, 300-600 g (up to 1200 g). Excellent taste.
Crimson Dawn	110-115 days 790 c/ha	A mid-season indeterminate variety for open ground and greenhouses. Requires staking and shaping. Suitable for salads.	Heart-shaped, loose, ribbed, raspberry, 350-400 g. Good taste.
Heart of Siberia	92-110 days The yield of commercial fruits is 7.9 kg/sq.m.	An indeterminate, early-ripening, tall tomato variety intended for planting in open ground or greenhouses.	Large, heart-shaped, slightly ribbed, pink tomatoes weighing 300-400 g. An excellent salad variety, ideal for making juices, sauces, ketchup, and other preserves.
The Beauty of Siberia	95-110 days 580 c/ha	A mid-season indeterminate variety for open ground and polycarbonate greenhouses.	Heart-shaped, medium-ribbed, pink, 300-400 g, salad-colored. Excellent flavor.
Bull's heart (red)	120-125 days 300-400 c/ha Important! There are other colors besides red, see the article (hover over the variety name to jump).	A late-to-mid-late determinate variety for open ground and greenhouses. Requires staking and shaping. Suitable for salads.	Heart-shaped, smooth, fleshy, red, 108-225 g. Excellent taste.
nobleman	103-117 days 107-587 c/ha, maximum 780 c/ha (Omsk region)	A mid-season determinate variety for open ground. Suitable for salads. 95% marketability.	Heart-shaped, medium-ribbed, raspberry, 131-250 g. Good to excellent taste.
Abakan pink	120 days or more 400 c/ha	A late-ripening determinate variety for open ground and greenhouses. Requires staking and training. Suitable for salads and processing into tomato products.	Flat-round, slightly ribbed, medium density and pink in color, 200-500 g. Good taste.
King of Siberia	110-120 days 900-1115 c/ha	A mid-season indeterminate variety for greenhouses. Requires shaping and support. Suitable for salads and canning.	Heart-shaped, slightly ribbed, orange, 400-800 g. Good to excellent taste.
Mikado Sibiriko	90-95 days 800 c/ha	An early indeterminate variety from Siberian breeders. For salads, juice, and pasta.	Heart-shaped, ribbed, pinkish, 400-600 g. Excellent taste.
Minusinsk bulls	110-118 days 1200 c/ha	A mid-season indeterminate variety for open ground and greenhouses. Suitable for salads, canning, and processing into tomato products.	Heart-shaped, elongated, with a spout, ribbed, raspberry-pink, 200-250 g (up to 400 g). The taste is good to excellent.
Minusinsk balls	110-122 days Up to 1500 c/ha subject to agricultural practices	A mid-season indeterminate variety for greenhouses. Requires staking and training into single or double stems. Suitable for salads and processing into tomato products.	Round-heart-shaped, ribbed, pinkish-red, 150-250 g. Excellent taste.
Minusinsk home	110-120 days Up to 1500 c/ha	An early-ripening indeterminate variety for greenhouses. Requires staking and shaping into 1-2 stems. Suitable for processing into tomato products and canning.	Heart-shaped, slightly ribbed, raspberry, 350-500 g. Excellent taste.
Eagle's beak	105-115 days 1050-1440 c/ha	A mid-season indeterminate variety for open ground. Requires staking and training. Suitable for salads. The yield of ripe, marketable fruit is 75%.	Heart-shaped, slightly ribbed, dense, transports well, pink, 228-360 g (up to 600 g). Good taste.

Real reviews from gardeners about the Ox Heart tomato variety

Gardeners who have tried growing this variety note its high yield and excellent taste, but at the same time, they say that it can be challenging to grow.

This is my first year planting the "Ox Heart" tomato, but I've already decided to take the risk of writing a review. I absolutely loved it!

Our grandmothers planted the “Bull’s Heart” tomato, so many people know it.
"Ox Heart" is very similar to it, but it is a modern, more productive, improved variety.

The "Bull's Heart" variety was originally bred for open-ground cultivation in southern regions, but it also performs well in greenhouses, even in northern regions.

"Ox Heart" is a tall variety, growing in open ground to approximately one meter 20 centimeters tall (slightly shorter than "Bull's Heart"). Because this variety produces fairly large fruits, with several per cluster, staking and shaping are essential. It is recommended to train the bush into two branches, removing any side shoots.

The variety is resistant to major tomato diseases. For best yield, it requires fertilizing. I try to avoid chemicals and use natural fertilizers such as potassium humate and others.

I fell in love with the "Ox Heart" variety from the first season for its beautiful, large and incredibly tasty fruits.

The tomatoes turned out pink-raspberry in color with a characteristic, slightly elongated shape, truly reminiscent of a heart.

This is a large-fruited variety. The average fruit weight is about 300 grams.
There are tomatoes that are larger and smaller.

Three medium tomatoes weigh just about a kilogram.

In the next photo, where the fruit is cut apart, the heart shape is more clearly visible.

The tomato flesh is wonderful and firm. I like that there are no pronounced white veins inside and no hard seal around the stem.

"Ox Heart" has a fleshy, multi-chambered pulp with a pleasant aroma.
The taste of these “hearts” is delicate, “tomato-like” and sweet.

That rare occasion when I want to pick up a tomato and eat it, biting into it like an apple. Because it's so delicious!)

Here's another "Ox Heart" caught on camera. Again, it weighs about 300 grams.

I consider the "Ox Heart" tomato one of the best salad varieties. The tomatoes are delicious, firm, sweet, and aromatic. Their skin is thin, which is probably why they don't store well after being picked.

Besides being used in salads, "Ox Heart" is excellent for processing into delicious juice and tomato paste. It turns out incredibly thick.

The variety has many advantages:
+ large fruits of beautiful shape,
+ tomatoes are tasty, sweet, dense, with thin skin,
+ ideal for salads and processing into paste/juice,
+ high-yielding variety,
+ not a hybrid, so you can collect your own seeds instead of buying them.

Among the disadvantages (or rather, the characteristics of the variety) one can name:
— mid-season variety,
- requires pinching and garter,
- to increase the yield, it is advisable to apply several fertilizers per season,
- does not keep well when picked.

This review of mine is intended primarily for summer residents.
When we bought our summer cottage many, many years ago, I grew the seedlings myself. There were a lot of mistakes, but over time, I gained experience and everything started working out.
Then came a period of laziness. I became too lazy to do everything myself: sowing, transplanting, etc. So I started buying ready-made seedlings from a friend. She grew a lot of different varieties, both for herself and for sale. Her garden plot is not far from us, so before planting tomatoes, I would stop by her place, buy seedlings, and plant them right away. It was very convenient.

This year I decided to grow my own tomato seedlings again. I guess I liked the seed packets. I bought four varieties in total.
The first grade "Bull's Heart" from the Aelita company.
I used to plant “Bull’s Heart” tomatoes and I liked them: large and fleshy.

Here, too, the manufacturer promises large, fleshy, sweet and aromatic fruits.

The tomatoes are tall. Some specimens are actually quite large.

They grew up so beautiful.

True, in the picture they look more pink. Mine were red. I couldn't mix up the varieties because I only sowed four completely different ones.

And so, at home, I washed and cut up this beauty and…
What a disappointment. Instead of meaty flesh, there were tough, white patches that were completely tasteless. When I decided to chop this tomato into a salad, I threw out at least two-thirds of it.

What juice are we talking about? It's unlikely they'll yield much juice.

I'd like to point out one more thing. When these tomatoes were blooming (it's a shame I didn't take a photo), the large cluster was completely covered in flowers. I wondered how it would hold up if they all started to set. In the photo, you can see this large cluster growing upward. But only a few flowers set.

Here are some more that look so beautiful.

And they are like this inside with hard veins.

This year I didn't use all the seeds in the packet for sowing. There were still a lot left.
But I definitely won't sow them anymore.
And therefore I cannot recommend it to you.

Good afternoon, dear friends! Our family's favorite salad tomatoes are the pink "Ox Heart" tomatoes, named for their size and shape, which resembles an ox's heart. That's why we've been buying Aelita "Ox Heart" seeds for years now, and we're always happy with them.

They have a very good germination rate and don't require much watering, as I don't get to the dacha every day. The bushes are strong, growing up to 1.5 meters, so they need to be tied up, and they're disease-resistant.

The fruits have only one drawback: for some reason, they often burst near the stalk; the cracks are deep, and when eating, this part of the tomato has to be cut out.

Pictured is an "ox heart" with Siberian Garden "Red Truffle" tomatoes.

The weight of the smallest tomato is 291 grams.

Average weight - 407 grams

The weight of the largest one is 457 grams.
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It's a joy to look at them. One of these tomatoes is enough for a salad for two people! They're very sweet, fleshy, and juicy. You can't add salt to a salad because they immediately release their juices, and all the salt runs off to the bottom of the bowl, leaving the tomatoes sweet. This variety isn't suitable for canning, of course, unless you're using tomato juice, but I hate to waste them on juice; we eat them just like that.

Today I want to tell you about a new variety of tomato that I discovered last spring.
While shopping for black tomato seeds, I spotted a beautiful package of tomato seeds called "Ox Heart." The description matches my favorite variety, "Bull's Heart"—large, fleshy, and sweet.

I bought one packet to try, and it didn’t disappoint me, the harvest is good, the tomatoes are delicious, I’m planting them again this year!

Seeds from the Aelita agricultural company are distinguished by excellent germination.
Let's begin our acquaintance with the "Ox Heart" variety.

The seeds are packaged in a colorful bag with an image of a tempting tomato.

We got one seed of a different variety, which is certainly a minus for the manufacturer. But we were pleased; the little yellow cherry tomatoes really pleased our daughter!

Tomato "Bull's Heart" is a mid-season variety, the period from germination to ripening is 111-116 days.

Can be grown in open ground and greenhouse.
The tomato plant is tall, reaching 1.5-2 meters. Therefore, it requires support.

I sowed the seeds at the beginning of April, the germination rate was excellent, and they grew quickly.
Photo taken 13 days after planting.

Planting tomatoes in open ground under film.

The fruits are tasty, fleshy, aromatic and sweet, suitable for salads and juice, and can be used in canning.

Heart-shaped tomato, large in size and pink in color.

They are a hit in summer salads!

We even rolled them into homemade adjika, it was simply finger-licking good)))

But mostly the tomatoes were small in size and heart-shaped.

It is even very convenient to preserve them in jars for the winter.

So, let's sum it up.
Advantages:
+ intended for cultivation both in open ground and in greenhouses;
+ salad variety;
+ excellent taste: aromatic and sweet fruits;
+ tomatoes are large and fleshy;
+ high yield;
+ resistant to the main crop diseases.

Flaws:
- tall tomatoes require staking;
— large tomatoes have to be cut for canning in jars.

The result obtained meets expectations!

I highly recommend the new salad variety “Ox Heart” to amateur gardeners.
Thank you for your attention to the review!

For as long as I can remember, even in school, I've seen my mom buy "Ox Heart" tomato seeds. Now I've been planting my own garden for a long time, and I buy them too. This year, I came across Aelita tomato seeds. I sowed a few, thinking they wouldn't sprout, as there's no irrigation at the dacha. To my surprise, almost all the seeds sprouted. With the help of rain, although rare in our area, the tomatoes have grown quite large, both the bushes and the fruits themselves. They don't fit in a bottle; their size and shape truly resemble an ox heart, their sweet taste, and the salad they make is simply wonderful, downright delicious. We harvest the harvest by the bucketful, not canning them whole, but the tomato juice is finger-licking good. This winter, we'll remember the beautiful tomatoes we planted ourselves.

I grow all sorts of vegetables at my garden plot and buy lots of different seeds. I love growing tomatoes and experimenting with new varieties.

This time, I planted many new varieties in open ground and a polycarbonate greenhouse. And although our summer was hot and damp, the harvest was small. But I still managed to wait for tomatoes from the new varieties to bloom and see what was growing. This time, I planted the Ox's Heart tomato. Previously, I planted the Bull's Heart variety. What can I say about this tomato? It's also similar to the previous variety. Individual tomatoes on the lower clusters are the size of a palm. But this result is achieved only if grown on a single stem and all the side shoots are removed. Pinch the tops, and then the fruits will ripen. The tomatoes are truly heart-shaped. They taste meaty and delicious, as are most tomatoes grown indoors. If this variety is grown on two stems, the tomatoes are larger, but they are average-sized. So, everyone must decide whether they need individual large tomatoes or a larger number of smaller ones.

This tomato variety is my favorite. I grow it in the ground. It's more of a salad variety, with a bright, sweet flavor. The fruits are large, slightly elongated at the bottom, and the flesh is sugary, like a watermelon. I used to experiment with tomatoes, but now I only grow what I like best. The downside is the growth: the plant is quite tall, and large fruits can break branches, so proper staking is essential. It's not suitable for pickling, as the fruits are already soft, but it makes excellent juice. I watered it with cold water; it's disease-resistant, and I haven't seen any late blight. The germination rate of seeds from this particular brand, "AELITA," is poor. Perhaps that's my fault, but I won't blame the manufacturer. I bought seeds from a private seller the other year, and the germination rate was 99 percent. So, fellow gardeners, experiment!

I've had the "Ox Heart" tomato in my garden for about three years now. I fell in love with this wonderful vegetable right away. This delicious, juicy, meaty, and aromatic tomato is a favorite among my family and friends. Its heart-shaped appearance is simply captivating, making you want to try it. And its delicate pink color really draws you in.