Tomato Elisha: variety description, characteristics, reviews

Lovers of tomato varieties with a sweet flavor and unusual coloring may want to consider the Yelisey tomato, which has been in high demand and beloved by gardeners since 2015. With a relatively early ripening period, it yields firm, orange-yellow fruits with an elongated, cylindrical, rounded shape.

With proper farming practices, you can harvest enough tomatoes for fresh consumption, canning, and pickling. Green tomatoes are placed in a cool place in cardboard boxes and covered with a warm cloth. There, the tomatoes can be stored for quite a long time, gradually reaching their familiar orange color. They will keep until December, and if sorted and aired, they can last until the New Year holidays. The cultivar's originator is the renowned agricultural company Aelita, a Russian leader in the seed and auxiliary component market. It has a well-deserved reputation. All seeds are sold in a branded packet.

Characteristics and description of the variety, yield

A domestic variety with excellent recommendations. It surpasses many varieties in growth, flavor, and seed production. Resistant to fusarium and verticillium wilt, this domestic variety comes from the original grower, Aelita. The determinate bush, no taller than 120 cm, bears small, cylindrical, sweet fruits of a bright yellow-orange hue. They look beautiful against light green foliage and in a jar for winter preserves.

The average fruit weight is 50-60 g, sometimes 70-80 g, with 4-6 fruits per cluster, all ripening simultaneously. Under plastic cover, some gardeners claim, Yelisey yields 8-8.5 kg, although in open ground, yields of 2.5-3 kg per bush have been recorded. In a temperate climate, its taste also deserves only praise, but the fruit's color is often associated with dried apricots, unlike the shade acquired under the bright southern sun.

Thanks to its ability to withstand cool weather, the Yelisey tomato grows well in both challenging agricultural areas and southern regions. It bears fruit throughout the summer season, despite being an early variety. Its ripening period is approximately 100 days, sometimes slightly less or slightly more.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

There are no specific drawbacks to this variety in any of the reviews. Some note the need to tie the bush to prevent branches from breaking under the weight of the harvest, but this is required for any tomato variety. The golden tomato Elisey has many more advantages than some other varieties:

• a strong determinate bush that does not require special care;
• resistant to cold and some common diseases;
• very tasty fruits with a lot of sugars and vitamins;
• ripening on the brush is simultaneous, you can pick it directly from it, this increases shelf life and resistance to transportation;
• high shelf life of tomatoes picked at technical ripeness (up to 3 months in favorable conditions);
• can grow in open ground and under film cover in almost any region of the country;
• extremely easy to care for;
• produces a consistently high yield throughout the entire growing period.

Features of cultivation and timing of planting seedlings

The best time to plant seedlings in warmer regions of the country is mid- to late February, while in temperate climates, they are planted in early to mid-March. Seedlings take 65-70 days to mature, so it's important to consider the region's climate and the recommendations of the lunar gardening calendar. When planting seedlings in a greenhouse, two applications of humic fertilizer are recommended. After transplanting into open ground, three additional applications are required (in the hole, after the first flowers appear, and after the first harvest). Watering should be moderate, every 5-7 days.

Each bush, with proper care, can produce up to 60 tomatoes at a time. This requires removing leaves to allow them to receive sunlight and proper staking to prevent the fruits from lying on the ground.

The Elisey tomato can also be planted directly into the soil. For this, the seeds are sown no earlier than the second ten-day period at a shallow depth in a 50x40 pattern, fertilized with growth stimulants, and covered with plastic wrap. Pricking out is done at the second leaf level.

Reviews from gardeners

Igor Alexandrovich, 48 years old. Astrakhan region:

I'm a tomato farmer with 10 years of experience. It's simply outrageous that there are no seeds of this variety for sale anywhere, even if they're not from Aelita, but for the second year running I haven't been able to find them anywhere. There are only two seed shops in our village, and they've never heard of this variety, although they used to always have them in the region. Now they say they don't import them. I grew them for three years and was happy. The yield is good, and people are eager to buy them. The color is beautiful. I used the entire last harvest for pickling, two barrels of it. There are plenty of Dutch and French varieties, but I can't find my own. It's a real paradox.

Anna, 32 years old. Voronezh region:

I bought some for our dacha on a neighbor's advice. We're simple folk, growing for ourselves, and our plot is small, so space is tight. I struggled with red varieties, but it never worked out. I planted this one as a trial—we ate it all summer. The green tomatoes, which didn't have time to ripen, lasted until the end of November. The fruits are sweet, downright sugary; I didn't even want to waste them for canning. I'll plant more this year. But they say seeds are hard to come by.

Sergey, 29 years old. Kostroma:

I'm an amateur gardener, a bit of an expert, so I just indulge in them on weekends with my wife. She's delighted; they're delicious, that's true. But I prefer the red ones. What kind of tomato is it if it looks like an apricot? An acquired taste, really.

Inga Grigorievna, 59 years old. Krasnodar:

All varieties grow well in the South. But Yeliseyka is my favorite. You take out a jar and it looks so pretty, especially if you make a platter with cucumbers and red tomatoes. We ate pink tomatoes in the summer—the whole family loves them. And these are perfect for canning. They're compact, hold their shape, and have an unusual color. All my friends were asking me what kind of variety it is and how to grow it. I've already prepared the seeds; I'm going to plant them.

Judging by gardener reviews and the variety description, the Yelisey tomato is an undeniable success of domestic breeders, and is definitely worth trying out.