PlantFiles: Tomato
Lycopersicon lycopersicum 'Novikov's Giant'

The classification of this cultivar as "potato leaf" may be premature or at least nead a bit of modification as many growers have grown what appears in their pictures to be a more "intermediate" leaf form with wide leaves similar to true PL shapes but having irregular, softly serrated edges.

Of the three seeds sent from Belarus by Andrey B. in 2006, one did not sprout, one gave the intermediate leaf form and the third seed gave a purely smooth edged potato leaf form. Other than the two different leaf forms, both plants gave identical, very good tasting, pink fruit; but the intermediate leaf vine was far more vigorous than the potato leaf vine which is something curiously similar the deminished vigor exhibited by potato leaf throwbacks or segregants of Early Girl Improved hybrid.

Andrey says Novikov's Giant is an "amateur gardener variety" created in Russia by A.I. Novikov, and that it more correctly may be named Gigant-10 Novikov.

Great flavor, moderate productivity. Very dark pink fruits, almost raspberry red.

Midseason to mid-late, indet. potato leaf, extreamely vigorous plant with an excellent yield of tasty pink-red ribbed beefsteak 200-1000g( 7 oz -2 lbs) fruits, average amount of seeds. Plant yeilds over 20 kg (45 lbs), if grown well.