Gribnoye Lukoshko, a Russian tomato variety, was discovered in 2007 and has been a loved variety in many gardens since. The ribbed shape of this tomato is the reason why this tomato got the name “Mushroom basket”. The shape and the ribs are reminiscent of the old stick baskets that were used during the mushroom hunting season.

This midseason tomato will ripe in just 85 days, making it perfect for gardens with shorter summer periods, and it will ensure a second harvest round in the gardens with long summers and mild autumns.

The plant itself is not much different from most of the indeterminant tomatoes, its thick stem and regular leaves will format a tall bush, but it will not grow over 2m. Due to a large number of branches, pruning is necessary to ensure the fruits will get enough food and ideal growing conditions.

The sowing conditions needed for the Mushroom basket are the same as for the rest of the tomatoes. The optimal germination temperature is 22°C-25°C (71°F-77°F), and the period needed for the germination will be 8 to 20 days depending on the conditions. To be certain that the tomato will grow nicely, it should be sown to a good seedling substrate and watered regularly. The watering shouldn’t be done with a heavy stream of water. The plants, in the beginning, are delicate and can easily break. The best way, for me, is to use a small pressure sprayer to water the seedlings. Of course, normal spray bottles can also be used, but when you have lots of seedlings it will take a lot of time to spray everything manually. Seeds should be sown indoors at least 6-8 weeks before the last frost date, and transplanted to the garden after the last frost danger date (for southeastern Europe this is after mid-May).

Once the seedlings are ready for garden transplantation, they will need a lot of fertilizer to have a nice growth jump. The easiest way to do this is to add manure directly to the seedling hole and place the seedling on top of the manure. You can also use fresh compost, which can be added to the hole or placed around the planted seedling. Another good thing for tomato fertilization is crumbled eggshells. I always add a handful of eggshells to the seedling hole. Eggshells release calcium, which tomatoes are very hungry for, and also prevent the blossom rot, making the plant grow stronger and healthier flowers. Flowers on the Mushroom basket tomato are regular shaped and yellow, but like all of the tomato varieties, don’t like the scorching sun, and the plant will start losing the flowers if during the flowering period temperatures reach over 30°C(86°F).

The plant will make 4-5 fruits per truss, with the size of the fruits of 200-500gr (7-17,6 oz). The more fruits there are, the smaller they will be. Removing a couple of the fruits while smaller can make the plant grow bigger fruits. Personally, I don’t do this, but it can be done when you need bigger fruits.

Fruits, as I mentioned before are very ribbed. To be exact, this is one of the most ribbed varieties I’ve seen and grown in my garden. The amount of ribs depends on the conditions in which the plant is growing. During the hot summers, the tomatoes had more ribs than during wet and rainy summers. Also, the size of the tomato affects the rib amount. The smaller ones will not have so pronounced ribs as the big fruits. 

The fruits are red to pink in color, with very thick skin and firm flesh, making them perfect for salads, sandwiches, pickling, and transport. The hard skin prevents the tomatoes from spoiling easily, and once harvested they can be stored for a very long time. They have a mild and sweet taste with a slight touch of tart. 

What surprised me the most is that, unlike some tomatoes, this variety tastes good even when almost completely unripe. A few years ago, I had a situation with blight in which the complete tomato bed was infected so badly that I had to do a premature harvest to save all of the tomato fruits. I’ve harvested them while they were almost green, and when tasted, they still tasted good. I left them on the balcony to ripe, and they were turning red without any problems. The greenest ones stayed on the balcony during the whole autumn and started to ripe in late November, so I even had some winter tomatoes, long after the plants were harvested. Usually, this only happens with cherry tomatoes that don’t spoil for months.  

Gribnoye Lukoshko is a great tomato for a gardener that wants a nice, firm, oddly shaped tomato. It will be a great decoration on meals, and its mild taste and freshness will lift any meal.