Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Welcome to the English archive of the "TOMAT-POMIDOR.COM International Tomato Growers Club" — the largest Ru-language tomato forum, founded in 2010.
For years, our gardeners have been cultivating and discussing some of the most resilient and rare heirloom varieties in the world. We are carefully translating the best forum threads to English and distilling them into pure, useful facts.
Authentic photos, real yields, and honest reviews from actual growers.
📌 Quick Diary Summary: Early Summer Harvests 🥔 Potato Yields: Don’t expect massive yields from early “new” potatoes. Getting about 1 lb (500g) per plant in early July is perfectly normal. You are harvesting them for their tender, sweet flavor, not for winter storage! 🐌 The Slug Battle: Early cabbage is a magnet for slugs. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Stop Your Daikon from Bolting 🛑 The Bolting Problem: If your daikon radish is sending up flower stalks (bolting) instead of growing a thick root, you are planting it at the wrong time. Spring/early summer planting triggers seed production due to long daylight hours. 📅 The Golden Window: The secret to giant … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zhigalo (Gigolo) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety released by the Russian seed company “Biotechnica”. Known for its provocative name (Gigolo) due to its distinct, elongated, phallic shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Compact determinate (tree-type dwarf). Usually grows to about 16-24 inches (40-60 cm). Has thick, rugose foliage that looks like a little … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Jasmina 🌍 Origin: A fantastic heirloom variety from Serbia, bred and popularized by the well-known Serbian tomato breeder Živojin Antić. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An incredibly vigorous and powerful plant. Due to the extreme weight of the fruits, providing extra support for the fruit clusters (trusses) is highly recommended to … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Yellow Mimi F1 🌍 Origin: A commercial Japanese F1 hybrid cherry tomato, frequently repackaged and sold by various Eastern European seed distributors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Produces heavily branched, “coral-like” flower trusses (multiflora type). Easily reaches 6.5 ft (2 m) in a greenhouse. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small, yellow, teardrop-shaped cherry … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Evpator F1 🌍 Origin: A highly reliable commercial F1 hybrid produced by the Russian seed company “Gavrish”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Designed specifically for greenhouse and high-tunnel growing. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Perfectly smooth, oblate (flattened globe) red tomatoes weighing around 4.5-5.3 oz (130-150 g). 🛡️ Disease Resistance: An absolute tank. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Egipetskaya Ladya (Egyptian Boat) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded Russian collector’s variety. The name “Egipetskaya Ladya” translates to “Egyptian Boat” or “Egyptian Ship”, which perfectly describes the unique, slightly elongated, boat-like shape of the fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A very powerful and vigorous plant with thick stems. It produces … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Evgeniya 🌍 Origin: Bred in 2009 by the well-known tomato breeder Ruslan Dukhov. Not to be confused with the commercial determinate variety “Zhenechka”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very vigorous vines that easily reach over 10 ft (3 m). 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Massive pink strawberry-shaped/oxheart tomatoes. They are very meaty and … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Yelisey 🌍 Origin: A highly productive commercial variety from the well-known Russian seed company “Aelita”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). An absolute workhorse of a plant that performs exceptionally well both in greenhouses and outdoors. Height varies from 24-40 inches (60-100 cm) outdoors, up to 5 feet (1.5 m) in a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dey Huanchi 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety with Chinese roots (the name roughly translates to “Big Yellow”), heavily popularized in Eastern Europe and Russia by the SeDeK seed company. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Generally does well grown outdoors without greenhouse protection. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Beautiful yellow-orange slicing tomatoes. Average weight … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): De Barao Rozovyi (Pink De Barao) 🌍 Origin: A classic Russian commercial heirloom, part of the famous, cold-tolerant De Barao tomato family. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A massive, highly vigorous vine that easily reaches the roof of a greenhouse. Requires aggressive pruning. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Pink, plum-shaped paste tomatoes, usually featuring … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Donald F1 🌍 Origin: A commercial F1 hybrid variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, staying very compact. Outdoors in open ground, it tops out at around 20 inches (0.5 m). 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red, perfectly round, and incredibly firm. It has a highly uniform, “commercial” appearance. 👅 Flavor & Use: Standard … Read more