Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Banan Oranzhevyi (Orange Banana) 🌍 Origin: A popular commercial Russian variety (widely distributed by seed companies like Gavrish and Aelita). The name translates to “Orange Banana”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Mostly indeterminate (growing over 6.5 ft / 2 m in greenhouses), though some growers report shorter determinate strains. It has a characteristic … Read more
📌 Thread Summary: Growing Giant Sweet Onions from Seed Topic: A masterclass on growing massive, sweet “Exhibition” onions from seed. Note for US Growers: This exact same method is the gold standard for growing giant sweet varieties like Walla Walla, Candy F1, Vidalia, and Ailsa Craig. The “Cold Treatment” Secret: The biggest mistake growers make … Read more
📌 Thread Summary: Grafting Eggplants onto Tomato Rootstock The Problem: Eggplants are highly susceptible to soil-borne fungal diseases like Verticillium and Fusarium wilt, which cause the plants to droop and die prematurely. The Solution: Grafting an eggplant scion onto a vigorous tomato rootstock. Tomatoes generally have much stronger, more disease-resistant root systems. The Results: Complete … Read more
📌 Thread Summary: When to Pot Up Tomatoes & The 5-Day Rule Topic: A deep dive into the exact timing of potting up (pricking out) tomato seedlings and how this single step drastically affects your early yield and Days to Maturity (DTM). The 5-Day Rule: You must pot up your tomato seedlings no later than … Read more
📌 Thread Summary: Seed Potato Curing & Preparation Topic: A detailed discussion on the best practices for harvesting, curing, and chitting (pre-sprouting) seed potatoes to ensure maximum yield and safe winter storage. Curing & Storage (The Quarantine Phase): Never put freshly dug potatoes straight into a root cellar. Cure them in a dry, ventilated space … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Babushkino Bychie Serdtse (Grandma’s Oxheart) 🌍 Origin: A Russian family heirloom that is over 80 years old. Introduced to seed collectors by Angelina Khilenko. The name translates to “Grandma’s Oxheart”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and tall. Can easily reach over 2 m (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse. Its performance is … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bolshoy Oranzhevyi Khrebet (Big Orange Ridge) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety. The name translates to “Big Orange Ridge”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Requires pruning/training (growers typically prune to 2 or 3 stems). It can experience slow fruit set during unfavorable early-season weather but compensates heavily once conditions stabilize. Demonstrates good … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Big Zac 🌍 Origin: Bred in the USA by Minnie Zaccaria. It is famous worldwide among competitive growers for producing record-breaking giant tomatoes. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and noted for producing exceptionally thick stems. It can easily exceed 2 meters (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, oblate … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Grosse de Christophe 🌍 Origin: A large European variety. The name translates from French as “Christophe’s Large”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Produces a sturdy, robust plant. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Raspberry-pink beefsteaks. The fruits are shiny, uniform in shape, and relatively smooth with slight ribbing. They are consistently large, typically ranging from 300–500 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Chernyi Oxheart Large 🌍 Origin: Sourced from the collection of American seed saver Dale Thurber. The name is a linguistic mix (“Chernyi” means “Black” in Russian). It likely circulated in the US as “Chernyi Oxheart Large” before being translated back into Russian by local growers as “Large Black Oxheart”. 🌿 Plant … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Uriasa de Baltatesti 🌍 Origin: An old Eastern European heirloom from the Bălțătești commune in Romania. The name translates to “Giant of Bălțătești”. The seeds trace back to the collection of Vali Cucu, a well-known Romanian seed saver who researches and preserves local varieties. 🌿 Plant Habit: Produces an enormous yield. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gramma Climen Hagen 🌍 Origin: An heirloom from the McIntee family, grown for many years by their grandmother, Bertha Jean (Anderson) Climenhaga (born in 1910). Introduced to seed collectors by Dale Thurber. Note: The variety is often circulated under the spelling “Gramma Climen Hagen”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A heavy-yielding … Read more