Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Admin 
Quick Summary of Yuwel (Juwel / Jewel) 🌍 Origin & History: A legendary heirloom with a fascinating past. According to Soviet agricultural records, it was one of the most widely grown commercial varieties in the USSR during the 1930s. The name translates to “Jewel” from German (Juwel). 🕵️♂️ The Strain Mystery: There is a popular … Read more
Quick Summary of Crnkovic Yugoslavian 🌍 Origin: A very famous heirloom variety originating from the former Yugoslavia (reportedly brought to the US by Yasha Crnkovic). In Eastern European collections, it is widely traded under the transliterated name “Yugoslavskiy Krnkovicha”. 🌿 Plant Habit: A vigorous indeterminate (tall vining) plant. Growers report excellent results when training the … Read more
Quick Summary of Yubileyniy Tarasenko (Tarasenko’s Jubilee) 🌍 Origin & Breeder Lore: A legendary variety bred by the famous Soviet amateur breeder Feodosiy Tarasenko. The name translates to “Tarasenko’s Jubilee”. 🌿 Plant Habit: A tall, vigorous indeterminate that easily reaches 2 meters (6.5 ft). The defining feature of the Tarasenko lines is their Multiflora (Mega-Truss) … Read more
Quick Summary of Yupiter (Jupiter) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic heirloom/commercial variety traded among collectors under the name Yupiter (Jupiter). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and extremely vigorous. Growers note that it develops very thick, strong stems that naturally want to bifurcate and branch out into multiple leaders. If not pruned strictly, it will easily turn your … Read more
Quick Summary of Yusupovskiye / Uzbekskie 🌍 Origin: A legendary heirloom originating from Uzbekistan, highly prized in Eastern Europe. It is named after a famous Uzbek breeder (Yusupov). Often traded simply as “Uzbekskie” (Uzbek). 🌿 Plant Habit: Classic Strain: A vigorous, tall indeterminate vine reaching 1.8m (6 ft) or more, requiring strong support. Dwarf Strain: … Read more
.thumb.JPG.013a86befb710fc77a18a1c452edbffd.JPG)
Quick Summary of Yustina (Justyna) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded cocktail-sized heirloom variety popular in Eastern European collections. The name is Justyna (often transliterated as Yustina). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (vining) with medium vigor and regular foliage. It responds exceptionally well to minimal pruning (growers recommend pruning suckers only up to the first truss, then … Read more
Quick Summary of Yuzhniy Zagar (Southern Tan) 🌍 Origin: A very famous commercial/heirloom variety from Siberian breeders (Sibirskiy Sad). The name translates to “Southern Tan”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but usually remains quite compact (1-1.2m outdoors, up to 2m in a greenhouse). It features classic “wispy” (weeping) foliage — the seedlings look skinny, frail, and … Read more
Quick Summary of Exotic Fruit 🌍 Origin: A vigorously growing heirloom variety traded in Eastern European collections under the English name “Exotic Fruit”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (vining) and very powerful. The plants are highly vigorous and respond very well to multi-stem pruning. Growers successfully train them to 3 or even 4 stems without sacrificing … Read more
Quick Summary of Elegant 🌍 Origin & Naming Confusion: “Elegant” is a name shared by several completely different tomato strains in the Russian/Ukrainian seed market. This forum thread is highly valuable because it breaks down the differences between the commercial version and the private collector versions. 🍅 Strain 1 (Commercial / SibSad variety): A mid-early … Read more
Quick Summary of Ekzotika (Exotica) 🌍 Origin: A reliable commercial/heirloom variety. The name translates to “Exotica” in English. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (vining), mid-to-late season. The plant is vigorous, sprawling, and grows to about 1.7 meters (5.6 ft) tall when planted outdoors. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red, perfectly round fruits growing in clusters of 7 … Read more
Quick Summary of Elfin 🌍 Origin: A fantastic red grape/cherry tomato variety. Well-known and distributed by major Russian seed vendors like Gusev and Happy Garden. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (vining) and highly sprawling. It produces a massive amount of suckers. However, it is remarkably low-maintenance: many growers don’t bother pruning the suckers at all and … Read more
Quick Summary of Efemer 🌍 Origin: A very popular, reliable, and trouble-free commercial/heirloom variety from Eastern Europe (Ukraine/Russia/Moldova). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush) type. Typically grows to about 60-70 cm (24-28 inches) outdoors, but can reach 1 m (3.2 ft) in a greenhouse. Requires minimal pruning. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Perfectly round, smooth red fruits weighing … Read more