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): Arbuznyi (Watermelon) 🌍 Origin: A well-known Russian commercial commercial variety. The name “Arbuznyi” translates to “Watermelon,” referring to its mahogany-red/dark color with subtle dark green stripes near the shoulders. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Height varies greatly depending on whether it is grown in a greenhouse or open ground. Known for having … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Accordion Cherry (Akkordeon Cherry) 🌍 Origin: A very unique, heavily ribbed red cherry/cocktail tomato. Extremely popular among Russian heirloom collectors for its striking appearance and long shelf life. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching over 2 meters (6.5+ ft) in a greenhouse. The adult plant is powerful and vigorous, though seedlings … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Akrobat (Acrobat) 🌍 Origin: A Russian cascading (trailing) cherry tomato variety bred specifically for container gardening, hanging baskets, and small spaces. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, micro-dwarf/cascading type. It naturally forms a lush, cascading waterfall of foliage and fruit. If staked upright, it reaches about 50 cm (20 inches) in height. Highly … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Auria 🌍 Origin: A highly popular and widely discussed Eastern European heirloom. It is also sometimes circulated under the name Zabava. An orange/yellow version exists called Eros. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), very vigorous, and typically a very heavy yielder. Mid-season to late maturity. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Famous for its elongated, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Altai Yellow (Altayskiy Zheltyy) 🌍 Origin: A classic Siberian/Altai regional heirloom from Russia. Available from several commercial seed companies (like “Siberian Garden”), but many collectors grow specific heirloom strains (like the ones from collector Yashchenko). 🌿 Plant Habit: Often classified as a tall determinate or semi-determinate, growing to about 1.5 – … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Antoshka 🌍 Origin: A fantastic early-season Russian commercial variety. The name “Antoshka” is a friendly, diminutive form of the name Anton (often associated with a cheerful cartoon character in Russia). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush/dwarf type). Extremely compact and sturdy, growing only 30-60 cm (12-24 inches) tall. It requires zero pruning … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Amurskiy Tigr (Amur Tiger) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the “Aelita” seed company. ⚠️ The Seed Mystery (Important!): For several years, Aelita accidentally distributed a completely wrong seed (an off-type) under this name. Many early growers ended up with small, red-and-yellow striped cocktail tomatoes with thin skin (suspected … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Growing Strawberries from Seed 🍓 Why from seed? Plants grown from seed are generally much more vigorous, healthier, and completely virus-free compared to plants grown from runners. 📅 Timing: Start indoors in January/February if you have grow lights (12-14 hours a day), or wait until late February/March if you are relying … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Strawberry Clipper Weevil Control 🐛 The Pest: The Strawberry Blossom Weevil (closely related to the North American Strawberry Clipper Weevil) is a tiny black/brown beetle about 3 mm (1/8 inch) long. 🥀 The Damage: If you see small holes in your strawberry leaves or notice unopened flower buds hanging by a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Pruning Strawberry Leaves After Harvest ✂️ The Debate: Should you cut off all strawberry leaves after the summer harvest? The short answer: you can get great yields whether you do a full prune, a partial prune, or no prune at all. It depends entirely on the health of the plants. 🔴 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Albenga Oxheart 🌍 Origin: A classic Italian heirloom from the Liguria region. Popularized among collectors by Dale Thurber (Delectation of Tomatoes). Important distinction: This is the smooth, classic oxheart version, not to be confused with “Cuore di Bue di Albenga,” which is a deeply ribbed, pear-shaped (pouch) variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Apricot Jam (Abrikosovyi Dzhem) 🌍 Origin: A delightful novelty variety circulating among Russian collectors. Experienced growers strongly suspect that this variety is actually synonymous with another famous Russian fuzzy tomato called Yellow Target (Zheltaya Mishen). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), producing powerful, vigorous bushes with large fruit trusses. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more