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): Tony’s Italian Purple 🌍 Origin: Heirloom originating from Italy. Known for its dark color and ability to pump out multiple harvests. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indet. A very slender, wispy plant with slightly curled leaves. Because it doesn’t have a massive footprint, it is perfect for tight spacing or tucking right up … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ikra Chernaya (Black Caviar) 🌍 Origin: Dark cherry tomato variety originating from Ukraine. The Russian name translates to “Black Caviar”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indet. An absolute monster of a plant. It is incredibly vigorous, tall, and highly disease resistant. It sets massive, sprawling trusses and keeps producing straight through to October. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ibiza Elena’s Plum 🌍 Origin: A specific plum-shaped selection/variation of the known Ibiza variety, stabilized and circulated by a Russian grower named Elena. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indet. A highly productive workhorse with a long fruiting season. Growers recommend running it as a 3-stemmer for optimal yields. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Beautiful plum/paste … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Irish Liqueur 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial green-when-ripe (GWR) variety. Initially released by seed companies like “Sortsemovosch” and “Uralskiy Dachnik”. While sometimes commercially labeled as an F1 hybrid, it has been widely circulated as a stable open-pollinated heirloom among growers. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indet. Sturdy and relatively compact for an indeterminate … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Italian Stallion Giallo 🌍 Origin: A yellow mutation/variant of the classic red Italian Stallion heirloom. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A robust, disease-resistant plant with a long fruiting season. It performs well in both greenhouses and open ground. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright yellow to lemonade-colored fruits. Like its red counterpart, it produces … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Italian Stallion 🌍 Origin: Heirloom tomato known for its incredible productivity. It also has a yellow sister variety known as Italian Stallion Giallo. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall vine). A true workhorse that sets fruit reliably without dropping blossoms, even when grown to 2 or 3 main stems. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Izumrudnaya Parcha (Emerald Brocade) 🌍 Origin: A modern, highly sought-after collectible variety bred by the Russian breeder Sofia Saakova. The name translates to “Emerald Brocade.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and mid-early season. It displays classic oxheart genetics: the vines are very skinny, frail-looking, and have sparse, weeping foliage. Don’t panic, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ibiza (Ibiza Elena) 🌍 Origin: Bred by Elena from “Tomato Eden.” It is the result of a cross involving the variety Banana Singapore. In seed trading circles, it is frequently listed as “Ibiza Elena” or “Ibiza Elena’s Beefsteak” to distinguish it from other similarly named varieties. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zvart Heil Lekken 🌍 Origin: A rare dark heirloom. The name appears to be of Dutch/Flemish origin (Zwart meaning black). In Eastern European seed circles, it is widely traded under its translated Russian name: Istochnik Schastya Cherny (Black Source of Happiness). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A mid-season variety that is … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotaya Rapsodiya (Golden Rhapsody) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Golden Rhapsody.” It is famously marketed on its seed packet as having genetic resistance to Late Blight (Phytophthora). 🌿 Plant Habit: The seed packet claims it is a shorter plant, but forum growers consistently report it growing … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zapotec Pink Ribbed 🌍 Origin: A famous indigenous heirloom originally cultivated by the Zapotec people of Oaxaca, Mexico. Renowned for its deeply pleated, almost ruffled appearance. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A vigorous, heavy-vined plant that easily reaches 5.9 feet (1.8 m) in a greenhouse setting. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Deeply ribbed, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zebra 🌍 Origin: Circulated among Eastern European growers simply under the name “Zebra”. Given the massive advertised size and bicolor stripes, it is highly likely this is a localized strain of “Big Zebra” or a similar large striped heirloom. 🌿 Plant Habit: Can be grown successfully outdoors in open ground, though … Read more