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): Gigant Krasnyi (Red Giant) 🌍 Origin: A classic Russian amateur heirloom variety. The name translates directly to “Red Giant.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and highly vigorous. It grows very tall (easily exceeding 6.5 ft / 2 m) and features large, long, “weeping” or drooping foliage. The first blossom truss sets quite … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gopak 🌍 Origin: A Ukrainian commercial/heirloom variety named after the traditional high-energy Ukrainian Cossack dance. However, be aware: there are multiple different strains sold under this name by various seed companies! 🌿 Plant Habit: The strain discussed most positively here is an indeterminate plant that adapts very well to open ground, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Giant Italian Paste 🌍 Origin: A classic Italian heirloom paste variety. Very popular among European and Russian seed collectors (like V. Popenko) for its processing qualities. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Can grow exceptionally tall, with some growers reporting vines reaching 10 ft (3 m) in a greenhouse. Like many heart-shaped or … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Pierce’s Pride 🌍 Origin: A highly respected dark heirloom bred by Larry Pierce of Cabool, Missouri (USA). It has gained massive popularity overseas among Russian and Eastern European growers for its rich color and reliable performance. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but frequently acts as a “short indeterminate,” with many growers reporting … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Green Giant 🌍 Origin: A legendary green-when-ripe heirloom variety bred by Reinhard Kraft of Neunkirchen, Germany, from a stray potato-leaf plant he found. It has become a gold standard for green tomatoes worldwide. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), featuring vigorous, large Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. Known to be highly productive, though … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gogosha 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded old heirloom variety from Ukraine. It made its way into the North American seed-saving community (SSE) years ago and is often compared favorably to other great potato-leaf pinks like Brandywine. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and vigorous. It features classic Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. Grows … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Garmoshka (Accordion) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety introduced by the seed company Premium Seeds. The name translates to “Accordion”, which perfectly describes its heavily pleated, ribbed shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), typically growing well over 6.5 ft (2 m) in a greenhouse. It has moderate foliage and requires regular suckering … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Herodes 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial heirloom variety originating from the Czech Republic. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Like many classic oxhearts, it has a “wispy” or frail-looking foliage habit. Don’t let the skinny vines fool you—it is highly productive and doesn’t take up much lateral space in a greenhouse. 🍅 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Grushovka (Little Pear) 🌍 Origin: A legendary Russian heirloom name, but be aware: there are multiple distinct strains circulating under this name! The two most famous are the commercial strain bred by N.M. Egorov (a compact bush) and an old family heirloom strain popularized by a grower named Natalya Borisovna (a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Novikova (Novikov’s Giant) 🌍 Origin: Bred by Russian hobby gardener A.I. Novikov. It was introduced to North American heirloom collectors in 2007 by Andrey Baranovski of Minsk, Belarus. According to the original lore, Novikov grew towering vines in his greenhouse and harvested up to 66 lbs (30 kg) from a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Limonnyi (Lemon Giant) 🌍 Origin: A famous Russian heirloom. It is widely distributed by the renowned seed company Siberian Garden (SibSad), as well as kept pure by private collectors. The name translates directly to “Lemon Giant”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), typically reaching around 6 to 6.2 ft (1.8 – … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Grot (Grotto) 🌍 Origin: A Russian variety whose name translates to “Grotto”. There is significant controversy surrounding this seed. Commercial seed companies (like SeDeK) often sell “fake” off-types. The true Grot was scientifically bred by Russian agricultural institutes specifically for high resistance to Late Blight (Phytophthora infestans) using wild tomato genetics. … Read more