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): Verblyudy (Camels) 🌍 Origin: A unique Russian collector’s variety. The name “Verblyudy” translates to “Camels”. Why? Because it produces absolutely massive Potato Leaves (PL) that, according to growers, literally look like camel faces drooping down from the vine! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and highly vigorous. It has very thick, strong main … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vnuchenka (Granddaughter) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety from the Russian seed company “Aelita”. The name affectionately translates to “Little Granddaughter”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (short bush). Marketed as a patio/container variety that grows to 20 inches (50 cm), but real-world growers note it can easily reach 28 inches (70 cm) when … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Volshebny Kaskad F1 (Magic Cascade) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial F1 hybrid cherry tomato. The name beautifully translates to “Magic Cascade”, referring to its long, cascading trusses of red cherries. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and incredibly vigorous. Growers warn that this plant turns into a massive “space hog” and will easily … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vashe Blagorodie (Your Honor) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Your Honor” or “Your Excellency”. Seeds are mostly distributed by the company Siberian Garden (SibSad) and independent breeders like Terentiev. 🌿 Plant Habit (Warning – highly variable!): Growers in this thread report wild variations depending on the … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vesennyaya Radost (Spring Joy) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial variety from the famous Russian seed company “Siberian Garden” (SibSad). The name translates to “Spring Joy”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. It has a massive root system and thick foliage. Despite being a tall indet, it does exceptionally well … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Verlioka F1 🌍 Origin: An older, classic commercial F1 hybrid from Russia. While some modern growers consider it outdated, it has a fiercely loyal following among veteran gardeners for its absolute reliability. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate. The seed packet claims it reaches 6.5 ft (2 m), but real-world growers note it … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vintage Wine 🌍 Origin: A famous commercial heirloom known for its striking looks. In Russia, seeds for this variety were heavily circulated by well-known collector V.D. Popenko. 🌿 Plant Habit: Mostly an early-to-mid-season determinate/semi-determinate. It naturally has Potato Leaf (PL) foliage, though growers in this thread discuss experiencing Regular Leaf (RL) … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Verna 🌍 Origin: A fantastic Eastern European heirloom variety. Seeds are widely passed around among collectors (like Lena Danko mentioned in this thread). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It’s a mid-season variety that does great in a greenhouse or hoop house. Growers recommend pruning it to 2 or 3 main stems … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vspyshka (Flash) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety. The name translates to “Flash” or “Outburst”, which perfectly describes how fast it grows and sets fruit. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (short bush), usually topping out around 20 inches (50 cm). It stays short but loves to sprawl, throwing out a ton of … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Transplanting Cucumbers Safely 🐛 Direct Sowing Risks: Seeds directly sown into the garden are highly vulnerable to soil pests and will rot if the soil temperature is below 64°F (18°C). ⏳ Timing is Everything: Cucumbers grow fast and hate being root-bound. Start them indoors only 3 weeks before your target plant-out … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Rescuing Frost-Damaged Seedlings 🛑 No Warm Water: Never try to “warm up” frozen seedlings with warm water. Rapid thawing causes plant cells to burst, turning the plant to mush. Let them thaw slowly. ⛅ Hide From the Sun: The morning sun is the real killer of cold-shocked plants. If the leaves … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Pruning Crowded Seedlings ✂️ Trimming for Space: If large seedlings are shading out smaller ones, you can prune them. Instead of removing whole leaves, try snipping large middle leaves in half to save space while keeping the “solar panels” intact. 🌱 Bottom Leaves: Always remove leaves that are dragging in the … Read more