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): Bychiy Glaz (Bull’s Eye) 🌍 Origin & Naming Confusion: The name translates to “Bull’s Eye”. Important Note: There is a major name collision here! In the North American heirloom community (via Tatiana’s TOMATObase), “Bychiy Glaz” refers to a medium-sized, heart-shaped red tomato sourced from a private Russian collector. However, the commercial … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Buyan Zheltyi (Buyan Yellow) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety, officially registered in the Russian State Register for the West Siberian region. Also known as “Boets Yellow” (Fighter Yellow). 🌿 Plant Habit: Rugose determinate dwarf (tree-type). Extremely compact, sturdy, and short, typically reaching only 30-60 cm (1-2 ft). Seedlings do not … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Anna Maria’s Heart 🌍 Origin: A well-known heirloom oxheart variety, highly prized by collectors worldwide for its beauty and reliability. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Grows to about 1.5 meters (5 ft) in open ground. Shows incredible cold tolerance and adaptability, performing exceptionally well even in the short, challenging summers of Siberia. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Barskiy 🌍 Origin: A Russian/Eastern European heirloom variety circulated among private seed collectors. The name “Barskiy” translates to “Lord’s” or “Noble’s,” implying a grand, high-status tomato. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A tall, very robust and sturdy vine with thick stems and large, non-drooping leaves. Can easily reach 2.5 meters (8+ ft) … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Boloto (Swamp) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian commercial heirloom originally introduced by the seed company TomAgroS (formerly GISOK). The name “Boloto” translates to “Swamp”. It was named for its unusual muddy, bronze-green, olive color when fully ripe. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but generally on the shorter side. Growers report it … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bychie Serdtse Oranzhevoe (Orange Oxheart) 🌍 Origin & Confusion: A popular commercial Russian variety sold by various seed companies (Russkiy Ogorod, Poisk, Sibsad, etc.). However, growers report massive variations depending on the seed vendor. It is often confused with varieties like Liskin Nos (Fox Nose), Oranzhevoe Serdtse (Orange Heart), and Korol … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Baba Nadya (Grandma Nadya) 🌍 Origin: A Russian/Latvian “folk selection” (family heirloom). It was popularized in the tomato community by the well-known breeder and collector Valdis Pulins. The name translates to “Grandma Nadya”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Reaches about 1.4-1.6 meters (4.5-5.2 ft) in height. Recommended pruning is to 2 main … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zore’s Big Red 🌍 Origin: A renowned heirloom variety. In Russian collections, it is often circulated under the translated name “Bolshoy Krasnyi Zora”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and tall. A notable feature of this specific strain grown by forum members is its Potato Leaf (PL) foliage, which is an interesting trait … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Babushkina Radost (Grandma’s Joy) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded heirloom variety circulated by Russian and Ukrainian private seed collectors (originally sourced from a Ukrainian grape growers’ forum and popularized by Vera Monakhova). The name translates to “Grandma’s Joy”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A tall, vigorous plant that easily reaches 2 meters … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bolshaya Medveditsa (Ursa Major) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial and heirloom variety (circulated by commercial vendors and private collectors like Kulik). The name translates to “Ursa Major” or “The Great Bear.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A tall, vigorous vine that reaches 1.8m to over 2m (6 to 6.5+ ft) depending on … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bochkovoy Zasol (Barrel Pickling) 🌍 Origin & Name: An old heirloom variety originating from the Astrakhan region of Russia. The name translates to “Barrel Pickling” or “Barrel Fermentation.” It is named after the traditional Russian method of fermenting whole vegetables in large wooden barrels for the winter, implying these tomatoes are … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bashkirskiy Krasavets (Bashkir Handsome) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety from the Bashkortostan region. Historically documented in Tatiana’s TOMATObase. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A tall and vigorous plant. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Growers report some variation in fruit shape depending on the seed source. Some describe them as bright raspberry-pink, oblate beefsteaks … Read more