Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Corazon de Huesca 🌍 Origin: A magnificent old heirloom variety from the Huesca province in the Aragon region of Spain. The name translates to “Heart of Huesca”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Grows very well and produces reliably in greenhouse conditions. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Beautiful, massive pink heart-shaped tomatoes (oxhearts). They … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Costoluto Fiorentino sel. Canestrino di Lucca 🌍 Origin & The Great Seed Mix-Up: A fascinating piece of seed history! Commercial Italian vendors sometimes sold seeds under this long, combined name. However, as Russian growers quickly discovered in this thread, these are actually two different Italian varieties. 1) Costoluto Fiorentino: A small, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Costoluto Colli Euganei 🌍 Origin: A magnificent family heirloom from the Veneto region in Northern Italy. The name translates to “Ribbed of the Euganean Hills”. The Euganean Hills are a national nature reserve known for their incredibly fertile volcanic soil, mild climate, ancient oak and chestnut forests, olive groves, and endless … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cuore Antico di Aqui Terme 🌍 Origin: An outstanding family heirloom from Italy. The name translates to “Ancient Heart of Acqui Terme”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-late season. The plants are vigorous with sturdy, thick main stems. Grower Warning: Avoid overfeeding with nitrogen early on, or the plant will prioritize … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A productive heirloom beefsteak variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Proves to be exceptionally hardy and performs wonderfully when grown outdoors in open ground. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, classic beefsteak-type tomatoes with a bright, vibrant color. Unlike some beefsteaks that are dry and dense, this variety is wonderfully juicy. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A dark heirloom variety originating from the USA. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but generally medium-tall (semi-determinate behavior in some conditions). It shows great disease resistance and continues to grow and produce late into the season. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Dark (purple/black) beefsteaks. The texture is dense, sugary, and very meaty. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A specific heirloom strain known as Big Orange (from Amuz). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, early season. The plant has a thin, “wispy” foliage structure, which is completely normal for this variety (don’t worry if the seedlings look a bit frail). It is very low-maintenance and unpretentious. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A dark heirloom variety known as Black Early. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Interestingly, the plant habit is described as quite compact for an indeterminate variety, making it manageable. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Dark purplish-pink/black fruits. They have an excellent texture that manages to be both juicy and reasonably meaty … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety produced by the famous French seed company Vilmorin. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate / Semi-determinate, mid-season. It is relatively compact and easy to grow, reaching about 1 m (3.3 ft) outdoors and up to 1.6 m (5.2 ft) in a greenhouse. Perfect for both open ground and … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A yellow/bicolor heirloom variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Reaches a height of about 1.8 meters (6 ft) when grown in a greenhouse. Known for being an unpretentious, low-maintenance workhorse that shows great cold tolerance, continuing to produce well into the autumn. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Medium-to-large beefsteaks weighing 200-300 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded specific strain of the famous Brandywine heirloom family. Documented in Tatiana’s TOMATObase. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Features the classic Potato Leaf (PL) foliage typical of Brandywines. Notably, it performs very well even when grown outdoors (open ground) in cooler northern climates. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A beautiful and productive heirloom oxheart variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-to-late season. It shows excellent disease resistance. Highly adaptable—while it grows well in a greenhouse, some growers from colder northern regions report that it performs and feels even better when grown outdoors in open ground! 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more