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): Dzinovski Paradajz Jabucar 🌍 Origin: A well-regarded heirloom from Serbia, sourced from the well-known Serbian breeder Živojin Antić. The name translates roughly to “Giant Apple Tomato” (Paradajz means tomato, Jabucar means apple-type, and Dzinovski means giant). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very vigorous vines that do exceptionally well in greenhouse conditions. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Giant Belgium 🌍 Origin: A legendary American heirloom originating in Ohio in the 1930s. This is the original standard strain (not the later “Pink” specific selection, though the original also ripens to a dark pinkish-red). It is famous in tomato lore for being so sweet that commercial growers used it to … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): German Johnson 🌍 Origin: A legendary American heirloom hailing from Virginia and North Carolina. It is incredibly famous in the US for being one of the four parent varieties used by Radiator Charlie to breed the legendary Mortgage Lifter tomato! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous vine with classic Potato Leaf … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Kovaleva (Kovalev’s Giant) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom popularized by private seed collectors and breeders (like Logunov). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Breeders claim it is a tall, cold-hardy, and highly disease-resistant plant. However, some greenhouse growers report it stays medium-tall and is still susceptible to fungal issues like Leaf Mold. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Sukhanova (Sukhanov’s Giant) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety favored by private collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), growing up to 6 ft (1.8 m). Note on Leaf Type: This variety currently has both Regular Leaf (RL) and Potato Leaf (PL) versions circulating among growers, meaning the strain may still … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gruntovyi M-3 🌍 Origin: Bred by the legendary Soviet agronomist P.Ya. Saraev, famous for developing exceptionally cold-hardy and frost-tolerant tomato lines. The name translates roughly to “Outdoor M-3”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). It stays very compact, usually growing to about 2 ft (60 cm) tall in open ground. It requires … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Chernomorskiy (Black Sea Giant) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial/heirloom variety from Russia/Ukraine. The name translates directly to “Black Sea Giant”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), usually growing to about 5.5 to 6 ft (1.7 – 1.8 m) in a greenhouse. It is vigorous enough to be pruned to 2 or … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Giant Belgium Pink 🌍 Origin: A pink strain/selection of the legendary Giant Belgium heirloom, which originated in Ohio (USA) in the 1930s. The original variety was so sweet and massive that commercial growers reportedly used it to make tomato wine! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It is a late-season variety that … Read more
📌 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): 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