Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Zolotaya Klusha 📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotaya Klusha 🌍 Origin: A commercial Siberian variety developed by the SibSad (Siberian Garden) seed company. The name translates roughly to “Golden Broody Hen”. 🌿 Plant Habit: A very compact, sturdy determinate bush (dwarf type). It rarely exceeds 2 ft (60 cm) in height, making it … Read more
Quick Summary of Zagadka (The Riddle) 📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zagadka 🌍 Origin: A classic ultra-early commercial Russian variety. The name translates to “The Riddle” or “Enigma”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Very compact, growing only 12-16 inches (30-40 cm) tall. It does not require pruning or staking; you can just let it sprawl in … Read more
Quick Summary of Zelenyy Elf (Green Elf) 📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zelenyy Elf 🌍 Origin: A Russian Green-When-Ripe (GWR) variety. The name translates to “Green Elf”. 🌿 Plant Habit (Warning – Two Strains!): There are two completely different plant habits circulating under this name. Strain 1: A compact, sturdy “tree-type” dwarf. Perfect for container gardening … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Yellow Cap (Zheltaya Shapochka) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian micro-dwarf variety released by the “Poisk” seed company as part of their “Four Summers” balcony series. 🌿 Plant Habit: Micro-dwarf (determinate). Extremely compact, growing only 10-14 inches (25-35 cm) tall. Perfectly suited for small pots (1-2 gallons), hanging baskets, and indoor windowsill … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dwarf Firebird Sweet 🌍 Origin: Developed by the all-volunteer Dwarf Tomato Project. It was selected from the “Beauty” family (a cross between Beauty King and Dwarf Wild Fred) and officially named by Craig LeHoullier in 2013. 🌿 Plant Habit: Tree-type dwarf. Reaches about 28-36 inches (70-90 cm) tall. Features the classic … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zhemchuzhinka (Little Pearl) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the GISOK seed company. The name translates to “Little Pearl”. Visually and genetically, it appears to be identical to the well-known western variety Garden Pearl. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). It has a trailing/tumbling growth habit, making it an absolute superstar … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zhigalo (Gigolo) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety released by the Russian seed company “Biotechnica”. Known for its provocative name (Gigolo) due to its distinct, elongated, phallic shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Compact determinate (tree-type dwarf). Usually grows to about 16-24 inches (40-60 cm). Has thick, rugose foliage that looks like a little … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Yelisey 🌍 Origin: A highly productive commercial variety from the well-known Russian seed company “Aelita”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). An absolute workhorse of a plant that performs exceptionally well both in greenhouses and outdoors. Height varies from 24-40 inches (60-100 cm) outdoors, up to 5 feet (1.5 m) in a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dey Huanchi 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety with Chinese roots (the name roughly translates to “Big Yellow”), heavily popularized in Eastern Europe and Russia by the SeDeK seed company. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Generally does well grown outdoors without greenhouse protection. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Beautiful yellow-orange slicing tomatoes. Average weight … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Donald F1 🌍 Origin: A commercial F1 hybrid variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, staying very compact. Outdoors in open ground, it tops out at around 20 inches (0.5 m). 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red, perfectly round, and incredibly firm. It has a highly uniform, “commercial” appearance. 👅 Flavor & Use: Standard … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dina 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate. Generally stays compact at around 24-28 inches (60-70 cm) in full sun, but demonstrates extreme shade tolerance. If planted in the shade, it will stretch significantly to reach the light. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright yellow-orange fruits. The packet claims they have … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Detskaya Sladost (Children’s Sweetness) 🌍 Origin: Сommercial variety from the “Gavrish” seed company. The name translates to “Children’s Sweetness”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, compact bush growing about 20-24 inches (50-60 cm) tall. Suitable for open ground or container growing. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red, firm, egg-shaped/oval tomatoes weighing 3.5-4.2 oz (100-120 … Read more