Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Shalun (Playful) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety from Siberian breeders. The name translates to “Playful” or “Mischievous”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, reaching about 2 m (6.5 ft). The plant has a very specific structure: it is highly compact with sparse, open foliage (often described as wispy). It takes up very little space, … Read more
Quick Summary of Chocolate Cherry 🌍 Origin: A very popular dark cherry tomato. In this forum thread, Russian growers compare different strains circulating under this name, noting distinct differences from the famous Black Cherry. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), incredibly vigorous, and often described as a “monster” in the greenhouse. It sets fruit continuously until … Read more
Quick Summary of Stormin Norman 🌍 Origin: A US variety developed by breeder Blane Horton. It is part of his famous “Keyes” multiflora line. The variety was named in honor of General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., famous for his command during Operation Desert Storm. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous, and early-season. This variety is a … Read more
Quick Summary of Matt’s Hornet 🌍 Origin: A beautiful artisan-style novelty tomato. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. It is a very manageable plant, reaching about 1.3 meters (4.3 ft) when grown in a greenhouse. Pro Tip: Growers recommend letting it branch out freely—after the first flower truss appears, you can completely stop pruning (suckering) the plant. … Read more
Quick Summary of Dwarf Shimofuri (Frost Waterfall) 🌍 Origin & History: An incredibly unique variegated variety created by US tomato breeder and enthusiast Applestar. She crossed the trailing variety Whippersnapper with Faelan’s First Snow. The name “Shimofuri” is a Japanese term meaning “marbled” or “white-veined” (often used to describe premium Wagyu beef), which perfectly describes … Read more
Quick Summary of Shokoladniy Zaychik (Chocolate Bunny) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular commercial and collector variety from Russia. The name translates to “Chocolate Bunny”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Generally an indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous plant. However, growers note it is very sensitive to soil moisture and fertility; in dry, sandy soils, it may act like … Read more
Quick Summary of the Shokoladka F1 (Little Chocolate) Segregants 🌍 Origin & Context: A fascinating community experiment in de-hybridizing a commercial Russian F1 hybrid called “Shokoladka” (Little Chocolate). Growers planted saved seeds from the F1 generation and documented the resulting F2 and F3 segregations (off-types). 🧬 The Segregating Lines: The hybrid split into three distinct … Read more
Quick Summary of Cherri Uralskoe (Ural Cherry) 🌍 Origin: A private, exclusive Russian variety developed over 6 years by breeder Nikolay Alexandrov. It is not sold in commercial stores. 🌿 Plant Habit: An incredibly vigorous, massive indeterminate plant. If left unpruned, its aggressive suckers will grow sideways for meters and even try to root into … Read more
Quick Summary of Cherolla F1 🌍 Origin: A commercial F1 hybrid variety, sometimes marketed under the alternative name “Strawberry Tomato”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Reaches about 2 meters (approx. 6.5 feet) in height. It is a vigorous plant that produces long, cascading trusses with excellent fruit set. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Deep dark red cherry … Read more
Quick Summary of Cherry Strawberry F1 🌍 Origin: A commercial F1 hybrid produced by the Russian seed company SeDek. Its Russian name is “Cherri Klubnichnyi” (Strawberry Cherry). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush), reaching about 1.2-1.4 meters (4-4.5 ft) in height. It can be grown both in open ground and greenhouses but requires staking and pruning … Read more
Quick Summary of Cherry Safari 🌍 Origin: A beautiful and productive cherry tomato variety actively shared and grown among Russian and Eastern European heirloom collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Highly versatile. When grown outdoors in open ground, the plants stay relatively compact, reaching about 80-100 cm (2.5-3.5 ft) in height, and only require pruning up to … Read more
Quick Summary of My Dancing Green Fingers 🌍 Origin: A relatively new, highly sought-after cherry variety created by Belgian gardener and collector Bart Praet. It took second place among the best tomatoes at the Tomatofest festival in Brussels (Nos Pilifs farm) in 2021. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season. The plant produces numerous thin stems … Read more