Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Kentucky Pink Stamper is an indeterminate potato leaf (PL) heirloom from the US. Brought over to Russia by seed collectors, it pumps out massive pink beefsteaks (regularly breaking the 1 lb / 500 g mark) with distinctive pleated shoulders. While the fruit size and flavor are awesome, growers note that yields can … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Beauty Queen is a stunning striped bicolor indeterminate beefsteak bred by Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms. In this thread, Russian growers fiercely debate the differences between Beauty Queen and its sibling variety, Beauty King. While some experienced identical plants, others note that Beauty Queen produces slightly smaller, more orange fruits with … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kazakhskaya Sliva (Kazakh Plum) is an indeterminate red plum tomato that grows on tall, wispy vines. The fruits average about 5 oz (150 g) and have a tender, sweet flesh. Because of their shape and meaty texture, forum growers highly recommend this variety for making sun-dried tomatoes. It performs well both in … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Beauty Queen Heart 🌍 Origin: A gorgeous bicolor oxheart variety. In this thread, growers trace their seed lines back to Russian collector V. Redko and Marianna’s Heirloom Seeds in the US. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching up to 6.5 feet (2 m). A very vigorous grower with regular foliage that … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Koreyskiy Dlinnoplodniy (Korean Long) 🌍 Origin: An heirloom variety known in Russian collector circles. The name translates to “Korean Long-Fruited” (or simply Korean Long). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). The plant features a delicate, wispy “weeping” foliage structure common to many elongated/oxheart types. It easily reaches 5.5 to 6 feet (1.6-1.8 m) … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Gezahnte Bührer-Keel 🌍 Origin: A stunning European heirloom. Originally from Switzerland, the name Gezahnte translates to “Toothed” (referencing its deep pleats/ribs), while Bührer-Keel refers to the Swiss family who historically cultivated and preserved the variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A very robust and powerful plant that easily tops 6.5 feet (2 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Kafyavi Chereshki (Brown Cherry) Are seed companies just slapping different names on the exact same tomato? In this thread, growers dive deep into a side-by-side comparison of several popular dark cherry varieties to find the truth! 🌍 Origin: A Bulgarian heirloom. The name “Kafyavi Chereshki” literally translates from Bulgarian to “Brown Cherry”. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cardio 🌍 Origin: An Italian heirloom variety popularized by V. Redko. The name “Cardio” perfectly matches its classic, broad anatomical heart shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Reaches about 6 to 6.5 feet (1.8-2 m) in a greenhouse but adapts excellently to open ground. Known for its fantastic fruit set, rarely … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Red Butter Heart 🌍 Origin: Originally tracing back to the USA, this variety became incredibly popular in the Russian heirloom community after being distributed by collector V. Redko. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall/vine). Exhibits the classic “weeping oxheart” gene with thin, wispy, droopy foliage. Do not be alarmed—the plant is not … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Captain Lucky 🌍 Origin: A stunning modern heirloom cross stabilized by American breeder Millard Murdock. Known for its mesmerizing interior colors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) with Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. The vines tend to be somewhat wispy and sparse with foliage. Often tops out around 5.5 feet (1.7 m) in … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Klubnichnoe Derevo (Strawberry Tree) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety released in 2015 by the Siberian Garden (Sibsad) seed company. Not to be confused with the old European heirloom “German Red Strawberry”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but stays somewhat manageable. Outdoors it reaches about 3.3-4 feet (1-1.2 m), though it … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kristina Vatcheva 🌍 Origin: A fantastic family heirloom originating from Bulgaria. It gained worldwide popularity in the heirloom community after the grower, Kristina Vatcheva, shared her seeds with collectors in the United States. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and highly vigorous. Typically reaches about 5.5 feet (1.7 m) in a greenhouse … Read more