Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Banyan Rumi 🌍 Origin & Trivia: A rare, highly resilient heirloom variety collected from Afghanistan. Fun Fact: “Banjan Rumi” literally translates to “Roman Eggplant” in Dari (Afghan Persian), which is simply the local word for “tomato”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and incredibly vigorous, growing up to 6.5 ft (2 meters) tall. It … Read more
Quick Summary of Bananu 🌍 Origin: A very attractive elongated yellow/orange paste tomato. Seeds are widely distributed by European and Russian seed vendors (e.g., R. Kraft, A. Kulik). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-early (often leaning towards early). The plant is characteristically wispy, with thin stems and sparse, delicate foliage. Despite looking fragile, it is remarkably … Read more
Quick Summary of Black Mountain Pink 🌍 Origin: A massive old heirloom tomato originating from Kentucky, USA. Highly prized by Russian collectors who often translate the name to “Chernogorskiy” or “Pink from Black Mountain”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and tall. Growers note that it can be a bit slow to start in the spring … Read more
Quick Summary of Bill Bean Select 🌍 Origin: A fantastic American heirloom variety. Named after the grower (Bill Bean), it has become a staple among collectors who are chasing both giant fruit size and extreme productivity. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-early. A very vigorous and tall vine that produces fruit relentlessly right up until the … Read more
Quick Summary of Bandol Blues 🌍 Origin: A visually stunning anthocyanin (blue/black) variety known for its incredibly dark skin. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, early-season. The plant itself is not overly vigorous; it has a rather frail, scrawny, and wispy build. However, it is very well-behaved, easy to manage, and responds perfectly to being pruned to … Read more
Quick Summary of Bobbie 🌍 Origin & Strains: A well-known heirloom oxheart tomato. There is an interesting discussion among growers about the color: seeds sourced from Tatiana’s TOMATObase (Canada) typically produce pure red fruits, while strains sourced from some US vendors produce pink/raspberry-pink fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Like many oxheart varieties, it features … Read more
Quick Summary of Blood Moon 🌍 Origin: An excellent cross between two absolute favorites in the tomato world: Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye and Blue Beauty. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate but generally manageable, growing to about 5 ft (1.5 m). It is known for being very stocky, robust, and well-behaved as a seedling without getting leggy. It … Read more
Quick Summary of Bigly 🌍 Origin: A stunning striped orange variety closely associated with the lines bred by Fred Hempel (Artisan Seeds), sharing many characteristics with Orange Jazz. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, tall, and mid-season. Known to be highly productive. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Massive orange beefsteaks with plump shoulders and light yellow stripes. Fruits are … Read more
Quick Summary of Big Yellow Simpson 🌍 Origin: A classic heirloom tomato. Often cataloged in seed databases (like Tatiana’s TOMATObase) as Big Yellow, Simpson. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Can be grown successfully both in open ground and in greenhouses. Typically pruned to 2 stems for the best balance of fruit size and yield. Mid-season to … Read more
🍅 Blue Beauty Tomato: Grower Scorecard & Quick Summary 🌍 Origin: A famous American anthocyanin variety bred by Brad Gates (Wild Boar Farms). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (though some stems can occasionally self-top outdoors), regular leaf. Reaches 4 to 6.5 ft (1.2–2 m) in height depending on growing conditions. Most growers recommend training it to … Read more
Quick Summary of Blue Ridge Black 🌍 Origin: An American heirloom originating from the garden of Millard Murdock in East Flat Rock, North Carolina, USA. Highly prized by Russian collectors for its rich taste and adaptability. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. The plant is very sturdy and features massive, wide potato leaves (PL). 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
Quick Summary of Berkeley Tie Dye Pink 🌍 Origin: A well-known American variety (by Brad Gates) that is highly popular among Russian and Eastern European collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, moderately vigorous, reaching about 5-5.5 ft (1.5-1.7 m) in height. Russian growers recommend pruning it to 2 stems for best results. It doesn’t produce an … Read more