Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Bleeding Heart 🌍 Origin & Name: Another masterpiece bred by Brad Gates (Wild Boar Farms). While the name might sound a bit dramatic, Bleeding Heart is actually the common English name for the beautiful Dicentra flower. The tomato was named for its stunning heart shape and vibrant striping. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. … 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 Big Dolly Red 🌍 Origin: An old heirloom from Kentucky, USA. Developed over 40 years ago by Milo Eason, it is a cross between an unknown red heart-shaped tomato and ‘Big Red Stafford’. Fun fact: In Russia, this variety is often affectionately translated and sold under the name “Большая красная кукла” (Big … Read more
Quick Summary of Beauty Mark 🌍 Origin: Created by the famous American tomato breeder Tom Wagner. Fun fact: Due to a funny translation mix-up on Russian forums, some growers initially called it “Mark’s Beautiful” (Прекрасный Марка) before others corrected it to the actual meaning (a beauty mark or mole). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very … Read more
Quick Summary of Anna Russian 🌍 Origin: A legendary heirloom variety with Russian roots that became highly popular in the USA. It is famous for its classic oxheart shape and exceptional taste. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) with classic wispy, drooping foliage typical of heart-shaped varieties. It adapts surprisingly well to container growing! 🍅 Fruit … Read more
Quick Summary of African Vining 🌍 Origin: A renowned heirloom variety highly valued by our community for its exceptional eating qualities. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season, growing up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) tall. It features classic “wispy” or weeping foliage. Because the plant is slender, growers recommend planting it in the sunniest spots of … Read more
Quick Summary of Aunt Anna 🌍 Origin: A magnificent red heirloom variety that is highly prized in our community for its incredible flesh-to-seed ratio. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and vigorous. Growers recommend growing it in a greenhouse and pruning to 2 stems. It is quite adaptable and can even perform well in slightly shaded spots. … Read more
Quick Summary of Yaponec (Japanese Man) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety whose name translates to “Japanese Man” (or “The Japanese”). It is often compared to the famous pink variety ‘Yaponka’ (Japanese Girl). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. It is typically grown in greenhouses and pruned to 2 stems. Note that it can be sensitive to … Read more
Quick Summary of Yaponka (Japanese Girl) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular Russian/Eastern European internet heirloom. The name translates to “Japanese Girl” or “Japanese Woman”. It is believed to be closely related to the famous ‘Cardinal’ variety but features a distinct pointed tip. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, typically growing 1.5–2 meters (5–6.5 ft) tall. It has … Read more
Quick Summary of Yasha Yugoslavian 🌍 Origin & History: A legendary heirloom variety originally brought to the US from Yugoslavia. There is an ongoing historical debate (discussed in this thread) about its connection to the famous Crnkovic Yugoslavian variety, with many believing they are either the same or closely related sister lines from the Vojvodina … Read more
Quick Summary of EM-Chempion (EM-Champion) 🌍 Origin: A famous Russian commercial variety released by Sibirskiy Sad (Siberian Garden). The name translates to “EM-Champion”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush), reaching about 60–70 cm (24–28 inches) outdoors. It has very sparse, thin, downward-hanging leaves (often described as “wispy” or “weeping willow” type). Because of this, it can … Read more
Quick Summary of Ela 12 🌍 Origin: A new Polish breeding line. It is a cross between Malinowy Gigant (Pink Giant) and Albenga (a famous Italian pear/heart tomato, spelled “Albenaga” in the original post). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. The bush is described as very sturdy, vigorous, and highly disease-resistant. Growers have had excellent results growing … Read more