Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Budenovka 🌍 Origin: A legendary, classic Russian heirloom. The name translates to “Budenovka”, which was a distinctively pointed, historical Soviet cavalry hat—perfectly describing the shape of these pointed oxheart tomatoes. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (though sometimes acts semi-determinate depending on the seed line), usually reaching about 5-5.5 ft (1.5-1.6 m) tall. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Black Oxheart (Bych’ye Serdtse Chernoe) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded commercial and family heirloom from Russia. Known in Russian as Bych’ye Serdtse Chernoe. Growers often debate how it compares to the American variety Brad’s Black Heart. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. It features the classic “wispy, drooping” oxheart foliage, but the main … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Baklazhan (Eggplant) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety. The name translates to “Eggplant,” given because of the huge, elongated oval shape of the fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching over 7 feet (2.2m) in a greenhouse. It is extremely reliable and resilient, setting fruit easily without dropping blossoms even in … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bucălata de Brebu 🌍 Origin: A very rare and highly sought-after heirloom tomato variety originating from Romania. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). The vines are vigorous and can easily reach up to 8 feet (2.5 meters) in height, requiring sturdy staking. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Classic oxheart shape. The tomatoes are large … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Brusilovskiy 🌍 Origin: Heirloom variety from Russia. Highly praised among Russian collectors for combining massive fruit size with early maturity. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but with famously wispy, spindly foliage. Growers joke that the plant looks like a “skinny, wimpy boy” but somehow manages to support huge yields. It is … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Astana 🌍 Origin: An Eastern European / Central Asian “folk” heirloom (meaning it was passed down through gardeners and named by the community, rather than being a registered commercial seed). Named after Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. 🌿 Plant Habit: Modestly indeterminate. It doesn’t grow into a wild jungle, stopping around … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Andizhanskie (Andizhan) 🌍 Origin: A Central Asian heirloom. The name translates to “From Andizhan,” a major city in Uzbekistan. Uzbek tomatoes are famous across Eastern Europe for their intense sweetness developed under the hot southern sun. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season variety. Very vigorous and highly productive, often out-yielding classic … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Alenkiy Tsvetochek (Scarlet Flower) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety. The name translates to “The Scarlet Flower” – a famous classic Russian fairy tale similar to Beauty and the Beast. The specific strain discussed here was sourced from the catalog of Evgeny Fech, a well-known Russian private seed collector. 🌿 Plant … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Abakanets 🌍 Origin: A stabilized red off-type (mutation) originally discovered in a seed packet of the famous Abakansky Rozovy (Abakan Pink) produced by the Siberian Garden seed company. “Abakanets” roughly translates to “The guy from Abakan.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season variety. Highly productive and will continue fruiting right up … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Amerikanskoe Vytyanutoe Serdtse (American Elongated Heart) 🌍 Origin & The Naming Mystery: This is where international tomato collecting gets tricky! In Russia, two very similar names circulate: Amerikanskiy Vytyanutyi (American Elongated) and Amerikanskoe Vytyanutoe Serdtse (American Elongated Heart). Many suspect it is the exact same North American heirloom that suffered from … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Alsou (Алсу) 🌍 Origin: A very famous commercial variety developed by Siberian Garden (SibSad). Named “Alsou”, a beautiful traditional Tatar name meaning “rose-colored water”. It is highly regarded by growers in short-season climates around the world. 🌿 Plant Habit: Tricky! It is technically semi-determinate. If grown outdoors in the open garden, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Alisa (Alice) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded heirloom variety with somewhat mysterious origins. While often credited to Russian breeders (like N. Alexandrov or Egorov), some growers trace their seed lines back to Portuguese heirlooms. The name translates to “Alice”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching 1.7–2.0 m (5.5–6.5 ft) in height. … Read more