Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Yamal 200 🌍 Origin & Naming: Named after the Yamal Peninsula, a frozen region in the Russian Arctic. This immediately signifies its purpose: extreme cold tolerance and early harvests. 🌿 Plant Habit: A true determinate micro-dwarf (tree-type / stocky bush). It is supposed to grow only 30-40 cm (12-16 inches) tall, making … Read more
Quick Summary of Yuzhnaya Korona (Southern Crown) 🌍 Origin: A commercial/heirloom variety traded among Eastern European collectors. The name translates to “Southern Crown”. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Visually stunning. They produce large, round, red fruits that are slightly corrugated (ribbed/ruffled) at the shoulders. ⏳ Yield: Exceptionally high. Growers note that the fruiting is “super abundant,” making … Read more
Quick Summary of Yuzhniy Zagar (Southern Tan) 🌍 Origin: A very famous commercial/heirloom variety from Siberian breeders (Sibirskiy Sad). The name translates to “Southern Tan”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but usually remains quite compact (1-1.2m outdoors, up to 2m in a greenhouse). It features classic “wispy” (weeping) foliage — the seedlings look skinny, frail, and … Read more
Quick Summary of Elegant 🌍 Origin & Naming Confusion: “Elegant” is a name shared by several completely different tomato strains in the Russian/Ukrainian seed market. This forum thread is highly valuable because it breaks down the differences between the commercial version and the private collector versions. 🍅 Strain 1 (Commercial / SibSad variety): A mid-early … Read more
Quick Summary of Ekzotika (Exotica) 🌍 Origin: A reliable commercial/heirloom variety. The name translates to “Exotica” in English. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (vining), mid-to-late season. The plant is vigorous, sprawling, and grows to about 1.7 meters (5.6 ft) tall when planted outdoors. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red, perfectly round fruits growing in clusters of 7 … Read more
Quick Summary of Efemer 🌍 Origin: A very popular, reliable, and trouble-free commercial/heirloom variety from Eastern Europe (Ukraine/Russia/Moldova). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush) type. Typically grows to about 60-70 cm (24-28 inches) outdoors, but can reach 1 m (3.2 ft) in a greenhouse. Requires minimal pruning. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Perfectly round, smooth red fruits weighing … Read more
Quick Summary of Eros 🌍 Origin: A well-known novelty paste tomato, often considered the “brother” of the famous Auria variety, but with yellow-orange fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (vining). Known for having “wispy foliage” (thin, delicate-looking vines) despite its tall and vigorous growth. Easily reaches the greenhouse roof. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Elongated, cylindrical (phallic-shaped) fruits, … Read more
Quick Summary of Etual (Etoile) 🌍 Origin: A very popular heirloom in Eastern European collections. The name translates to “Star” in French (Étoile), perfectly matching its stunning ruffled shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (vining). It can be quite compact outdoors (around 1m / 3.2 ft) but will shoot up vigorously over 2m (6.5 ft) in … 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 06 🌍 Origin: A spectacular Polish breeding line. It is a cross between Aurija (a famous elongated paste tomato) and Megagroniasty (a legendary Polish cherry tomato known for its massive multiflora trusses). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, extremely vigorous, and disease-resistant. Growers describe it as growing “like a tree” with very thick, … Read more
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 Shtraukh (Strauch) 🌍 Origin: A commercial heirloom originally from West Germany (FRG). The name “Strauch” translates to “Bush” in German. It is highly valued by Russian and Eastern European growers for its extreme reliability. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. In open ground it reaches about 1.8 m (6 ft), … Read more