Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Red Hunter (Krasnyi Okhotnik) 🌍 Origin: A highly reliable, time-tested commercial Russian variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, tree-type dwarf (stout bush). It grows very compact, no taller than 50-60 cm (20-24 inches), with strong, thick foliage. Excellent for outdoor growing. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red, firm, barrel-shaped “blocky plums” weighing 80-90 g … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovyi Izyum (Pink Raisin) ⚠️ Important Note: Do not confuse this variety with Rozovyi Izyumnyi (Pink Raisin Beefsteak). This is a completely different, cocktail-sized tomato! 🌍 Origin: A highly sought-after heirloom originally sourced from Ukraine. The name translates to “Pink Raisin”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Semi-determinate. It stays relatively compact, growing up to … Read more
Quick Summary of Rambinik 🌍 Origin: A rugged, highly dependable Russian commercial variety bred for tough northern climates. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush) with distinctive Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. It is unfussy, incredibly stress-tolerant, and reaches about 1.2 m (4 ft) tall when grown in a greenhouse. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Produces abundant clusters of small, … Read more
Quick Summary of Reyna 🌍 Origin: A rare and exotic long-fruited heirloom variety popular among Russian collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (vining) and tall, easily reaching 1.8 m (6 feet). The foliage is average, not overly dense. Pro Tip: Most growers highly recommend pruning this variety strictly to two stems to maximize the yield. 🍅 … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovyi Sneg (Pink Snow) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety, most famously distributed by the “Aelita-Agro” seed company. The name translates to “Pink Snow”, likely referring to the massive cascades of pink fruit it produces. 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially classed as indeterminate (vining), growing over 1.5m (5 ft) tall in greenhouses. However, … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovaya Stella (Pink Stella) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the seed company “Siberian Garden” (SibSad). Note for Collectors: Some experienced growers believe that “Pink Stella”, “Petrusha Ogorodnik”, and “Supermodel” are virtually identical twin varieties. 🌿 Plant Habit: A true determinate and very compact. Officially listed at 40-50 cm (1.3-1.6 ft) … Read more
Quick Summary of Rimskaya Svecha (Roman Candle) 🌍 Origin: A strikingly beautiful yellow paste/icicle variety (originally sourced by Russian collectors from the US/Valery Popenko). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, tall, and highly productive. The bush has a very distinct, frail/wispy structure right from the seedling stage. As one grower poetically described it: “A flexible, graceful stem … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovyi Klyk (Pink Fang) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded Russian heirloom tomato originating from private breeder Yu. Petrov. 🌿 Plant Habit: A tall determinate. Grown outdoors or in containers, it reaches about 1 meter (3.3 ft). In a greenhouse, it can stretch slightly taller. According to the original breeder, this variety is … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovyi Flamingo (Pink Flamingo) 🌍 The Great Name Controversy: “Pink Flamingo” is one of the most fiercely debated names in the Russian tomato community. Several different seed companies and private collectors released entirely different varieties under this exact same name, leading to endless confusion. 🧬 The Different Variants: If you buy or … Read more
Quick Summary of Work Release Paste 🌍 Origin & “Lost in Translation” Story: This is a famous large Italian/US heirloom. However, when it was introduced to the Russian tomato community, the name was awkwardly auto-translated as “Rabochiy Vypusk Pasty” (which translates back literally as “Industrial Production of Macaroni”). The bizarre name caused a lot of … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovyi Tyulpan (Pink Tulip) 🌍 Origin: A stunning collector’s variety of unknown exact origin, widely circulated among Russian and European tomato enthusiasts. Sometimes grown under the translated name “Tulip Pink”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and late-season. Reports on its growth habit vary: some growers note a wispy, fragile structure (up to 1.5m … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovyi Dlinnyi (Minusinsk Long Pink) 🌍 Origin: An authentic Siberian heirloom from the Minusinsk region. Seeds were preserved in old newspaper rolls since the Soviet era by a gardener in Kazantsevo. It originally spread through the tomato community simply as “Long Pink” and was later dubbed “Minusinsk Pepper-shaped Pink” by growers. 🌿 … Read more