Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Tony’s Italian Purple 🌍 Origin: Heirloom originating from Italy. Known for its dark color and ability to pump out multiple harvests. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indet. A very slender, wispy plant with slightly curled leaves. Because it doesn’t have a massive footprint, it is perfect for tight spacing or tucking right up … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ibiza Elena’s Plum 🌍 Origin: A specific plum-shaped selection/variation of the known Ibiza variety, stabilized and circulated by a Russian grower named Elena. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indet. A highly productive workhorse with a long fruiting season. Growers recommend running it as a 3-stemmer for optimal yields. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Beautiful plum/paste … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Italian Stallion Giallo 🌍 Origin: A yellow mutation/variant of the classic red Italian Stallion heirloom. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A robust, disease-resistant plant with a long fruiting season. It performs well in both greenhouses and open ground. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright yellow to lemonade-colored fruits. Like its red counterpart, it produces … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Italian Stallion 🌍 Origin: Heirloom tomato known for its incredible productivity. It also has a yellow sister variety known as Italian Stallion Giallo. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall vine). A true workhorse that sets fruit reliably without dropping blossoms, even when grown to 2 or 3 main stems. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotaya Andromeda F1 (Golden Andromeda) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial F1 hybrid. The original breeder and patent holder is A.A. Mashtakov, though the seeds are mass-marketed by multiple seed companies like Semko and Siberian Garden (Sibsad). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Very versatile and compact. It stays around 2.3 to 2.6 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): German Pink Strawberry 🌍 Origin: A classic German heirloom that became highly popular among Eastern European collectors under the translated name “Zemlyanika Nemetskaya Rozovaya”. It is often confused or cross-listed with the famous heart-shaped “German Red Strawberry,” but this pink variant is distinct for its rounder shape and Potato Leaf genetics. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zlatava (Zlatova) 🌍 Origin: A popular Eastern European commercial variety, frequently sold by the Russian seed company Elkom and the Lithuanian company Seklos. Spelling varies between Zlatova and Zlatava. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but highly manageable and not overly aggressive. A unique quirk of this variety is that it pushes … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zelenushka F1 🌍 Origin: A commercial F1 hybrid from the Russian seed company Ilyinichna. The name roughly translates to “Little Green One” or “Greenfinch”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Billed as determinate (bush), but forum members report it behaves more like an aggressive indeterminate in a greenhouse, easily shooting past 6.5 feet (2 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotoy Mandarin (Golden Mandarin) 🌍 Origin: A Russian variety popularized by private seed collector Valya Redko. The name translates to “Golden Mandarin” (or Golden Tangerine), which perfectly matches its bright color and size. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Very compact and well-behaved. Typically stays around 20 to 32 inches (50-80 cm) … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zlato Skifov (Scythian Gold) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety marketed for its high carotene content. The name “Zlato Skifov” translates to “Scythian Gold”, a nod to the ancient nomadic tribes and their famous gold artifacts. 🌿 Plant Habit: Classified as an indeterminate, but generally behaves more like a semi-determinate. Rarely … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zyryanka 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the “Semena Altaya” (Seeds of Altai) company. The name “Zyryanka” references a town/river in northern Siberia, signaling its hardy genetics. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Mid-season maturity. A very vigorous, strong, and wide-spreading plant. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, perfectly round/oblate tomatoes. They are … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Illini Gold (Zoloto Illini) 🌍 Origin: An American heirloom variety that is widely circulated in Eastern Europe as “Zoloto Illini” (Gold of Illini). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Usually reaches 5-6 feet (1.5-1.8 m) in a greenhouse, and stays around 5 feet (1.5 m) outdoors. Standout feature: It has very “wispy”, … Read more