Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: strong>Monkey Ass is an indeterminate, mid-season family heirloom oxheart originating from the United States. Renowned for monstrous vine vigor that easily stretches 6.5-10 ft (2-3 m), it yields massive 14-21 oz (400-600 g) pink fruits. Lower trusses usually bear classic pointed hearts, but upper trusses frequently produce the iconic deeply cleft, double-lobed … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Marek’s Pointy Heart is an indeterminate, mid-season heirloom oxheart with characteristic wispy foliage, originally obtained from Polish gardener Marek via Tatiana Kouchnareva. The vines set dense, elongated, tapered red hearts typically running 8-16 oz (220-450 g). The interior is solid, dense, and sweet with almost no seeds, though northern growers recommend greenhouse … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Maglia Rosa is a celebrated semi-determinate artisan cherry tomato bred by Fred Hempel of Artisan Seeds in California. Plants form tidy, well-behaved bushes ranging from 2 to 4 ft (0.6 to 1.2 m) that require minimal to no suckering. It yields prolific trusses of elongated, pink-and-yellow marbled “bullets” weighing up to 0.9 … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Marina’s Praise is an exquisite indeterminate, potato-leaf novelty tomato bred by American grower Jason Haynes from a cross of Orange Russian 117 and Potato Leaf Variegated. Seedlings showcase stunning white-and-green variegated foliage that transitions into manageable 5.5-6 ft (1.7-1.8 m) vines. It pumps out clusters of dense, elongated bicolor hearts averaging 3.5 … Read more
🍅 Quick take: La-chan-y-ha is a compact, determinate bush paste tomato of Chinese origin, highly valued in cold Siberian regions for its reliability. Plants stay under 32 inches (80 cm) tall while pumping out dense clusters of elongated scarlet plums measuring up to 3 inches (8 cm) long. Unlike many rubbery commercial processing types, the … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Lucky Tiger is an indeterminate, mid-season elongated cherry/plum tomato originally bred by Fred Hempel (Artisan Seeds). It produces stunning 1-1.4 oz (30-40 g) green fruits with pink and red striping. Growers universally praise its massive yields, crack resistance, and complex, sweet, tropical flavor with a satisfying crunch. It’s an aggressive grower that … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Largo de Jauja is a mid-season, indeterminate heirloom (noted here as originating from Spain) that produces long, meaty red plum tomatoes. Growers love it for its fantastic keeping qualities and versatile culinary use. It sets heavy yields of 3.5-7 oz (100-200 g) fruits with very few seeds and almost no gel, making … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kozula 132 Zielone is a striking green-when-ripe bicolor plum tomato from Polish breeder Anna Kozula. It produces mid-sized plants about 3 ft (1 m) tall. Reviews on taste are mixed. While one grower found the flavor lacking after picking early due to splitting, another reported overwhelmingly sweet, candy-like fruits with an incredible … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kim’s Civil War Oxheart is a historic, mid-season indeterminate heirloom originally dating back to the American Civil War. It produces gorgeous, meaty, and extremely sweet dusky pink hearts weighing 7–14 oz (200–400 g). Known for its robust, vigorous vines and crack-resistant fruit, it delivers a classic, old-fashioned pink tomato flavor with very … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kenosha Paste is a highly productive, mid-season indeterminate vine with wispy foliage. It produces meaty, sweet red plum tomatoes weighing around 4.5-5.5 oz. While it is an absolute workhorse for canning and processing, its surprisingly juicy, sweet flavor profile makes it just as fantastic for fresh eating. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes … Read more
🍅 Quick take: IPK LYC 859 El Salvador is an indeterminate, mid-season, multi-purpose red plum tomato with a distinctive pointed tip. While the flavor is described as mild or slightly bland (making it better suited for processing or canning rather than fresh eating), its main standout feature is its massive yield. Growers report that this … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Himmelstürmer (German for “Sky Stormer”) is an insanely vigorous, towering indeterminate vine rumored to be a cross between San Marzano and De Barao. Capable of reaching 10 to 20 feet (3-6 m), it produces huge clusters of firm, 1.5-2 oz (50 g) red plum tomatoes that keep very well post-harvest. Growers note … Read more