Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Banana Legs (Bananovye Nogi) 🌍 Origin: Originally bred by Tom Wagner (USA) in 1984. It was introduced to the Russian forum community around 2012 by collector Yaroslavna, where it became wildly popular (and highly debated). Interestingly, a commercial Russian seed company later patented it under the translated name “Bananovye Nogi”. 🌿 … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Banan Oranzhevyi (Orange Banana) 🌍 Origin: A popular commercial Russian variety (widely distributed by seed companies like Gavrish and Aelita). The name translates to “Orange Banana”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Mostly indeterminate (growing over 6.5 ft / 2 m in greenhouses), though some growers report shorter determinate strains. It has a characteristic … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Casady’s Folly (Безумие Кэсиди) 🌍 Origin: Bred by the famous American tomato breeder Tom Wagner. It is a stunning, elongated, red-and-gold striped paste/plum tomato. 🌿 Plant Habit: Highly Debated! The forum community has discovered two distinct genetic lines circulating in Russia: one is a tall, spindly, wispy-leafed indeterminate (often reaching 5-6.5 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Purple Pear Brandywine 🌍 Origin: A fantastic dark pear/plum variation in the famous Brandywine family. Known for combining the legendary Brandywine flavor with a unique shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very robust and vigorous, usually grown to 2 stems in the greenhouse. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Dark raspberry/purple pear-shaped fruits. Sizes … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Banan Krasnyi (Red Banana) 🌍 Origin: A popular commercial Russian variety. The name translates directly to “Red Banana”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Generally a compact determinate (bush) plant growing about 2-2.5 feet (60-80 cm) tall, though some seed lines seem to produce indeterminate vines. Extremely sturdy and known for being highly forgiving … 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): Adamovo Yabloko (Adam’s Apple) 🌍 Origin: A highly reliable Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Adam’s Apple”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, growing up to 1.8m (6 ft) tall even in open ground. Known for being incredibly disease-resistant and tough. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, very smooth, firm, and thick-walled. The shape … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Aly Mustang (Scarlet Mustang) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Siberian variety released by the Siberian Garden (SibSad) seed company. The name translates to “Scarlet Mustang.” 📈 Expectation vs. Reality: The seed packet promises giant 20–25 cm (8–10 inch) cigar-shaped fruits and 5 kg (11 lbs) yields per plant. In reality, most growers … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Alye Svechi (Scarlet Candles) 🌍 Origin: A very popular commercial Russian variety. The name translates to “Scarlet Candles” due to its elongated shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and incredibly vigorous. Growers warn that this bush is a monster, easily reaching 2 to 3 meters (6.5–10 ft) tall, requiring serious staking. 🍅 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Argentinskaya Slivka (Argentine Plum) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded commercial heirloom. The name translates to “Argentine Plum”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). The plant is very vigorous and powerful, easily reaching over 2 meters (6.5 ft) in height. It has thick stems and large leaves. Known for excellent disease resistance, particularly … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Amerikanskiy Dlinnoplodnyi 🌍 Origin & Name: Translated as “American Long-Fruited” (or simply “American Long”). Despite the name, it was introduced and popularized in Eastern Europe by breeder/collector A. Kulik. Many forum growers suspect it is a genetic duplicate (synonym) of the Russian heirloom Siberian Cossack. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Anzhelika (Angelica) 🌍 Origin: An excellent early commercial variety from the Russian seed company “TomAgros”. The name translates to “Angelica”. 🌿 Plant Habit: A short determinate (bush). The plant grows to about 50-60 cm (20-24 inches) tall. It has a spreading habit and requires staking/tying up due to the sheer weight … Read more