Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Auria 🌍 Origin: A highly popular and widely discussed Eastern European heirloom. It is also sometimes circulated under the name Zabava. An orange/yellow version exists called Eros. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), very vigorous, and typically a very heavy yielder. Mid-season to late maturity. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Famous for its elongated, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Apricot Jam (Abrikosovyi Dzhem) 🌍 Origin: A delightful novelty variety circulating among Russian collectors. Experienced growers strongly suspect that this variety is actually synonymous with another famous Russian fuzzy tomato called Yellow Target (Zheltaya Mishen). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), producing powerful, vigorous bushes with large fruit trusses. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Amarillo & Amarillo Armadillo 🌍 Origin: This thread covers experimental/numbered breeding lines sent to Russian growers simply as “Amarillo”, as well as the named exotic variety Amarillo Armadillo. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), regular leaf. Very vigorous and highly productive. The Armadillo variant grows to about 1.6 m (5.2 ft) when … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Anastasia Ushakova 🌍 Origin: A fantastic Russian heirloom variety highly prized for its reliability and beautiful shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and incredibly vigorous. It has a very long fruiting period, producing right up until the frost. Standout feature: Exceptional heat tolerance. Growers in hot, southern climates report that it … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ceman 🌍 Origin: A prolific plum/paste variety. While originally grown as a salad tomato, its characteristics make it an excellent processing type. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and mid-season. Produces large, heavy clusters of fruit on vigorous vines. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, elongated plum-shaped fruits with a beautiful red-pink color. They … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cow’s Tit 🌍 Origin: A famous and slightly cheekily named heirloom from Russia, originally known as Korovye Vymya (Cow’s Udder) or Sisechka. Widely popularized among collectors by Russian seed seller V. Redko. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Performs well both in greenhouses and outdoors, though yields can vary depending on sun … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Carol Chyko’s Big Paste 🌍 Origin: A huge, classic heirloom paste tomato from Pennsylvania, USA. It was named after Carol Chyko. Note on translation: In Russian seed collections, it is frequently traded under the shortened (and slightly mistranslated) name “Большой Кэрол” (Big Carol). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A very tall, powerful, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Coeur de Boeuf de Nice 🌍 Origin: A classic French heirloom originally from the Mediterranean region around Nice. The name translates to “Bull’s Heart from Nice”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous grower. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Medium to large red tomatoes, typically weighing 150-300g (5.3-10.5 oz). The shape is highly variable … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cafe Bule 🌍 Origin: An American heirloom variety known for producing masses of dark, pear-shaped cherry tomatoes. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Growers describe it as “well-behaved” and not overly aggressive in its growth. The foliage is relatively light-colored, taking on a purplish-blue hue in strong sunlight. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small, beautiful … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Candy Sweet Icicle 🌍 Origin: Created by Brad Gates at Wild Boar Farms in California. Note: Growers report that two distinct color lines are currently circulating: a pearly pink/red version with yellow stripes, and a dark chocolate/brick-red version with green stripes (which is closer to the original release). 🌿 Plant Habit: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Costoluto Fiorentino sel. Canestrino di Lucca 🌍 Origin & The Great Seed Mix-Up: A fascinating piece of seed history! Commercial Italian vendors sometimes sold seeds under this long, combined name. However, as Russian growers quickly discovered in this thread, these are actually two different Italian varieties. 1) Costoluto Fiorentino: A small, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Coeur Fondant 🌍 Origin: A fantastic heirloom variety originating from France. The name translates beautifully to “Fondant Heart” or “Melting Heart”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An extremely vigorous vine that can easily shoot up to 2–2.5 meters (6.5–8 ft). Grower Note: It may display physiological leaf roll early in the … Read more