Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Kommuna (also labeled as Yubileynye) is a mid-season indeterminate variety originating from a Russian private collection. It grows as a tall, somewhat spindly vine with long internodes. It produces medium-sized red tomatoes that often develop a sharp “beak” on the blossom end. While officially classed as a canning tomato, growers find the … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kleopatra is a highly productive, tree-type dwarf variety featuring potato leaves and a very stout, sturdy main stem. It produces beautiful raspberry-yellow striped plum tomatoes weighing around 2.8-3.2 oz (80-90 g). Growers love its massive yields (up to 11 lbs / 5 kg per plant) and extreme ruggedness late into the season. … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Korrida is a commercial Russian determinate variety bred specifically for outdoor growing and whole-fruit canning. The plants are compact bushes maxing out at 32 inches (80 cm). It produces small, elongated red plum tomatoes weighing up to 2.8 oz (80 g). Growers appreciate its space-saving habit, solid yields, and great performance in … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Konus (meaning “Cone”) is a vigorous indeterminate variety rescued by a dedicated seed saver over 20 years ago. It produces large, red, cone-shaped (oxheart-type) fruits that are meaty, juicy, and packed with old-school tomato flavor. The vine has a unique habit of naturally forking at the main stem. While it occasionally drops … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Colibri F1 is a vigorous indeterminate French hybrid from Clause. While technically marketed as a “salad/slicer plum,” growers find its firm texture and uniform 5.5-6 oz (160-170 g) red fruits absolutely perfect for canning whole. It features short internodes and throws massive, often forked clusters, making it a heavy yielder in the … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kuraga (Dried Apricot) is an indeterminate orange paste tomato. It produces meaty, very sweet 5 oz (150 g) plum-shaped fruits on skinny, wispy vines. While it can be grown outdoors, it performs much better and yields higher when given the shelter of a greenhouse. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kazakhskaya Sliva (Kazakh Plum) is an indeterminate red plum tomato that grows on tall, wispy vines. The fruits average about 5 oz (150 g) and have a tender, sweet flesh. Because of their shape and meaty texture, forum growers highly recommend this variety for making sun-dried tomatoes. It performs well both in … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kiryukha is a dark-fruited (black) semi-determinate variety that grows very compactly, reaching only about 5 feet (1.5 m) in the greenhouse. It produces uniform 5-7 oz (150-200 g) round slicing tomatoes with excellent flavor. Unusually for black tomatoes, it has a decent shelf life and doesn’t get mushy quickly. It sets fruit … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Karmen (Carmen) is an indeterminate pink paste tomato known for its large plum-shaped fruits that can reach up to 8 oz (230 g). Growers praise it for its firm, sugary flesh that makes it perfect for canning, as well as its impressive productivity when grown outdoors in the dirt. Full summary ↓ … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Goat’s Udder (Koz’e Vymechko) is a compact, highly resilient heirloom known for its unusually shaped crimson-pink fruits that look like plump icicles or elongated hearts. Weighing 5 to 10.5 oz (150-300 g), these meaty, nearly seedless tomatoes are incredibly versatile. The plants perform exceptionally well outdoors and easily shrug off harsh summer … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Crimean Rose (Krymskaya Roza) is an indeterminate pink tomato that produces distinct, ribbed pear-shaped fruits weighing 4.7 to 10.5 oz (135-300 g). Originally developed for commercial hoop houses and home gardens, it boasts a very classic, rich tomato flavor. While officially listed as mid-early, some growers find it to be a late-season … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kronprinz (Crown Prince) is an indeterminate, mid-season heirloom that produces massive multiflora-style trusses of firm, red tomatoes weighing 2.8 to 4 oz (80-110 g). It is highly prized for whole-fruit canning and is historically significant as one of the parent lines for the famous Tarasenko hybrids. Note that there is also a … Read more