Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Costoluto Genovese 🌍 Origin: A legendary Italian heirloom from the Genoa region. It has been a staple in Italian gardens for generations, highly prized for its heavily scalloped, decorative shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous, and incredibly robust. It is famous for its hardiness, tolerating both heat spells and cooler … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Corrogo 🌍 Origin: A striking, deeply pleated (ruffled) heirloom variety, highly valued for its unique decorative shape that resembles an accordion or a blooming flower when sliced. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-early season. It is a very vigorous, low-maintenance variety that easily handles being grown with multiple stems without sacrificing … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Carmina 🌍 Origin: A wonderful heirloom slicing variety known for its distinctive appearance and reliable production. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season. The plant grows strong and vigorous, producing very good yields. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Unusually shaped, ribbed pink beefsteaks. The interior flesh is beautifully colored—mostly pink with a striking crimson-red … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Connie’s Cain 🌍 Origin: A fantastic heirloom beefsteak variety known for its outstanding vigor and reliable production. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). This is a true monster of a plant! It grows exceptionally tall and vigorous, easily surpassing 3 meters (10 feet) in height under good conditions. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Classic, … 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): Cherokee Tiger Large 🌍 Origin: A beautiful Canadian variety originally developed by breeder Bill Minkey. Note: People often ask if this is part of the Dwarf Tomato Project. It is not a true project Dwarf, but rather a compact, semi-determinate variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Semi-determinate. In a greenhouse setting, it typically … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cleota Pink 🌍 Origin: An old, relatively rare family heirloom from Tennessee, USA. It is highly prized by heirloom collectors for producing massive pink fruits on potato-leaf vines. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, Potato Leaf (PL). 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large pink beefsteaks. They are exceptionally meaty but retain a very juicy flesh … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Corazon de Huesca 🌍 Origin: A magnificent old heirloom variety from the Huesca province in the Aragon region of Spain. The name translates to “Heart of Huesca”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Grows very well and produces reliably in greenhouse conditions. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Beautiful, massive pink heart-shaped tomatoes (oxhearts). They … 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): Costoluto Colli Euganei 🌍 Origin: A magnificent family heirloom from the Veneto region in Northern Italy. The name translates to “Ribbed of the Euganean Hills”. The Euganean Hills are a national nature reserve known for their incredibly fertile volcanic soil, mild climate, ancient oak and chestnut forests, olive groves, and endless … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cosentino sel Claudia 🌍 Origin: A wonderful, highly productive family heirloom from Italy. (“Sel Claudia” likely denotes a specific selection by a grower named Claudia). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season. Known for being extremely reliable and heat-tolerant, displaying zero blossom drop even when grown in the sunniest spots of the … Read more