Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A specific heirloom strain known as Big Orange (from Amuz). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, early season. The plant has a thin, “wispy” foliage structure, which is completely normal for this variety (don’t worry if the seedlings look a bit frail). It is very low-maintenance and unpretentious. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A dark heirloom variety known as Black Early. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Interestingly, the plant habit is described as quite compact for an indeterminate variety, making it manageable. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Dark purplish-pink/black fruits. They have an excellent texture that manages to be both juicy and reasonably meaty … Read more
Quick Summary of Best Bestos 🌍 Origin & Type: A gorgeous, deeply ribbed (pleated/ruffled) red tomato. Some fruits take on a pear-like or wide piriform shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Reaches up to 6.5 ft (2 meters) in height. Highly prized for its stress tolerance—it performs exceptionally well in both extremely hot regions and … Read more
Quick Summary of Banyan Rumi 🌍 Origin & Trivia: A rare, highly resilient heirloom variety collected from Afghanistan. Fun Fact: “Banjan Rumi” literally translates to “Roman Eggplant” in Dari (Afghan Persian), which is simply the local word for “tomato”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and incredibly vigorous, growing up to 6.5 ft (2 meters) tall. It … Read more
Quick Summary of Black Mountain Pink 🌍 Origin: A massive old heirloom tomato originating from Kentucky, USA. Highly prized by Russian collectors who often translate the name to “Chernogorskiy” or “Pink from Black Mountain”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and tall. Growers note that it can be a bit slow to start in the spring … Read more
Quick Summary of Bigly 🌍 Origin: A stunning striped orange variety closely associated with the lines bred by Fred Hempel (Artisan Seeds), sharing many characteristics with Orange Jazz. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, tall, and mid-season. Known to be highly productive. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Massive orange beefsteaks with plump shoulders and light yellow stripes. Fruits are … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) Origin: Italy. Plant Type: Indeterminate, Mid-season. Very vigorous vines reaching over 2 meters (6.5+ feet) in greenhouses. Fruit Size & Appearance: Produces massive beefsteaks or slight hearts (some strains are sold as ‘Oxheart Belmonte’). Weights frequently hit 500-600g (1.1-1.3 lbs), with record fruits up to 1 kg (2.2 lbs). Color: Mostly … Read more
Quick Summary of Aunt Lou’s Underground Railroad 🌍 Origin: A deeply historical US heirloom. Seeds were reportedly passed down from an unnamed Black man escaping via the Underground Railroad through Ripley, Ohio, to a woman known as Aunt Lou. The variety was preserved and eventually introduced to the modern heirloom community by the late, legendary … Read more
Quick Summary of African Queen 🌍 Origin: A well-known Canadian heirloom variety, highly popular among Russian growers under the translated name “Afrikanskaya Koroleva” (Африканская королева). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) with potato leaf foliage. The vines can be slightly spindly or wispy, but they are still highly productive. Growers often prune it to a single … Read more
Quick Summary of Antico Canestrino di Luca 🌍 Origin: A classic traditional heirloom from Italy (often spelled Antico Canestrino di Lucca, originating from the Tuscany region). The name translates to “Little Basket of Lucca,” referring to its deeply ribbed, pear-like shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, very sturdy, and tall. Growers in our community report that … Read more
Quick Summary of Alleghany Sunset 🌍 Origin: A stunning and highly regarded heirloom bicolor tomato that has won over many growers in our community. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, regular leaf. Reports on plant vigor vary: some seed sources describe it as a very powerful and tall plant, while other growers found their bushes to be … Read more
Quick Summary of Yaponskiy Trufel (Japanese Truffle Series) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular commercial Russian series (often distributed by Biotechnika, Sibsad, and Aelita). Despite the name, it is a Russian heirloom/commercial line. It comes in up to 6 distinct colors: Red, Pink, Black, Orange, Yellow, and Gold. 🌿 Plant Habit: Most are indeterminate, growing between … Read more