Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Tsitrusovyi Sad (Citrus Garden) 🌍 Origin: A famous Russian commercial/heirloom variety. It circulates under several synonymous names, most notably Chudo Sveta (Wonder of the World), Citrina, and sometimes mistakenly as Anna German. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), highly vigorous. It is a “multiflora” type, meaning it produces massive, highly complex flower trusses. … Read more
Quick Summary of Hypeel 108 F1 🌍 Origin: A commercial determinate F1 hybrid. The name “Hypeel” generally indicates varieties bred specifically for easy peeling and mass commercial canning/processing. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush), medium height. It produces abundant flowers and sets fruit very reliably, even demonstrating good heat tolerance. Despite being a bush variety, staking … Read more
Quick Summary of Howes (Khoves) 🌍 Origin: An extremely rare variety distributed by Ukrainian seed collector Alexei Kulik. It is praised primarily as a long-keeper. 🌿 Plant Habit: Moderate height. Warning for seed savers: The currently circulating seeds show significant genetic instability. Growers report seedlings splitting into both Regular Leaf (RL) and Potato Leaf (PL) … Read more
Quick Summary of Khlebosolnyi 🌍 Origin: A very popular, high-yielding commercial heirloom from Siberia (Siberian Garden / SibSad). The name “Khlebosolnyi” translates to “Hospitable” or “Generous Host”, referring to its massive yield. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush) and spreading. It is officially rated for 80 cm (32 inches) in open ground, though it can reach … Read more
Quick Summary of Khokhloma 🌍 Origin: A highly popular Russian commercial variety named after the traditional Russian folk painting style (“Khokhloma”). It is the red “sister” variety to the orange “Chukhloma” tomato. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous, easily exceeding 2.0 m (6.5 ft) in height. Performs best in greenhouses but can be … Read more
Quick Summary of Khurma (Persimmon) 🌍 Origin: A legendary and highly commercialized Russian variety. The name translates to “Persimmon” because the true fruits resemble the persimmon fruit in color and shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Highly controversial! According to the Russian State Register, the true Khurma is a determinate (bush) plant. However, due to seed company … Read more
Quick Summary of Fenix (Phoenix) 🌍 Origin: A Russian folk heirloom variety from the collection of V. Kolyakov. The name translates to “Phoenix” (Fenix). 🌿 Plant Habit: Medium foliage. Performs very well outdoors in open ground and delivers a solid, dependable yield. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, dark pinkish-red oxheart-shaped fruits. The flesh is incredibly dense, … Read more
Quick Summary of Fioletovo-Malinovaya Baska 🌍 Origin: A Russian collector variety, originally popularized by seedsman V. Redko. The name translates to “Purple-Raspberry Baska”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. The plants are extremely vigorous, powerful, and healthy, easily growing over 1.5m (5 ft) tall outdoors in open ground. It handles aggressive multi-stem pruning (4-5 stems) effortlessly without … Read more
Quick Summary of Fedora 🌍 Origin: An heirloom variety circulated among European collectors. These specific seeds were sourced from a grower in Germany in 2015. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall-growing). Shows moderate resistance to Leaf Mold (Cladosporium), rated a 3 out of 5 by growers. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Heart-shaped (oxheart) tomatoes that exhibit prominent “green … Read more
Quick Summary of Finik (Date) Tomato Series 🌍 Origin: A hugely popular Russian commercial series (which includes Yellow, Orange, Red, and Striped variants), commonly sold by “Russian Ogorod” (often as an F1 hybrid) and heirloom vendors like “Batatovy Kusty”. The name “Finik” translates to “Date”, referencing their shape and intended sweetness. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate … Read more
Quick Summary of Florentino 🌍 Origin: Originally distributed by the Russian seed company “Biotekhnika”. It is a heavily ribbed, European-style tomato. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Grows to about 1.5 – 2 meters (5 – 6.5 ft) depending on whether it’s grown outdoors or in a greenhouse. Uniquely, it forms flower trusses very frequently—every two leaves. … Read more
Quick Summary of Fokus-Pokus (Hocus Pocus) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety from the “Aelita” seed company. The name translates to “Hocus Pocus”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Early season and indeterminate. It is a striking “Angora” type plant with silvery-green, heavily fuzzy (woolly) foliage. This dense fuzz makes the plant highly unattractive to insect pests. It … Read more