Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Schlesische Himbeere (Silesian Raspberry) 🌍 Origin & Name: A beautiful German heirloom variety. “Schlesische Himbeere” translates from German directly as “Silesian Raspberry” (named after the historical region of Silesia and the fruit’s raspberry-pink color). Forum members note that this specific seed line was brought directly from Baden-Baden, Germany. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate … Read more
Quick Summary of Heart of America (Serdtse Ameriki) 🌍 Origin & Name: Circulated among Russian private seed collectors under the translated name “Serdtse Ameriki” (Heart of America). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but growers note it has a very manageable height. In a greenhouse, it grows taller than a person but doesn’t aggressively hit the … Read more
Quick Summary of Heartbreaker (Serdtseed) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian commercial heirloom variety. The name translates beautifully into English as “Heartbreaker” (Serdtseed). Cultivated and circulated by well-known private seed collectors like Yashchenko and Redko. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), usually growing to about 1.5 meters (5 ft). It features classic oxheart genetics with sparse, … Read more
Quick Summary of Siberian Crown (Sibirskaya Korona) 🌍 Origin & Name: A robust commercial variety from the Russian seed company Semena Altaya (Seeds of Altai). The name translates to “Siberian Crown”. 🔍 Shape Discrepancy: The official seed packet often describes this variety as an oxheart (heart-shaped). However, growers report that it actually produces round-cuboid (blocky) … Read more
Quick Summary of Siberian Giant (Sibirskiy Velikan) 🌍 Origin: A classic commercial Siberian variety (this is the traditional red version, not to be confused with Siberian Giant Pink). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and powerful. It grows to about 1.5 – 1.7 meters (5-5.5 ft) tall and performs well in both greenhouses and open ground. … Read more
Quick Summary of Desdemona’s Heart (Serdtse Dezdemony) 🌍 Origin & Name: An heirloom variety sourced from private collector Tamara Yashchenko. The name is a nod to Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, adding a dramatic flair to this beautiful oxheart. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, though it behaves more like a vigorous semi-determinate in many gardens. It typically reaches … Read more
Quick Summary of Saratovskie (Saratov) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian heirloom named after the city of Saratov on the Volga River. Ironically (and amusingly), local growers from Saratov note that this variety is completely unknown in the city itself! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. In a greenhouse, it easily exceeds 2 … Read more
Quick Summary of Siberian Miracle (Sibirskoe Chudo) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety. The name translates directly to “Siberian Miracle”. 🔍 The Shape Mystery (Seed Segregation): This variety is famous on Russian forums for its extreme genetic inconsistency depending on the seed vendor. Seeds from SibSad (Siberian Garden) typically produce round/oblate fruits. However, seeds from … Read more
Quick Summary of The Very Best (Samye Luchshie) 🌍 Origin & Name: A deeply historical heirloom variety. The name translates directly to “The Very Best” (Samye Luchshie). According to historical records, seeds were given by a resident of Kattakurgan (Uzbekistan) to the famous Soviet tomato breeder I.M. Maslov in 1984. 🌿 Plant Habit: Semi-determinate to … Read more
Quick Summary of White Sugar (Sakhar Belyi) 🌍 Origin: An Eastern European heirloom variety. The name translates directly to “White Sugar” (Sakhar Belyi). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but often behaves as a mid-sized sprawling bush in open ground, reaching about 1.6 meters (5.2 ft). It is a mid-to-late season variety. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Medium-sized … Read more
Quick Summary of Siberian Giant Pink (Sibirskiy Velikan Rozovyi) 🌍 Origin: A classic large-fruited Russian heirloom. The name translates to “Siberian Giant Pink”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), robust vine reaching about 2 meters (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse environment. 🍃 Leaf Type Alert: Forum growers note that this variety can sometimes show genetic segregation … Read more
Quick Summary of Solntse Severa (Sun of the North) 🌍 Origin: Distributed by a well-known (and somewhat secretive) Russian seed collector, Kolyakov. The name translates to “Sun of the North”. 🧐 The Naming Irony: As forum growers quickly point out, the name is quite misleading! One would expect a “Northern Sun” to be a yellow … Read more