Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Yantarnaya Rossyp (Amber Placer) 🌍 Origin: A modern Russian commercial variety bred by the “Tsentr Ogorodnik” / “Poisk” seed company and officially entered into the Russian State Register in 2018. The name roughly translates to “Amber Placer” or “Scattering of Amber”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, compact, and sturdy (tree-type). It has a … Read more
Quick Summary of Yantarnyi (Amber) 🌍 Origin: A well-known Russian commercial/heirloom variety. The name translates to “Amber,” referring to its bright yellow-orange color. Note: It is sometimes sold under variations like “Yantarnyi 530”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush/tree-type). It is highly compact, rugose, and very sturdy. It does not strictly require pruning or suckering, making … Read more
Quick Summary of Yablochnyi Lipetskiy (Apple Lipetsk) 🌍 Origin: A legendary Russian heirloom from the Lipetsk region. It was saved from a single tomato given to a gardener in 1996 and popularized on Russian tomato forums years later. The name translates to “Apple of Lipetsk”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate with moderate vigor. It grows well … Read more
Quick Summary of Yamal 200 🌍 Origin & Naming: Named after the Yamal Peninsula, a frozen region in the Russian Arctic. This immediately signifies its purpose: extreme cold tolerance and early harvests. 🌿 Plant Habit: A true determinate micro-dwarf (tree-type / stocky bush). It is supposed to grow only 30-40 cm (12-16 inches) tall, making … Read more
Quick Summary of Elegant 🌍 Origin & Naming Confusion: “Elegant” is a name shared by several completely different tomato strains in the Russian/Ukrainian seed market. This forum thread is highly valuable because it breaks down the differences between the commercial version and the private collector versions. 🍅 Strain 1 (Commercial / SibSad variety): A mid-early … Read more
Quick Summary of Efemer 🌍 Origin: A very popular, reliable, and trouble-free commercial/heirloom variety from Eastern Europe (Ukraine/Russia/Moldova). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush) type. Typically grows to about 60-70 cm (24-28 inches) outdoors, but can reach 1 m (3.2 ft) in a greenhouse. Requires minimal pruning. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Perfectly round, smooth red fruits weighing … Read more
Quick Summary of EM-Chempion (EM-Champion) 🌍 Origin: A famous Russian commercial variety released by Sibirskiy Sad (Siberian Garden). The name translates to “EM-Champion”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush), reaching about 60–70 cm (24–28 inches) outdoors. It has very sparse, thin, downward-hanging leaves (often described as “wispy” or “weeping willow” type). Because of this, it can … Read more
Quick Summary of Sherkhan (Shere Khan) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety. Named “Sherkhan” (after the tiger Shere Khan from The Jungle Book) due to its distinctive striped skin. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). The seed packet states a compact height of 60 cm (24 inches). However, greenhouse growers report it can act very vigorously, … Read more
Quick Summary of Shchelkovskiy Ranniy (Shchelkovsky Early) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Shchelkovsky Early”. It was widely distributed by the commercial seed company “Russkiy Ogorod” (Russian Garden). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, compact bush. Seed packets claim a micro-dwarf height of 30–35 cm (12–14 inches), though greenhouse growers report it reaching … Read more
Quick Summary: Scheherazade (Fuzzy Peach Tomato) 🌍 Origin: A highly unique commercial variety developed by the Russian seed company “Siberian Garden” (SibSad). 🌿 Plant Habit: The official packet claims it is a determinate bush up to 1 meter (3.2 ft) tall. However, nearly all growers report it behaving like a tall semi-determinate or indeterminate, easily … Read more
Quick Summary of Dwarf Shimofuri (Frost Waterfall) 🌍 Origin & History: An incredibly unique variegated variety created by US tomato breeder and enthusiast Applestar. She crossed the trailing variety Whippersnapper with Faelan’s First Snow. The name “Shimofuri” is a Japanese term meaning “marbled” or “white-veined” (often used to describe premium Wagyu beef), which perfectly describes … Read more
Quick Summary of Shokoladnaya Zebra (Chocolate Zebra) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety (released by Siberian Garden / SibSad). The name translates to “Chocolate Zebra”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate / Semi-dwarf. The bushes are quite compact, usually growing only 1 to 1.2 meters (3.2 to 4 ft) tall. Despite their small stature, they are incredibly … Read more