Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Antonovka Medovaya 🌍 Origin & Name: A commercial variety from the Russian company “Premium Seeds”. It is named after the famous Russian winter apple, Antonovka, known for its green-yellow color and ability to be stored in cellars all winter. “Medovaya” means “Honey”. ⚠️ The Big Misunderstanding: The seed packet markets this … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Abbat (Abbot) 🌍 Origin: A reliable commercial Russian variety offered by seed companies like SeDeK. The name translates to “Abbot”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Compact, usually reaching about 80 cm (31 inches) tall. It is an absolute workhorse that performs exceptionally well outdoors in the open garden, but can also … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Altaechka 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial heirloom from Siberian breeders (Altai region). The name affectionately translates to “Little Altai Girl”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Compact, reaching about 70-90 cm (27-35 inches) in height. It produces beautiful stocky seedlings and is perfectly suited for open ground. Does not require strict pruning. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Aquarelle (Akvarel) 🌍 Origin: A reliable Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Watercolor”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (short bush). Specifically, it is a “tree-type” (shtamb) dwarf with a very sturdy, thick central stem that requires minimal staking. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, plum-shaped paste tomatoes. They are on the smaller side … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Akrobat (Acrobat) 🌍 Origin: A Russian cascading (trailing) cherry tomato variety bred specifically for container gardening, hanging baskets, and small spaces. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, micro-dwarf/cascading type. It naturally forms a lush, cascading waterfall of foliage and fruit. If staked upright, it reaches about 50 cm (20 inches) in height. Highly … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Altai Yellow (Altayskiy Zheltyy) 🌍 Origin: A classic Siberian/Altai regional heirloom from Russia. Available from several commercial seed companies (like “Siberian Garden”), but many collectors grow specific heirloom strains (like the ones from collector Yashchenko). 🌿 Plant Habit: Often classified as a tall determinate or semi-determinate, growing to about 1.5 – … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Antoshka 🌍 Origin: A fantastic early-season Russian commercial variety. The name “Antoshka” is a friendly, diminutive form of the name Anton (often associated with a cheerful cartoon character in Russia). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush/dwarf type). Extremely compact and sturdy, growing only 30-60 cm (12-24 inches) tall. It requires zero pruning … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cherokee Rosse 🌍 Origin: A unique novelty release bred by the famous Brad Gates (Wild Boar Farms, USA). 🌿 Plant Habit: Appears to act as a semi-determinate or compact indeterminate. Grown outdoors, it reaches just over 1 meter (about 3.5 – 4 ft) in height. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Oblate (flat-round) beefsteaks … 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): Dwarf Chocolate Lightning 🌍 Origin: A fantastic release from the international Dwarf Tomato Project. It was developed from a cross between ‘Beauty King’ and ‘Dwarf Wild Fred’. 🌿 Plant Habit: Tree-type dwarf. A very vigorous plant with dark green rugose (crinkled) foliage and thick, sturdy central stems. Indoors or in a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A well-known elongated plum/paste tomato variety, often grown for sauces and processing. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate / Semi-determinate. A mid-late season variety that grows relatively compactly, reaching about 0.8 m (2.6 ft) when grown outdoors in open ground. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, elongated plum-shaped tomatoes. Grower tip on size: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety produced by the famous French seed company Vilmorin. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate / Semi-determinate, mid-season. It is relatively compact and easy to grow, reaching about 1 m (3.3 ft) outdoors and up to 1.6 m (5.2 ft) in a greenhouse. Perfect for both open ground and … Read more