Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dvoynaya Zhizn Kolobka 🌍 Origin: A fascinating commercial Russian variety developed by the Gavrish seed company. The quirky name translates to “The Double Life of Kolobok” (Kolobok is a round, runaway dough boy from a famous Slavic fairy tale, much like the Gingerbread Man). 🌿 Plant Habit: It truly lives a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: White Cherry (Belaya Vishnya) 🌱 Plant Habit: A tall indeterminate vine. It exhibits the classic “wispy” or frail-looking foliage that is typical of most oxheart varieties. 🍅 Fruit & Yield: Despite the “cherry” in its name, this is NOT a cherry tomato. It produces large, pale cream/white heart-shaped tomatoes weighing 9 to … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Buttermilk Falls 🌱 Plant Habit: A vigorous, tall-growing indeterminate vine that can easily reach 6.5 ft (2.0 meters) in height. 🍅 Fruit & Yield: Produces massive beefsteak tomatoes weighing 10 to 18 oz (300 – 500g), which uniquely grow in large clusters. Highly productive. 🎨 Color & Flavor: Starts as a pale … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): White Wonder 🌍 Origin: A classic, well-known American heirloom variety prized for its unique pale color. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Produces an average yield. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, oblate (flattened and round) beefsteaks weighing around 10.5–17.5 oz (300–500 g). They are a creamy white color, developing a faint pink blush on … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Barkhatnye (Velvet) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety known for its distinctive Angora genetics. The name “Barkhatnye” simply means “Velvet”. Note that this is often confused with other fuzzy varieties like Blue Spruce or Peach, or with non-fuzzy varieties like Barkhatniy Sezon (Velvet Season). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and late-season. Both … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Velue Strieé 🌍 Origin: A stunning French heirloom novelty tomato. The name roughly translates to “Striped Velvet”, perfectly describing its unique appearance. 🌿 Plant Habit: A semi-determinate to indeterminate plant with the classic “angora” trait—the foliage and stems are covered in dense, soft fuzz, making it look silvery or frosted. Pro … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bronze Heart of Angel 🌍 Origin: A beautiful and exotic novelty oxheart variety. Known in Russian catalogs as Bronzovoe Serdtse Angela. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An excellent yielder. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Classic blunt oxheart shape. The color is absolutely stunning—a soft ochre, mustard, or bronze hue. The fruits are medium-sized, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Altaysky Bely (Altai White) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Siberian variety. The name translates to “Altai White”, referring to the Altai Mountains region. 🌿 Plant Habit: Grows to a moderate height of 1.2–1.5 m (4–5 ft). Known for being incredibly low maintenance and undemanding. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Gorgeous, pale yellow/white heart-shaped tomatoes … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Apricot Jam (Abrikosovyi Dzhem) 🌍 Origin: A delightful novelty variety circulating among Russian collectors. Experienced growers strongly suspect that this variety is actually synonymous with another famous Russian fuzzy tomato called Yellow Target (Zheltaya Mishen). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), producing powerful, vigorous bushes with large fruit trusses. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Amarillo & Amarillo Armadillo 🌍 Origin: This thread covers experimental/numbered breeding lines sent to Russian growers simply as “Amarillo”, as well as the named exotic variety Amarillo Armadillo. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), regular leaf. Very vigorous and highly productive. The Armadillo variant grows to about 1.6 m (5.2 ft) when … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Pineapple Sergeant (Ananasnyi Serzhant) 🌍 Origin: A breathtakingly beautiful modern creation by Russian tomato breeder Sofia Saakova. It is a yellow/bicolor anthocyanin descendant of the world-famous American heirloom, Sgt. Pepper’s. The line is currently around the F7 stage of stabilization. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-early to mid-season. Like many oxheart … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Appetitnye Shchechki (Appetizing Cheeks) 🌍 Origin: A modern commercial Russian variety introduced by the “Gavrish” seed company. The name charmingly translates to “Appetizing Cheeks”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season (110-115 days). Recommended for greenhouse growing but can perform well outdoors in warmer zones. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Designed to be a … Read more