Chile Verde Tomato Review: Green Heirloom

Quick Summary of Chile Verde (Green Chile) 🌍 Origin: A very popular green-when-ripe variety in Eastern Europe, often sold by commercial seed companies like Biotekhnika and Siberian Garden, as well as private collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching about 1.5 – 2 meters (5 to 6.5 ft). Most growers report a Regular Leaf (RL), … Read more

Humph Tomato Review & Taste: Yellow-Green US Heirloom

Quick Summary of Humph (Хм) 🌍 Origin: A relatively rare variety originating from the USA, introduced to Russian growers in 2015 by seed collector V. Popenko. In Russian, it is translated/transliterated as “Хм” (Hmm / Hmph). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. It is prone to putting out many suckers and can easily … Read more

Hippie Zebra Tomato Review: GWR Bicolor

Quick Summary of Hippie Zebra 🌍 Origin: A stunning Green-When-Ripe (GWR) bi-color variety. Highly popularized in Eastern Europe through collector V. Popenko’s catalogs. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), usually reaching 1.5–1.8 m (5–6 ft). It performs well in both greenhouses and open ground, showing excellent resistance to blossom drop during heatwaves or cold snaps. Note: … Read more

Sandra’s Smile (Ulybka Sandry) Striped Bicolor Tomato

Quick Summary of Ulybka Sandry (Sandra’s Smile) 🌍 Origin: A mysterious variety with a fascinating history. Originally acquired by a Latvian collector at a seed swap in Germany under the name “Cassandra”. Since the real Cassandra tomato is a completely different red variety, the name was rejected during local registration. It was officially renamed “Ulybka … Read more

Jade Gem F1 (Samotsvet Nefritovyi) Green Cherry Tomato

Quick Summary of Jade Gem F1 (Samotsvet Nefritovyi F1) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian commercial green cherry tomato from the popular “Gem” (Samotsvet) series by the SeDek seed company. The name translates to “Jade Gem”. 🔍 The F1 Hybrid Confusion: Officially registered in the Russian State Register as an F1 hybrid. However, SeDek has … Read more

White Sugar (Sakhar Belyi) Tomato Review

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

Siberian Malachite Tomato: Green Striped Heirloom

Quick Summary of Sibirskiy Malakhit (Siberian Malachite) 🌍 Origin: A well-known commercial variety from Siberian Garden (SibSad). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. In open ground, it usually reaches 1.2-1.4 meters (4-4.5 ft), and slightly taller in greenhouses. The bush is regular, not overly spreading. Growers note it exhibits excellent disease resistance (particularly against leaf mold / … Read more

Siberian Kiwi (Sibirskiy Kivi) Green-When-Ripe Tomato Review

Quick Summary of Sibirskiy Kivi (Siberian Kiwi) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety from the “Uralskiy Dachnik” (Ural Summer Resident) seed company. The name translates to “Siberian Kiwi”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and vigorous. Reaches about 1.5 meters (5 ft) in height. Growers recommend pruning it to 2 stems for the best yield. It shows … Read more

Ibirapuera Plum (Sliva Ibirapuera) Exotic Tomato Review

Quick Summary of Sliva Ibirapuera (Ibirapuera Plum) 🌍 Origin: A rare and exotic novelty variety with a tropical flair. 🌿 Plant Habit: Highly indeterminate, aggressive, and extremely vigorous! Growers describe the vine as a “monster” that will easily reach the roof of a greenhouse and continue growing along the ceiling if not topped. Requires strong … Read more

Rum Baba (Romovaya Baba) Green Beefsteak Tomato

Quick Summary of Romovaya Baba (Rum Baba) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the “Aelita” seed company. The name translates to “Rum Baba” (a famous rum-soaked sponge cake dessert), perfectly hinting at the extreme sweetness of this tomato. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching 1.5 meters (5 ft) and higher. Growers note that … Read more