Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Nizami is an old Georgian indeterminate heirloom renowned for its stunning orange heart-shaped fruits and “buttery,” jelly-like flesh. While it frequently tests growers’ patience with average-to-low yields, its incredibly sweet, fruity flavor makes it a cult favorite. It is also notoriously stingy with seeds, often producing massive fruits that are 100% solid … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Nepas 4 is a very early, highly productive determinate bush variety bred specifically for low maintenance. It requires zero pruning and grows as a sturdy, tree-type dwarf. It pumps out beautiful, bright orange 2-2.5 oz (60-70 g) globe tomatoes with a distinct little beak on the blossom end, making it an absolute … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Mechta-2 (Dream-2) is a very rugged, early-season determinate variety that thrives outdoors. It produces 7-9 oz (200-250 g) lemon-yellow beefsteaks that develop a distinct red “star” or blush on the blossom end when fully ripe. Growers highly praise it for being extremely low-maintenance, setting fruit reliably even in partial shade or bad … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Medovo-Sakharnyi (Honey Sugar) is a yellow/orange determinate tomato known for its exceptionally sweet, sugary flavor. Results are highly mixed: some growers found it to be their sweetest, absolute favorite variety of the season, while others struggled with wimpy vines, dismal yields, and extreme susceptibility to sunscald and BER. Fruit sizes also varied … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Marmelad Zholtyi (Yellow Marmalade) is an early-season Russian variety officially listed as a determinate. It produces uniform 3.5 oz (100 g) yellow fruits with a sweet-tart flavor, making it great for canning. While it stays compact outdoors, one greenhouse grower noted that saved seeds eventually adapted and produced vines over 6.5 ft … Read more
🍅 Quick take: A compact yellow cherry tomato known for its delicate, toy-like foliage and outstanding resistance to late blight. Unlike sugary cherries, it boasts a savory, meaty flavor reminiscent of a full-sized slicer. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-5) S Sweet (Svetlana) Pro | 8,792 posts 📍 Belgorod region (USDA … Read more
🍅 Quick take: A mid-early, determinate variety producing large, perfectly round, bright orange tomatoes with sweet, low-acid flesh. Highly regarded for its taste, but watch out for commercial seed packets (SibSad) that frequently contain pink heart-shaped off-types. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-5) S Sweet (Svetlana) Pro | 8,792 posts 📍 … Read more
🍅 Quick take: A tall, indeterminate Siberian heirloom producing sweet, elongated barrel-shaped (or “glass”-shaped) orange fruits. Excellent for greenhouse growing and very comparable to Golden Königsberg. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4-6) L Lana_s_Kavkaza (Svetlana) Pro | 19,268 posts 📍 Pyatigorsk (USDA Zone 6) A local heirloom from Minusinsk (*see Editor’s … Read more
🍅 Quick take: An early indeterminate producing pale yellow-milky hearts with a mild flavor. Known for its delicate, wispy foliage and excellent resistance to blossom end rot and blossom drop. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-5) C Cherry (Olga) Pro | 6,822 posts 📍 Baranovichi (USDA Zone 5) White Medovik. Indet, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: A compact, early determinate variety producing sweet, yellow-orange elongated hearts. Known for setting fruit reliably even in cool, wet weather and boasting wispy, weeping foliage. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 3-4) S Semechka Pro | 23,540 posts 📍 Krasnoyarsk suburbs (USDA Zone 3) D decorshtor (Irina) Beginner | … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Mikada Orange is a sweet, meaty, and highly aromatic orange tomato. While the “true” version is a tall, Potato Leaf (PL) heirloom, rampant commercial renaming has flooded the market with Regular Leaf (RL) variants. Regardless of leaf type, growers consistently praise its fantastic fruity flavor and juicy texture. Full summary ↓ Growers’ … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Mandarin (Mandarinka) is an orange, cocktail-sized indeterminate tomato marketed for its heavy clusters and early ripening. However, grower consensus is highly critical: most find it bland, watery, prone to splitting during canning, and failing to meet the yields promised by commercial seed vendors. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones … Read more