Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Welcome to one of the most unique and comprehensive tomato databases on the English-speaking web. This catalog isn’t based on generic seed packet descriptions—it is built entirely on the real, hands-on experience of everyday gardeners.
For over a decade, thousands of growers have shared their successes, failures, and harvest photos on one of the oldest and largest Russian-speaking gardening forums. We have taken this massive, multi-year knowledge base and carefully translated and summarized the very best of it for you.
What you will find in our catalog:
Whether you are looking for a bulletproof hybrid for a short season, an exotic anthocyanin variety, or the sweetest beefsteak you’ve ever tasted, the collective experience of our gardening community will help you find the perfect seed for your next harvest. Browse our subcategories below to explore!
Quick Summary of Sofia’s Red Comet (Ryzhaya Kometa Sofii) 🌍 Origin: A magnificent modern breeding line created by Russian breeder Sofia Saakova. The name translates to “Sofia’s Red Comet” (or literally “Ginger/Red-haired Comet”). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, growing to about 1.8m – 2m (6 – 6.5 ft). Mid-early ripening. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: The breeder’s description … Read more
Quick Summary of Texas Rose (Roza Tekhasa) 🌍 Origin: A rare heirloom circulating among Russian tomato collectors under the translated name Roza Tekhasa (Texas Rose). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season ripening. Unlike many oxheart varieties that tend to have frail, “wispy” foliage, this plant is noted for being highly vigorous with very strong, sturdy … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozov Dar (Pink Gift) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial heirloom from Bulgaria, produced by the “Florian” seed company. The name translates to “Pink Gift”. It is part of a famous family of Bulgarian pink tomatoes, alongside Rozova Mistika (Pink Mystique) and Rozov Ideal. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season to late-ripening. Unlike … Read more
Quick Summary of Robs 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial Russian variety originally distributed by the “Elkom” seed company. Fun fact about the name: Growers eventually figured out that it isn’t named after a guy named Rob! “ROBS” is actually an acronym for ROzovoye Byche Serdse (Pink Oxheart). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching over 2 … Read more
Quick Summary of Primadonna F1 🌍 Origin: A very popular early-season F1 hybrid available from several Russian and international seed companies (SibSad, Aelita, Seminis, Prestige). 🌿 Plant Habit: Generally described as a compact or short indeterminate, growing around 1.3m to 2m (4.2–6.5 ft) in a greenhouse depending on feeding. It produces very few suckers, making … Read more
Quick Summary of Paslyon Chernyy (Black Nightshade) 🌍 Origin: A Russian club variety (originally distributed by the St. Petersburg Tomato Club). The name intriguingly translates to “Black Nightshade”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, but a very tall one! It grows to about 1.5–1.7m (5–5.5 ft) before it terminates (self-tops) and stops growing upward. It performs very … Read more
Quick Summary of Pineapple Striped (Polosatyy Ananas) 🌍 Origin: A stunning bicolor heirloom obtained from an amateur tomato collector in Bulgaria. In Russian collections, it circulates under the translated name Polosatyy Ananas. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season variety. Typically grows to about 1.6m (5.2 ft) tall. Performs best when planted in a prime, sunny … Read more
Quick Summary of Pantano (Pantano Romanesco) 🌍 Origin: A classic traditional Italian heirloom variety. It is widely known internationally as Pantano Romanesco, though some seed swappers circulate it simply as Pantano. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but praised for being very sturdy and not prone to getting leggy or stretching. It performs decently outdoors in … Read more
Quick Summary of Podarok Moey Zhene (My Wife’s Gift) 🌍 Origin: A stunning Russian variety. The name translates beautifully to “My Wife’s Gift”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season variety. The bush is surprisingly well-behaved—not overly sprawling, with moderate sucker production. It performs excellently when trained to 2 stems. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Deeply pleated, ribbed … Read more
Quick Summary of Purple Sugar (Purpurnyy Sakharnyy) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety sold in Russia by the “Dom Semyan” (House of Seeds) company. The packet claims it is an “original variety native to Latin America,” but it appears to be a ribbed dark variety highly prone to fasciation. The name translates to “Purple Sugar”. 🌿 … Read more
Quick Summary of Palenka F1 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian F1 hybrid produced by the “Semco” (Семко) seed company. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and highly vigorous. It is strongly recommended for greenhouse growing (especially polycarbonate greenhouses). While the packet suggests pruning to 1 stem, many growers successfully train it to 3 stems with massive … Read more
Quick Summary of Palchiki (Little Fingers) 🌍 Origin: A classic Russian “family heirloom” (folk breeding) originating from the Rostov region. The original poster has maintained this variety in her family collection for over 20 years. The name Palchiki translates to “Little Fingers”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Outdoors in open ground, it grows to about … Read more