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 take: The name Michurinets refers to two completely different tomato strains circulating among growers, both featuring potato-leaf (PL) foliage. Strain 1 (The Early Dwarf): A short, rugose tree-type (determinate) bush that produces small, early 3 oz (80-90 g) red tomatoes. Excellent for short-season climates. Strain 2 (The Brandywine Cousin): An indeterminate PL heirloom … Read more
🍅 Quick take: The name Malinovka causes massive confusion in the tomato world because there are two completely different, unrelated varieties sharing the name. Strain 1 (Commercial “Russian Garden” brand): A short, 24-28 inch (60-70 cm) determinate bush that produces small 2.5 oz (70 g) crack-resistant, dark pink plum/paste tomatoes. Perfect for canning. Strain 2 … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Mom’s Love (Mamina Lyubov) is a vigorous, highly productive indeterminate red beefsteak from Russia. Treasured for its nostalgic, old-fashioned “real tomato” flavor, this variety produces beautiful, uniform red fruits generally weighing around 9-10.5 oz (250-300 g). The vines are powerful and require heavy-duty staking, as they often get weighed down by the … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Marusya is an early, highly productive determinate paste tomato from Russia. Producing incredibly dense, meaty, and dry red plum/egg-shaped fruits in the 2.5-3.5 oz (70-100 g) range, it is an absolute favorite for whole-peeled canning and making thick sauces. The bushes stay compact at around 20-32 inches (50-80 cm), require minimal pruning, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Red Minusinsk Glasses (Minusinskie Stakany Krasnye) is an indeterminate, elongated paste-type Siberian heirloom. Known for its blocky, cylindrical shape resembling a drinking glass, this robust vine easily reaches over 6.5 feet (2 m) in greenhouse conditions. It is a heavy yielder producing meaty, juicy, and sweet fruits that are excellent for both … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Apple Malinovka (Malinovka Yablochnaya) is a stout, highly productive indeterminate Russian heirloom that produces beautiful, oblate, deep pink beefsteaks. Known for its thick stems and manageable height, it typically pumps out meaty 5.5-10.5 oz (150-300 g) fruits with a rich, buttery texture and sweet flavor. Because the name “Malinovka” is often used … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Mammoth German Gold is a stunning, large bicolor beefsteak known for its sweet, fruity flavor and heavy fruits that routinely hit the 1 to 1.5 lbs (450-700 g) mark. While it is an indeterminate vine, several growers report it stays surprisingly manageable in open ground, often naturally topping out around 3 to … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Tarasenko’s Dream (Mechta Tarasenko) is a vigorous, indeterminate mid-season variety known for producing large, sweet, raspberry-pink beefsteaks. Thriving best in greenhouses, this sturdy vine easily pushes 6.5 feet (2 meters) and throws heavy yields of meaty fruits weighing 10.5 oz (300 g) and up. While occasional off-phenotypes can produce gnarly shapes, the … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Mano is a super compact, early-season determinate bush that thrives in containers. Maxing out around just 16 inches (40 cm), it produces sweet, red cocktail-sized tomatoes weighing 1.4-2.1 oz (40-60 g). Because of its miniature footprint, growers often use it as an understory crop beneath tall vines in the greenhouse. Full summary … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Medvezhye Serdtse (Bear’s Heart) is a highly productive, early indeterminate variety that produces large, ribbed pink hearts weighing 7-12.3 oz (200-350 g). Growers praise it for its excellent heat tolerance, ability to set fruit all the way to the greenhouse roof, and its rich, sweet, meaty flavor. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Moravskoe Chudo (Moravian Wonder / Stupice) is an extremely early, potato-leaf indeterminate variety that produces clusters of sweet, red cocktail-sized tomatoes 1.4-2.8 oz (40-80 g). Growers love it for being one of the first tomatoes to ripen in the garden, often beating out other famous early varieties while maintaining a surprisingly sweet, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Mikado Sibiriko is a commercial Indeterminate Siberian variety (Sibirskiy Sad) known for producing massive, meaty pink hearts up to 21 oz (600 g). It shares the classic “wispy foliage” trait common to many oxhearts. Growers frequently compare it to the popular Batyanya tomato, noting it has a very similar mild, sweet flavor … Read more