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: Kibic (sometimes spelled Kibitz or Kibis) is an early, very compact determinate paste tomato originating from Poland. Growing only up to 20 inches (50 cm) tall, it produces an avalanche of small, red, elongated plum tomatoes weighing around 1.7–2.5 oz (50–70 g). It’s highly praised as an ideal, trouble-free bush for outdoor … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kievlyanka (Woman of Kiev) is a vigorous, indeterminate pink heirloom that produces large, meaty plum or heart-shaped fruits weighing anywhere from 7 oz to 1 lb (200-450 g). Growers praise its dense, sugary “watermelon-like” flesh and rich flavor. While it can start slow and is often considered a mid-late to late-season variety, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Chinese Tree (Kitayskoe Derevo) is an indeterminate red tomato that produces heavy yields of large, meaty plum/paste fruits weighing 5-9 oz (150-250 g). Growers praise it for its excellent sweet flavor, firm texture, and outstanding shelf life. It even retains its taste well when ripened on the counter. Full summary ↓ Growers’ … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Queen Elizabeth (Koroleva Elizaveta) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial Russian variety from Siberian Garden (Sibsad). Interestingly, it was later renamed/repackaged by the company as “Tsarsky Podarok” (Tsar’s Gift) to avoid trademark confusion with a famous strawberry variety of the same name. 🌿 Plant Habit: A gorgeous determinate, tree-type dwarf. It grows … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Krasnaya Mishen (Red Target) 🌍 Origin: A fascinating and somewhat mysterious Russian commercial/heirloom variety. Its genetics are notoriously unstable, leading to a massive debate among growers. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It is an incredibly vigorous vine that requires staking. The biggest quirk of this variety is that a single seed … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Knyaginya (Princess / Duchess) 🌍 Origin: A very popular Russian variety, widely grown as a family heirloom but also distributed commercially by companies like Siberian Garden (Sibsad). The name translates to “Princess” or “Duchess”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but not overly aggressive. It grows at a moderate pace, reaching about … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Caucasian Liana (Kaukasische Liane) 🌍 Origin: Hails from the Caucasus region of Russia, though it became widely known among collectors through German seed catalogs under the name “Kaukasische Liane”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An incredibly vigorous, creeping vine (liana) that some growers say grows as thick and strong as a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Karacharovsky Mayak (Karacharovo Lighthouse) 🌍 Origin: An old amateur Russian heirloom from the historic village of Karacharovo. The name translates to “Karacharovo Lighthouse”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) greenhouse variety. It is a very vigorous, heavily foliated vine with an incredible will to survive tough conditions. It responds well to being … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Beauty Queen Heart 🌍 Origin: A gorgeous bicolor oxheart variety. In this thread, growers trace their seed lines back to Russian collector V. Redko and Marianna’s Heirloom Seeds in the US. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching up to 6.5 feet (2 m). A very vigorous grower with regular foliage that … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Krasavitsa Moskvy (Beauty of Moscow) 🌍 Origin: A reliable commercial Russian variety, originally distributed by the Sedek seed company. The name translates to “Beauty of Moscow”. 🌿 Plant Habit: A highly compact determinate (bush) variety. It stays extremely short, maxing out around 20 inches (0.5 m) tall. It requires absolutely no … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kubiki (Cubes) 🌍 Origin: An unnamed Russian family heirloom that has been passed down and grown for over 25 years. The original name was lost to time, so the grower dubbed it “Kubiki” (Cubes) due to its blocky shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: A true determinate (bush) variety. It stays short, maxing … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Orange Klondike (Klondajk Oranzhevyj) 🌍 Origin: A reliable commercial Russian variety, often distributed by major seed companies like Aelita. 🌿 Plant Habit: A true determinate (bush) variety. It stays extremely compact, maxing out around 24-28 inches (60-70 cm) tall. It is an absolute low-maintenance dream because it requires zero pruning or … Read more