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 (TL;DR): Viola-1 Cherry 🌍 Origin: A rare cherry variety circulating in Eastern Europe. In this thread, seeds were sourced from Tamara Yashchenko, a highly respected Russian tomato collector from the Altai region. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (short bush). Out in the open ground, it stays very compact, reaching only about 32 inches … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Wow Cherry 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but somewhat manageable. When grown out in the open dirt with multi-stem pruning, it topped out around 4 feet (1.2 m). Extremely resilient and productive, even when crowded and shaded. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red, completely round cherry tomatoes. They are very small, averaging … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Woterhorn (Waterhorn) 🌍 Origin & Naming Mystery: A rare bicolor heirloom circulating among Eastern European collectors. Due to hand-written seed trades, the name has morphed across various forums into WoterNhorn, WAterNhorn, WOterhorn, and WAterhorn. 🧬 Genetics (Is it Tuxhorn?): Many growers suspected this was just a misnamed clone of the famous … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): V Desyatku (Bullseye) 🌍 Origin: A very reliable Russian commercial variety. The name “V Desyatku” is a Russian idiom that translates roughly to “Bullseye”, “Spot On”, or “Hitting the Mark” (referring to hitting the 10-point ring on a target). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate. It usually grows taller than advertised. While packets … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vilma 🌍 Origin: A widely popular commercial micro-dwarf variety, beloved in Europe and Russia for balcony and container gardening. 🌿 Plant Habit: True micro-dwarf (determinate). The seed packet states 12-16 inches (30-40 cm), but growers often find it stays even shorter, topping out around 8 inches (20 cm) in pots. It … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vasilina 🌍 Origin: A Russian/Ukrainian collector’s variety. In this thread, one of the seed sources is the well-known Ukrainian breeder and collector Aleksey Kulik. The name “Vasilina” is a traditional Slavic female name. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Out in the open ground, it reached about 4 feet (1.2 m), but … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vodoley (Aquarius) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety from the Russian seed company “Siberian Garden” (SibSad). Often sold under the name “Sozvezdie Vodoley” (Constellation Aquarius) or simply “Vodoley” (Aquarius). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It has Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. It is highly recommended for greenhouse growing, where it can easily reach … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vishnya Zholtaya (Yellow Cherry) 🌍 Origin: A very popular commercial Russian cherry variety, often distributed by the “Gavrish” seed company. The name directly translates to “Yellow Cherry”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and incredibly vigorous. Growers warn that if not strictly pruned, it will pump out excessive foliage and turn into a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vosymerka (Number Eight) 🌍 Origin: A rare Russian collector’s variety. The name “Vosymerka” translates to “Number Eight” or “Figure Eight”. In this thread, seeds were sourced from the well-known Russian tomato collector V. Monakhova. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and mid-season. It showed great resilience and high productivity even when grown … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vodopad (Waterfall) 🌍 Origin: A highly productive commercial variety from the Russian seed company “Aelita”, officially entered into the Russian State Register in 2001. The name perfectly translates to “Waterfall”, describing how the massive flower trusses cascade down the plant. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but generally medium-height compared to wilder … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Volgogradskiy 5/95 🌍 Origin: A legendary old-school Soviet commercial variety. Note: There are two famous “Volgogradskiy” strains. “323” is the early bush variety, while “5/95” is the vigorous, late-season strain bred for the warm, long summers of southern Russia. 🌿 Plant Habit: Vigorous with a very thick, sturdy main stem. Because … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vladimirskaya Neznakomka (Stranger from Vladimir) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic “lucky off-type” discovered by a Russian grower that eventually became a beloved local pass-around heirloom. The name translates to “Stranger from Vladimir” (referring to the Vladimir region of Russia). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Reaches about 5.2-5.5 feet (1.6-1.7 m) out in … Read more