Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zlato Skifov (Scythian Gold) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety marketed for its high carotene content. The name “Zlato Skifov” translates to “Scythian Gold”, a nod to the ancient nomadic tribes and their famous gold artifacts. 🌿 Plant Habit: Classified as an indeterminate, but generally behaves more like a semi-determinate. Rarely … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zyryanka 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the “Semena Altaya” (Seeds of Altai) company. The name “Zyryanka” references a town/river in northern Siberia, signaling its hardy genetics. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Mid-season maturity. A very vigorous, strong, and wide-spreading plant. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, perfectly round/oblate tomatoes. They are … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Illini Gold (Zoloto Illini) 🌍 Origin: An American heirloom variety that is widely circulated in Eastern Europe as “Zoloto Illini” (Gold of Illini). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Usually reaches 5-6 feet (1.5-1.8 m) in a greenhouse, and stays around 5 feet (1.5 m) outdoors. Standout feature: It has very “wispy”, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zemlyak (Countryman) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety released by the Siberian Garden (SibSad) seed company. The name “Zemlyak” translates to “Countryman” or “Fellow Countryman”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). It has a very wide, sprawling growth habit. It requires virtually no maintenance and can be grown without pruning (suckering). 🍅 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zub Drakona (Dragon’s Tooth) 🌍 Origin: An Eastern European heirloom variety. The name translates perfectly to “Dragon’s Tooth”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A very vigorous, strong plant that performs exceptionally well both in a greenhouse and outdoors in open ground. Mid-season maturity. Highly praised for its excellent disease resistance. 🍅 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotoy Petushok (Golden Rooster) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial heirloom released by the “Russian Ogorod” (RO) seed company. The name translates to “Golden Rooster” or “Golden Cockerel”. 🌿 Plant Habit: An extremely vigorous, tall indeterminate. The internodes are quite long, making the plant stretch rapidly. Easily reaches 6.5 feet (2 m) … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zastolny (Banquet) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety officially registered in 2007 by the RosSortSemOvoshch seed company. The name “Zastolny” loosely translates to “for the banquet table” or “table-ready”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Very compact and low maintenance. Usually stays around 20 inches (50 cm) tall, though older seeds can … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zasolochnoe Chudo (Pickling Miracle) 🌍 Origin: Commercial variety from the AGRO seed company. The name translates to “Pickling Miracle” or “Salting Miracle”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Extremely compact and low maintenance. It requires absolutely no pruning (suckering). Highly praised for its excellent resistance to Late Blight. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotaya Rybka (Golden Fish) 🌍 Origin: A classic Russian commercial variety released by Gisok Agro. The name translates to “Golden Fish”. Growers note that its wispy, drooping leaves actually resemble the flowing tails of goldfish! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-to-late season. Reaches 6-6.5 feet (1.8-2 m). It features delicate, lacy, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotoy Kenigsberg (Golden Königsberg) 🌍 Origin: A very famous commercial Siberian heirloom from the SibSad (Siberian Garden) seed company. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but heights vary widely from 4 feet (1.2 m) outdoors to 6.5 feet (2 m) in a greenhouse. Standout feature: It has extreme “wispy” foliage. The leaves … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotaya Kanareyka (Golden Canary) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular European variety. The name translates to “Golden Canary”, which perfectly describes its bright yellow color and bird-like “beak” on the blossom end. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and relatively low maintenance. It can easily reach 6.5 feet (2 m) in a greenhouse. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotoy Klyk (Golden Fang) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom tomato sourced and popularized by seed collector Valya Redko. The name translates to “Golden Fang”, which perfectly describes its shape and color. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Mid-season. It has the classic “wispy” foliage often seen on oxhearts and large paste varieties. … Read more