Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Korall (Coral) is an extremely compact, early-season tree-type (rugose) dwarf tomato. Maxing out around 12 to 18 inches (30-45 cm) tall, it produces a surprisingly heavy yield of small, firm, red plum tomatoes with a little beak, weighing 1.5 to 3 oz (40-80 g). Because of its tiny footprint and shallow root … Read more
🍅 Quick take: King Penguin (Korolevskiy Pingvin) is a meaty, dark pink, elongated indeterminate tomato. While there is some debate over different seed lines (including a tree-type variant), the strain grown by these forum members is a well-behaved vine reaching about 5 feet (1.5 m). Growers rave about its sweet, low-acid flavor and dense flesh, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Caspar F1 is a famous, highly productive determinate F1 hybrid originally bred by the Dutch seed company Seminis. Known as an absolute workhorse paste tomato, it produces heavy yields of firm, red plum/cylinder tomatoes that are ideal for canning, pickling, and dehydrating. Though technically discontinued and replaced by the Hypeel series, it … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kmicic is a compact, determinate paste tomato originating from Poland. It is notable for its potato leaf (PL) foliage and exceptional cold tolerance. The plant produces heavy yields of bright red, plum-shaped fruits weighing around 1.7 oz (50 g), which are firm, store well, and are highly prized for canning and processing. … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Roi Humbert (also known as Re Umberto or King Humbert) is a historic Italian heirloom paste tomato dating back to the late 1800s. It is a determinate, mid-season variety that produces a heavy yield of small, firm, bright red plum tomatoes with a distinct sharp beak, weighing around 1.8-2.8 oz (50-80 g). … Read more
🍅 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: 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): 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): 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