Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Kazakhskaya Sliva (Kazakh Plum) is an indeterminate red plum tomato that grows on tall, wispy vines. The fruits average about 5 oz (150 g) and have a tender, sweet flesh. Because of their shape and meaty texture, forum growers highly recommend this variety for making sun-dried tomatoes. It performs well both in … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kiryukha is a dark-fruited (black) semi-determinate variety that grows very compactly, reaching only about 5 feet (1.5 m) in the greenhouse. It produces uniform 5-7 oz (150-200 g) round slicing tomatoes with excellent flavor. Unusually for black tomatoes, it has a decent shelf life and doesn’t get mushy quickly. It sets fruit … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Karmen (Carmen) is an indeterminate pink paste tomato known for its large plum-shaped fruits that can reach up to 8 oz (230 g). Growers praise it for its firm, sugary flesh that makes it perfect for canning, as well as its impressive productivity when grown outdoors in the dirt. Full summary ↓ … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Katya F1 is a very early determinate hybrid by the Russian seed company Semko. It is known as a reliable “workhorse” variety that pumps out 4 oz (110-130 g) red fruits on compact 20-inch (50 cm) bushes. While growers have mixed feelings about its flavor (most agree it’s better for canning than … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Strawberry Tiger is a highly productive, indeterminate variety that produces beautiful, striped plum-shaped tomatoes. Reaching up to 6.5 feet (2 m) tall in a greenhouse, it performs equally well outdoors. While growers rate its yield and appearance highly, the flavor is generally considered good but not exceptionally sweet. Full summary ↓ Growers’ … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kudesnik (Magician) is a very compact determinate bush tomato that produces uniform, pinkish-red slicing/canning tomatoes weighing 3.5-4 oz (100-110 g). Reaching only 1.5 feet (0.5 m) tall outdoors, it requires almost zero pruning and is highly disease-resistant. Growers prize it for its unexpectedly sweet flavor and its ability to ripen a heavy … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Goat’s Udder (Koz’e Vymechko) is a compact, highly resilient heirloom known for its unusually shaped crimson-pink fruits that look like plump icicles or elongated hearts. Weighing 5 to 10.5 oz (150-300 g), these meaty, nearly seedless tomatoes are incredibly versatile. The plants perform exceptionally well outdoors and easily shrug off harsh summer … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Crimean Rose (Krymskaya Roza) is an indeterminate pink tomato that produces distinct, ribbed pear-shaped fruits weighing 4.7 to 10.5 oz (135-300 g). Originally developed for commercial hoop houses and home gardens, it boasts a very classic, rich tomato flavor. While officially listed as mid-early, some growers find it to be a late-season … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kronprinz (Crown Prince) is an indeterminate, mid-season heirloom that produces massive multiflora-style trusses of firm, red tomatoes weighing 2.8 to 4 oz (80-110 g). It is highly prized for whole-fruit canning and is historically significant as one of the parent lines for the famous Tarasenko hybrids. Note that there is also a … Read more
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🍅 Quick take: Canopus (Kanopus) is a rugged, determinate bush variety originally bred for harsh Siberian conditions. Maxing out around 24 inches (60 cm) tall, it requires very little pruning and produces a heavy yield of red, egg-shaped to barrel-shaped tomatoes weighing 3 to 9 oz (80-250 g). Growers highly value it for its extreme … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Krayniy Sever (which translates to “Far North”) is a highly compact, ultra-early tree-type dwarf originally distributed by the Russian seed company Biotekhnika. Bred specifically for extremely short and cold seasons, this rugged little bush produces round, red tomatoes weighing around 1.8-2 oz (50-60 g). It thrives outdoors or in containers and requires … Read more
🍅 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