Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Jersey Giant 🌍 Origin: A rare heritage paste tomato originally from New Jersey, USA. It is highly valued among global collectors for its massive, meaty fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A sprawling, late-season, and very vigorous plant. Produces reliably with no skipped trusses. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Huge, elongated red paste/plum tomatoes … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Jalpa 🌍 Origin: A beautiful striped paste tomato popular among Eastern European collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate. Grows as a very sturdy, compact tree-type bush (shtamb), typically reaching about 24 inches (60 cm) tall outdoors. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Elongated, red paste tomatoes with striking yellow stripes. Length is about 4-4.7 inches … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Jessica 🌍 Origin: An indeterminate heirloom variety originally from Argentina. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Vigorously grows with very healthy, dark green foliage. Responds well to being pruned to 3 main stems in a greenhouse setting. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Dark (brown/black) cocktail-sized tomatoes shaped like little pears with thin necks. Average … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Datterini Red 🌍 Origin: An Italian-style heirloom/commercial variety. The name “Datterini” translates to “little dates”, perfectly describing their elongated, grape-like shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very vigorous and heavily branched. Best grown by removing all suckers up to the first flower cluster, then allowing multiple stems to develop for maximum … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): De Barao Black 🌍 Origin: The dark/black variant of the legendary post-Soviet “De Barao” family. Widely available from commercial Russian seed companies, though growers report massive inconsistencies between different vendors. 🌿 Plant Habit: A vigorous indeterminate. Often grows over 6.5 ft (2 m) tall. Known for being a rugged, disease-resistant “tin … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dulsineya (Dulcinea) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the Siberian Garden (SibSad) seed company. Named after Don Quixote’s beloved muse, Dulcinea. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching about 5.2-6 feet (1.6-1.8 m) in a greenhouse. Growers recommend pruning it to 1 or 2 main stems/leaders for best production. 🍅 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): De Barao (Red) 🌍 Origin: An absolute legend in the post-Soviet gardening world. Supposedly originally hailing from Brazil, it was introduced to the USSR in the 1990s and became a staple for millions of gardeners. This thread focuses on the classic Red version, though there are Black, Pink, and Yellow variants. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Damskie Palchiki (Ladies’ Fingers) 🌍 Origin: A legendary old commercial and home garden variety. The name directly translates to “Ladies’ Fingers”, perfectly describing its shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate to semi-determinate. Very compact outdoors, but can grow taller if staked in a greenhouse. Known for being incredibly reliable and low-maintenance. 🍅 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): De Barao Tsarsky (Royal) 🌍 Origin: A premium, upgraded offshoot of the legendary Russian “De Barao” family. The name “Tsarsky” translates to “Royal” or “Tsar’s”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A massive, towering vine that loves to climb. Shows excellent resistance to Leaf Mold (Cladosporium) and extreme heat, but generally requires a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Don Juan 🌍 Origin: A very popular, reliable commercial variety, heavily distributed by the “Sedek” seed company. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, often growing as a sturdy tree-type (rugose) bush. It is very compact, typically maxing out around 20–28 inches (50–70 cm) tall. Exceptionally fuss-free and performs incredibly well in open ground. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): De Barao Gold / Yellow 🌍 Origin: Part of the legendary Russian “De Barao” family. De Barao varieties (which come in Red, Black, Pink, Gold, and Giant) are famous across Eastern Europe for their extreme ruggedness and cold tolerance. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A massive, towering vine that can easily reach … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dix Doigts de Naples 🌍 Origin: A classic heirloom paste tomato from Italy. It is most commonly found in seed catalogs under its French translation, Dix Doigts de Naples, which means “Ten Fingers of Naples” (in Italian: Dieci Dita di Napoli). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A very vigorous and highly productive … Read more