Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary: Cheerful Hondurans 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the famous SibSad (Siberian Garden) seed company, bearing a rather hilarious name. 🌱 Plant Habit: A highly productive indeterminate vine that requires staking and regular pruning. 🍅 Fruit & Yield: Produces firm, bright red, pear-shaped tomatoes weighing about 3.5 to 5.5 oz (100-150g). … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Brazilskiy Velikan (Brazilian Giant) 🌍 Origin: A massive beefsteak variety circulating among Russian heirloom collectors. The name translates to “Brazilian Giant”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and needs serious support. Growers often prune it to two leaders. Like a lot of giant beefsteaks, it can be finicky in extreme heat and … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bezrazmernyi (Limitless) 🌍 Origin: A highly controversial commercial variety from the Siberian Garden (Sibsad) seed company. The name translates to “Limitless” or “Boundless”. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics & Controversy: The seed packet famously claims fruits “the size of a 3-liter jar” (cylindrical/elongated). However, almost no one ever gets this shape! Most growers … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Pink Brandywine 🌍 Origin: The undisputed king of American heirlooms. Legendary Amish origins, with the Sudduth’s Strain being widely considered the original, purest, and best-tasting lineage. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous vines. It has classic, robust Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. Typically performs much better and more reliably in greenhouses/hoophouses in cooler … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bogema (Bohemia) 🌍 Origin: An Eastern European/Ukrainian Open-Pollinated (OP) heirloom. Name translates to “Bohemia”. Crucial Note: Do not confuse this collector’s heirloom with the commercial Russian hybrid “Bogema F1” or the commercial dwarf variety sold under the same name! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous vine. Performs very well both in … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Brandywine Black 🌍 Origin: A famous American heirloom originally introduced by William Woys Weaver (said to be from a 1920s Pennsylvania Quaker family collection). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous vine. True to the Brandywine family, it features Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. Some growers report it is highly susceptible to Leaf Mold … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bordo Shokoladnoye (Chocolate Bordeaux) 🌍 Origin: A Russian/Eastern European heirloom circulated by collectors. Crucial Note: After much debate, growers have realized that the “true” strain of this tomato is virtually identical to the Spanish heirloom Morado Chocolate. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but its height varies wildly depending on conditions. Outdoors, it … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Yellow Brandywine (Platfoot Strain) 🌍 Origin: A legendary American heirloom from Ohio, popularized by Gary Platfoot. It is fascinating to see how highly prized and widely grown this specific US strain is among Russian and Siberian greenhouse growers! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. True to the Brandywine family, it has Potato Leaf … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bakinskie (From Baku) 🌍 Origin: This is a fascinating collector’s variety. Originally, it was a “numbered test line” sent directly from a breeder in Baku, Azerbaijan, to members of the Russian ForumHouse for trial grow-outs. Because it never received an official name, growers simply started calling it “Bakinskie” (From Baku). Note: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bull’s Heart of Minusinsk 🌍 Origin: A famous local heirloom from Minusinsk, Siberia (the tomato capital of Russia, known for its giant tomato festivals). Also known as Bychye Serdtse Minusinskoe. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but generally tidy, growing up to 1.7m (5.5 ft) in the greenhouse. Like most true oxheart … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bulgarska Hala 🌍 Origin: A magnificent heirloom from Bulgaria, highly prized by seed collectors. The name translates to “Bulgarian Hala” (in Balkan folklore, a Hala is a mythical dragon—a fitting name for such a monstrously large tomato!). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but widely praised for having a very tidy and manageable … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bizon Oranzhevyi (Orange Bison) 🌍 Origin: A popular Russian commercial variety introduced by the “Poisk” seed company as part of their “Vkusnoteka” (Flavor Library) series. The name means “Orange Bison”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Does well in both greenhouses and out in the garden. It responds great to pruning (a … Read more