Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary: Cheerful or Jolly Gnome (Veselyi Gnom) 🌍 Origin: Bred by the well-known Russian tomato breeder L.A. Myazina. 🌱 Plant Habit: A compact, tree-type determinate (about 16-28 inches / 40-70 cm tall). It has thick, sturdy stems and broad rugose leaves. It does not require pruning (suckering) and is highly recommended for container/patio … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Verkiny (Vera’s) 🌍 Origin: An unidentified Russian “family heirloom” passed down from a gardener named Vera, hence the placeholder name Verkiny (Vera’s). 🌱 Plant Habit: A tall indeterminate. Like many oxheart-type tomatoes, it has classic “wispy” or frail-looking foliage, though the plant itself is very productive and resilient. 🍅 Fruit & Yield: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Volgograd Early 323 🌍 Origin: A classic, historic commercial variety released in 1973 by the Volgograd Experimental Station of the VIR (Vavilov Institute). It is a cross between a local Russian variety and the American Bush Beefsteak. 🌱 Plant Habit: An extremely compact determinate (almost micro-dwarf in scale). The bushy, heavily branched … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Budenovka Zelenaya (Green Budenovka) 🌍 Origin: A rare Ukrainian winter-keeper variety. “Budenovka” refers to the iconic pointed Soviet cavalry hat, which matches the shape of the fruit. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, late-season maturity. It is a sturdy, compact plant with dense foliage cover. In a greenhouse, it tops out at around … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bugay Rozovyi (Bugay Pink) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the Siberian Garden (Sib-Sad) seed company. “Bugay” is Russian slang for a large, muscular, towering man. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Reaches 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m) in height. It is an absolute workhorse variety with fantastic heat tolerance—it will continue … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Barmaley 🌍 Origin: Variety from the Siberian Garden (Sib-Sad) seed company. It is named after “Barmaley”, a famous pirate villain from classic Russian children’s fairy tales. 🌿 Plant Habit: A reliable mid-season variety that performs well both in greenhouses and outdoors in open ground. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Beautiful pinkish-raspberry slicers. Major … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Babushkin Potseluy (Grandma’s Kiss) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the “Semena Altaya” (Seeds of Altai) company, part of their Siberian Collection. The name translates to “Grandma’s Kiss”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. There seems to be significant genetic variability regarding its height. It is officially listed as … 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): 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): Bychye Serdtse Beloye (White Oxheart) 🌍 Origin: A Russian/Eastern European strain of the classic White Oxheart. Note: Like almost all “white” tomatoes, it is not pure paper-white; it ripens to a pale lemon-yellow or ivory, sometimes developing a slight pinkish blush or orange marbling at the blossom end when fully ripe. … 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): Biyskaya Roza & Biysky Rozan (Biysk Rose) 🌍 Origin: Siberian commercial heirlooms distributed by the “Semena Altaya” (Seeds of Altai) company. Named after the city of Biysk in Siberia. Growers generally agree that “Roza” and “Rozan” are practically identical strains of the same variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially sold as a … Read more