Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bergamot 🌍 Origin: A Russian/CIS variety circulated by heirloom seed collectors like Tamara Yashchenko and Lidia Ganzen. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but relatively manageable in height (around 1.2–1.5m / 4–5 ft in open ground). It features sparse/wispy foliage. The first fruit truss sets quite high (usually after the 11th leaf). 🍅 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bolgarskaya Roza (Bulgarian Rose) 🌍 Origin: An Eastern European variety. “Bolgarskaya Roza” translates to “Bulgarian Rose”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and vigorous. It features “sparse” or open foliage, which is great for airflow and disease prevention. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, beautiful red-pink tomatoes averaging around 400g (14 oz). Interestingly, while … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bagration 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety from the Ukrainian seed company “Nasko”. Named in honor of Pyotr Bagration, a famous general of the Russian Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. 🌿 Plant Habit: Semi-determinate to short indeterminate, reaching about 1.3–1.5 m (4–5 ft). It responds well to staking and suckering, but can … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Barany (Rams) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom sourced from collector T. Yashchenko. The name “Barany” translates to “Rams” (male sheep)—named because the elongated fruits often curve at the tip, resembling a ram’s horn. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall vine), reaching up to 1.8 m (6 ft). Can be easily pruned and … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Burkovskiy Ranniy (Burkov’s Early) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial release, originally bred by VNIIR (Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry) and popularized by the Siberian Garden (Sibsad) seed company. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush habit). A true shorty and very compact. No pruning or suckering needed. It’s perfect for container gardening, balconies, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Brikadel Rozovaya (Pink Brikadel) 🌍 Origin: Vintage Russian heirloom tomato. The name translates directly to “Pink Brikadel.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and highly vigorous. Expect the vines to easily reach 2 meters (6.5 ft) or more when staked in a greenhouse or open garden. Mid-season maturity. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bolshaya Deva (Big Maiden) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety. The name “Bolshaya Deva” translates to “Big Maiden” or “Big Virgin.” Note: It should not be confused with the pink variety simply named “Deva.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially listed as determinate, but acts more like a semi-determinate. Grown outdoors in open … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bychok (Little Bull) 🌍 Origin: Introduced to North America and popularized by the famous tomato collector Tatiana Kouchnareva (Tatiana’s TOMATObase). The name “Bychok” literally translates to “Little Bull” (a play on the famous “Bull’s Heart” oxheart tomatoes). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. It exhibits the classic “wimpy” oxheart growth habit with thin, … 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): Baron Solemacher 🌍 Origin: A unique Eastern European dwarf tomato. (Note: Not to be confused with the famous alpine strawberry variety of the same name!). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate / Micro-Dwarf. Officially listed at 30 cm (12 inches) tall, though it can reach 45-50 cm (18-20 inches) in ideal conditions. The … 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