Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bolshaya Medveditsa (Ursa Major) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial and heirloom variety (circulated by commercial vendors and private collectors like Kulik). The name translates to “Ursa Major” or “The Great Bear.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A tall, vigorous vine that reaches 1.8m to over 2m (6 to 6.5+ ft) depending on … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bochkovoy Zasol (Barrel Pickling) 🌍 Origin & Name: An old heirloom variety originating from the Astrakhan region of Russia. The name translates to “Barrel Pickling” or “Barrel Fermentation.” It is named after the traditional Russian method of fermenting whole vegetables in large wooden barrels for the winter, implying these tomatoes are … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bashkirskiy Krasavets (Bashkir Handsome) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety from the Bashkortostan region. Historically documented in Tatiana’s TOMATObase. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A tall and vigorous plant. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Growers report some variation in fruit shape depending on the seed source. Some describe them as bright raspberry-pink, oblate beefsteaks … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bizon Chernyi (Black Bison) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety, distributed primarily by the “Poisk” seed company as part of their “Vkusnoteka” (Tasty Library) series. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A tall, very vigorous and powerful plant. Growers note it has a tendency to go vegetative (focusing on leaf growth rather than … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Belorusskoe Serdtse (Belarusian Heart) 🌍 Origin & History: A fantastic heirloom with a verified history! In 2006, a tomato grower named Andrey from Minsk (Belarus) bought a massive 900g (2 lb) tomato from an elderly woman at a local market. She had grown it for years but didn’t know the name. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Black John (Blek Dzhon) 🌍 Origin: A dark Russian variety circulated by domestic seed vendors (like Brizhan and L. Myazina). Note: Some growers report older seed lines segregating, producing a mix of Potato Leaf (PL) and Regular Leaf (RL) plants. The original, stable strain should be PL. 🌿 Plant Habit: Tall … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Banan Rozovyi (Pink Banana) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety available from several seed companies, including Aelita and Siberian Garden (SibSad). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Like many elongated paste tomatoes, it has a distinct “weeping” or wispy foliage. As a young seedling, the tops can twist and vine aggressively, which is … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bychok Chernyi (Black Steer) 🌍 Origin: Sourced and popularized by a well-known collector (Vitaly / “Señor”) from Almaty, Kazakhstan. The name translates to “Black Steer” or “Black Bull-Calf”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, PL (Potato Leaf). This plant is an absolute monster! It grows incredibly vigorous and tall (up to 14 ft … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bychiy Lob (Bull’s Forehead) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Siberian variety released by the Russian seed company “Siberian Garden” (SibSad). The name translates to “Bull’s Forehead” in English. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, though some growers report that it occasionally self-tops (terminates with a flower truss) around 6.5 ft (2m) in the greenhouse. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Babushkino (Grandma’s) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular heirloom variety widely circulated among collectors. The name translates to “Grandma’s”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and tall (easily pushing past 7 ft / 2m in a greenhouse). An absolute workhorse of a plant that pumps out heavy yields. Often grown to 2 or … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Banan Oranzhevyi (Orange Banana) 🌍 Origin: A popular commercial Russian variety (widely distributed by seed companies like Gavrish and Aelita). The name translates to “Orange Banana”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Mostly indeterminate (growing over 6.5 ft / 2 m in greenhouses), though some growers report shorter determinate strains. It has a characteristic … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Babushkino Bychie Serdtse (Grandma’s Oxheart) 🌍 Origin: A Russian family heirloom that is over 80 years old. Introduced to seed collectors by Angelina Khilenko. The name translates to “Grandma’s Oxheart”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and tall. Can easily reach over 2 m (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse. Its performance is … Read more