My 40-Variety Zone 4 Tomato Grow List: Grower Feedback and Reality Check

Here is my planned tomato grow list for the upcoming season. Would love any feedback, tips, or experiences with these!
Patio & Micro-Dwarfs:
Makovaya Rosinka (Poppy Seed Dew), Vilma, Sinichka (Tomtit), Multiflora Brown, Inkspot, Laura (Micro Dwarf).
Dwarf Tomato Project:
Uluru Ochre, Isabel’s Treat, BrandyFred, Wild Spudleaf, Striped Antho, Audrey’s Love.
Cherries:
Shimofuri, Gourmet Plum (Slivka Gurman), Ruby Slippers, Torre Canne Regina, M355, Marchenengel Cream.
Indeterminates:
Ognenny Greben-2 Bordo (Fire Crest 2 Bordeaux)
Marizol Maroon
JD’s Special C-Tex (Conroe)
Malteser Brown
Alifirov’s Black Steer (Bychok Cherny Alifirova)
Dark Bear Hill (Kholm Temnogo Medvedya)
Zapotec Brown Flesh
Valdis’ Oxheart (Bychye Serdtse ot Valdisa)
Grosse Bordeaux (Grosso Bordo)
Jupaulia
Kettlewell
Amanda’s Smile
Livingston’s Yellow Oxheart
Old Carolina
Volga German Harsh Melon (Surovaya Dynya Nemtsev Povolzhya)
Kiwanis
Beefsteak Albi
Fresa
Big Dolly Red
Rudnevskie
Moravac
Margaret Curtain
Butter and Bull Heart
Richardson
Lidiya Borovaya
Vansky Rozovy (Van Pink)
Umrilova’s Large Pink (Bolshoy Rozovy ot Umrilovoy)
Pilari
Tiawen German
Sweetie Flat-Round Red (Slastena Ploskookruglaya Krasnaya)
Kosovo
Riviera Pink Plum
Santa Maria Pink Plum
Khachmarskie – determinate for early harvest?

Good evening everyone!

OlchikD wrote:
tomato grow list…

Olga, grew Marizol Maroon outdoors in 2025 and, to put it mildly, was not impressed at all. Huge producer, but the flavor was awful, way too sour and watery, plus a thick, leathery skin.

Grosse Bordeaux back in 2024 was very tasty and juicy, but production was low for me. Only photo I have is while scooping out seeds.

Volga German Harsh Melon, well, honestly, it seems like everybody gets fantastic flavor out of this one. It was super prolific in open ground too.

Had zero luck with Red Doll (Krasnaya Kukla), and Diva was a pass for me too, just not my cup of tea.

OlchikD wrote:
Beefsteak Albi

Olga, out of your whole list, I’ve only grown Beefsteak Albi. What an absolute stunner! It literally grows like a full-sized tomato tree. Massive fruits, pure solid meat through and through.
It naturally loves to split its main leader into two stems. I pruned out all regular suckers but kept both main forks, and the vine carried the entire heavy load without breaking a sweat. Flavor was standard old-school tomatoey.

OlchikD wrote:
Valdis’ Oxheart

Grew it back in 2025, really liked it.

OlchikD wrote:
Jupaulia

Would gladly grow it again.

OlchikD wrote:
Old Carolina

Total flop in my garden, just ruined my mood all summer, though that was likely down to my specific microclimate.

OlchikD wrote:
Beefsteak Albi

Total looker, huge producer, pure eye candy. Can’t recall the flavor off the top of my head though.
And Volga German Harsh Melon was a big hit for me too!

Olya, haven’t grown many from your list, but these three were absolute standouts for me:
Volga German Harsh MelonLidiya Borovaya

Jupaulia
I’d happily repeat all three, but you know how it goes with the urge to try new varieties!
As for Uluru Ochre, it completely blew me away the very first year. Tried growing it twice after that and both times were total duds, no idea why. One year was from saved seeds, the next from freshly ordered seed stock. Real mystery. Guess the stars just aligned that very first season.

OlchikD wrote:
Dwarfs: Uluru Ochre, BrandyFred

Out of your dwarfs, I’ve only grown these two. Both are solid, but Uluru Ochre’s flavor varies from year to year, while BrandyFred was consistently delicious every single season.

OlchikD wrote:
Grosse Bordeaux

Really good. Gorgeous fruit and great flavor. Planning to grow it again.

OlchikD wrote:
Lidiya Borovaya

Another big winner for both taste and production. Wanted to run it again this year, but curiosity for new varieties bumped it off my list.

OlchikD wrote:
Sweetie Flat-Round Red

Appears sensitive to weather shifts. Loved it the first year, but when I repeated it, it was a disappointment.

OlchikD wrote:
Vansky Rozovy (Van Pink)

Decent tomato, but lacking that wow-factor.

OlchikD wrote:
Moravac

Huge yielder, but in my conditions, like most heart varieties, it came out pretty bland.

OlchikD wrote:
Jupaulia, Kettlewell

Nothing special to my palate, just average, middle-of-the-road varieties, though not bland.

OlchikD wrote:
JD’s Special C-Tex

Solid, dependable variety. Good yield, tasty, handsome fruit. Did well outdoors. Definitely worth repeating.

OlchikD wrote:
Valdis’ Oxheart

Didn’t do anything for me. Didn’t care for the flesh texture, and the taste fell flat both in the greenhouse and outdoors.

OlchikD wrote:
Volga German Harsh Melon

Good yields, attractive fruit, pleasant taste. Could’ve repeated it to see if I could pull more flavor out of it, but honestly it doesn’t quite measure up to my all-time favorites.

OlchikD wrote:
Dark Bear Hill

Big perks are that it is super early, productive, with firm meaty flesh, and for an early tomato, flavor is quite respectable. But once peak mid-season harvest hits, better varieties eclipse it and you stop reaching for it.

OlchikD wrote:
Rudnevskie

Super variety! Will 100% grow again and almost certain it will stay a permanent must-grow every single year.
Olya, are you repeating any favorites from your list, or are these all brand new trials for you?

Inna5867 wrote:
Had zero luck with Red Doll, and Diva was a pass for me too, just not my cup of tea.

That round, small-fruited Diva didn’t impress me either.
Got a feeling Red Doll won’t impress me either. In all my years growing tomatoes, I think only one red variety ever turned out genuinely spectacular on flavor: Red Mosquito (Krasny Komar). Can’t recall any other pure reds that stood out like that.

Tatka wrote:
Olya, are you repeating any favorites from your list, or are these all brand new trials for you?

I’m repeating Poplar, Volga German Harsh Melon, Kiwanis, and Zapotec. Those were all exceptionally tasty.
Vansky Rozovy is crazy productive, and I loved the pink beefsteak flavor, but somehow misplaced my saved seeds. Decided to give it another run.
Kosovo was bland when I grew it years ago as a beginner, but my mom absolutely loves it. For her, it’s always loaded and delicious, and she begged me to save seeds for her, so I had to carve out a spot.
Uluru Ochre got hit with late blight early out in the open garden, so the first fruits were sour. But I’m giving it another shot: Kiwanis and Volga German proved to me that ochre/amber varieties taste way richer than straight yellow tomatoes, so I want to give Uluru Ochre a fair second chance since great ochre varieties are still relatively rare.
Tanya, which yellow varieties actually taste sweet and rich for you?

Tatka wrote:
Dark Bear Hill… super early, productive, firm meaty flesh, and for an early tomato, flavor is quite respectable…

Awesome! It will team up with Butter and Bull Heart (repeating this one too, was my earliest tomato last season and pretty darn tasty) to kick off the early harvest.
Tanya, what is your take on Osmocote slow-release fertilizer? I used to mix Basacote into my pepper containers with great results, but ran out last year and can’t source it locally anymore. My seed supplier carries Osmocote now. Thinking about grabbing a tub and using it for my patio container tomatoes too.
Edited February 8 by OlchikD

OlchikD wrote:
Tanya, which yellow varieties actually taste sweet and rich for you?

For the most part, yellow tomatoes turn out pretty bland in my soil. A few have a pleasant mild flavor, but I still haven’t found a yellow that blew me away with intense sweetness. Still hunting…