Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Williams Striped 🌍 Origin: A well-known heirloom variety originating from the USA. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). There is often conflicting information from commercial seed vendors who describe it as a compact bush (up to 1 m / 3.3 ft). However, real growers consistently report it reaching 1.6 m (5.2 ft) and … Read more
Quick Summary of Ultrafiolet (Ultraviolet) 🌍 Origin: A rare dark-fruited variety sent to Russian collectors in 2010 by Ukrainian tomato breeder D.G. Terentyev. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous, and forms a massive, strong plant (“like a tree”). Interestingly, it starts out looking very weak and wispy as a seedling, but explodes with growth once … Read more
Quick Summary of Unikalnyi Kulchitskogo (Kulchitsky’s Unique) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety bred/selected by amateur vegetable grower M.G. Kulchitsky from Novorossiysk. The name translates to “Kulchitsky’s Unique”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching about 1.6 meters (5.2 ft) outdoors and taller in a greenhouse. Features large Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. Known for its incredible … Read more
Quick Summary of Utomlennoe Solntse (Weary Sun) 🌍 Origin: A beautiful heirloom variety originating from Ukraine. The name translates to “Weary Sun” (a reference to a famous vintage Russian tango song). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and vigorous. In a greenhouse, it easily reaches 1.8 – 2 meters (6 – 6.5 ft) in height. Pro … Read more
Quick Summary of Ukrainskie Domashnie Serdtsa (Ukrainian Home Hearts) 🌍 Origin: A treasured family heirloom variety from Ukraine. The name translates to “Ukrainian Home Hearts” (or “Ukrainian Family Hearts”). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), growing up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) in height. Requires sturdy staking or trellising to support the heavy fruit load. 🍅 … Read more
Quick Summary of Ukrainskaya Elena (Ukrainian Elena / Olena) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded heirloom from Ukraine, popularized by the well-known breeder and collector Ruslan Dukhov. The name is often translated and circulated as Ukrainskaya Elena, Ukrainska Olena, or simply Ukrainian Alena. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), powerful but slender plants with Potato Leaf (PL) … Read more
Quick Summary of Carbon (Uglerod) 🌍 Origin: A world-famous heirloom variety, widely known and grown by Russian tomato collectors under the translated name “Uglerod” (Carbon). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but growers note it behaves very adaptably. Outdoors in open ground, it often acts semi-determinate, stopping around 1 m (3.3 ft). In greenhouses, it easily … Read more
Quick Summary of Ulybka Sandry (Sandra’s Smile) 🌍 Origin: A mysterious variety with a fascinating history. Originally acquired by a Latvian collector at a seed swap in Germany under the name “Cassandra”. Since the real Cassandra tomato is a completely different red variety, the name was rejected during local registration. It was officially renamed “Ulybka … Read more
Quick Summary of Utenok (Duckling) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular Russian commercial and collectible variety. The name translates to “Duckling”, likely due to its bright orange color and the characteristic “beak” on the end of the fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, dwarf (tree-type / rugose foliage) bush. Very compact, usually growing 35-50 cm (14-20 inches) … Read more
Quick Summary of Urukhskiy Krasavets (Urukh Beauty) 🌍 Origin: A Russian variety named after the Urukh river region. 🌿 Plant Habit: The classic red version is a determinate (bush) plant growing up to 50 cm (20 inches) tall. It has a beautiful, highly branched spherical shape resembling a small apple tree. Note: Forum growers report … Read more
How to Grow a White Clover Lawn from Scratch: Honest Pros & Cons ☘️ ✍️ By Pomidoroved (Admin) | 📅 Originally published: Sept 23, 2012 (Updated 2015) Articles about lawns are usually so boring to read. They are all dry, like an accountant’s ledger: “Remove 10 cm of turf, lay 10 cm of turf. Pour … Read more
How to Grow Bulb Onions from Seed in One Season (Direct Sowing Method) 🧅 ✍️ By Sweet | 📍 St. Petersburg, Russia (USDA Zone 4 – Short Cool Summer) | 📅 Originally published: March 27, 2014 My experience of growing large bulb onions from seed using the direct sowing method came to me completely by … Read more