Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Tomande F1 🌍 Origin & Genetics: This is a commercial F1 Hybrid with French roots, bred to resemble the famous traditional “Marmande” heirloom types. Note for seed savers: Because it is an F1 hybrid, seeds saved from these fruits will likely not grow true-to-type the following year. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). … Read more
The Great Mulch Mistake: How Fresh Grass Brought Spider Mites to My Tomatoes 👉 Why You Should Never Mulch with Fresh Grass ✍️ By Pomidoroved | 📅 Originally published: May 23, 2010 | 📂 Category: Pests & Diseases, Greenhouse Growing | Photo by: Lana_s_Kavkaza We all know the benefits of mulching in general, mulching tomatoes … Read more
How I Planted My Entire Greenhouse with F1 Hybrids: A Terrifying Cautionary Tale ✍️ By Pomidoroved | 📅 Originally published: Feb 20, 2011 | 📂 Category: Tomato Culture & Growing Tips A few years ago, when I had just built my very first film greenhouse (hoop house), I completely ran out of time to grow … Read more
Quick Summary of Tolstoi F1 🌍 Origin: A highly popular commercial F1 hybrid, widely praised for its reliability and massive yields. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (very tall) and exceptionally vigorous. Growers report it easily grows up to the greenhouse roof. It can be pruned to 1 or 2 stems. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Dense, firm, round-to-plum … Read more
Quick Summary of Topol (Топол) 🌍 Origin: A massive Russian heirloom variety (originally popularized by seed vendor V. Redko). The name translates to “Poplar tree”, fitting for its towering height. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), regular leaf, and extremely vigorous. In a greenhouse, it easily reaches over 220 cm (7.2 ft). Growers note that it … Read more
Quick Summary of Turban Bayran 🌍 Origin & The Name Mystery: This variety is famous on Russian forums not just for its taste, but for its highly debated, mysterious name. “Turban Bayran” is widely believed to be a mangled translation. 🔍 The Etymology Detective Work: Forum members speculate that the original name might have been … Read more
Quick Summary of Tomatoberry 🌍 Origin & Genetics: Originally released as an F1 commercial hybrid. However, a major point of excitement among forum members is that this variety successfully de-hybridizes! Growers planting F3 and F4 generation seeds saved from previous years report that it repeats its parent characteristics with 100% accuracy. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate … Read more
Quick Summary of Tatiana (Tatyana) 🌍 Origin & The Name Confusion: If you are looking for seeds of the “Tatiana” tomato, be aware that there are two completely different varieties circulating under this exact name. This forum thread highlights both! 🍅 Variant 1: The Commercial “SeDeK” Tatiana: An early-season, determinate (bush) variety. It grows very … Read more
Quick Summary of Taiko (Тайко) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded commercial variety (originally distributed by seed companies like Elkom in Russia). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse. A notable feature is its Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright yellow, smooth plum/icicle-shaped tomatoes. They are … Read more
Quick Summary of Topklipsa 🌍 Origin: A highly reliable commercial Russian heirloom. Growers note that it is virtually identical to another popular variety called Slavyanka. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and incredibly tall (easily reaches the greenhouse roof), but it has a very distinct “slender vine” habit. It doesn’t grow wide or bushy, which allows for … Read more
Quick Summary of Siegel’s Dark Stripes 🌍 Origin: A beautiful dark striped heirloom variety. Known in Russian collections as Temnye Polosy Sigelya. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Performs very well in a greenhouse environment and responds nicely to being pruned to 2 stems. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Oblate (flattened) fruits with a striking red-brown/mahogany base covered … Read more
Quick Summary of Tuxhorn’s Red and Yellow 🌍 Origin: A stunning, large heirloom tomato originally from the United States. It goes by the full name Tuxhorn’s Red and Yellow, though it’s often affectionately shortened to just “Tuxhorn”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), though outdoors in cooler climates, it may only reach about 1 – 1.2 … Read more