Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Lilac Plum (Sirenevaya Sliva) 🌍 Origin: Sourced from the famous Ukrainian tomato breeder and seed collector Aleksey Kulik. The name translates to “Lilac Plum”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. Growers note that the bush is very powerful and can easily support being pruned to 3 main stems to maximize … Read more
Quick Summary of Pink Early Ripener (Skorospelka Rozovaya) 🌍 Origin & Name: A commercial Russian variety. The name translates directly to “Pink Early Ripener” or “Pink Early Bird” (Skorospelka Rozovaya). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (compact bush), moderately branching, reaching a height of 50-70 cm (20-27 inches). Excellent for open ground and temporary film tunnels. 🍅 … Read more
Quick Summary of Sweet Kiss (Sladkiy Potseluy) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian cherry variety produced by the Siberian Garden (SibSad) seed company. The name translates directly to “Sweet Kiss”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Highly adaptable. In open ground, it behaves as a robust semi-determinate, growing to about 80 cm (31 inches). However, inside a greenhouse, it … Read more
Quick Summary of Sugar Giant (Sakharnyi Gigant) 🌍 Origin & Vendor Issues: A large-fruited Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Sugar Giant”. However, there is massive inconsistency between the major seed vendors (Russian Garden/RO vs. Siberian Garden/SibSad). 🔍 The Shape Mystery: The packet from “Russian Garden” promises a large, barrel-like (cuboid) or blocky plum … Read more
Quick Summary of Pink Plum (Sliva Rozovaya) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian commercial heirloom. The name translates to “Pink Plum”. Veteran growers note it is virtually identical to a famous variety bred specifically for harsh climates by the Far Eastern Research Institute of Agriculture. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (compact). In open ground, it typically … Read more
Quick Summary of Jade Gem F1 (Samotsvet Nefritovyi F1) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian commercial green cherry tomato from the popular “Gem” (Samotsvet) series by the SeDek seed company. The name translates to “Jade Gem”. 🔍 The F1 Hybrid Confusion: Officially registered in the Russian State Register as an F1 hybrid. However, SeDek has … Read more
Quick Summary of Surpriz 🌍 Origin & The Translation Mix-Up: There is massive confusion surrounding this name in the Russian seed market! The true Surpriz is a French striped heirloom. However, some Russian seed vendors (like Gusev) took the American bicolor heirloom Serendipity and directly translated its name to “Surprise” (Surpriz) in Russian. 🔍 How … Read more
Quick Summary of Desdemona’s Heart (Serdtse Dezdemony) 🌍 Origin & Name: An heirloom variety sourced from private collector Tamara Yashchenko. The name is a nod to Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, adding a dramatic flair to this beautiful oxheart. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, though it behaves more like a vigorous semi-determinate in many gardens. It typically reaches … Read more
Quick Summary of Siberian Troika (Sibirskaya Troyka) 🌍 Origin & Name: A well-known commercial variety from the Russian Siberian Garden (SibSad) seed company. The name translates to “Siberian Troika” (a traditional Russian carriage drawn by a team of three horses). 🌿 Plant Habit: A sturdy, compact determinate (tree-type/semi-dwarf) bush. It typically grows to about 60-100 … Read more
Quick Summary of Svart 🌍 Origin & Name: A rare variety circulated by Russian private seed collectors (like V. Popenko). Its exact origins are unknown, but the word “Svart” translates to “Black” in Swedish and Norwegian, strongly suggesting Scandinavian or Northern European roots. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching about 1.5 meters (5 ft) when … Read more
Quick Summary of Saratovskie (Saratov) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian heirloom named after the city of Saratov on the Volga River. Ironically (and amusingly), local growers from Saratov note that this variety is completely unknown in the city itself! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. In a greenhouse, it easily exceeds 2 … Read more
Quick Summary of Brown Sugar (Sakhar Korichnevyi) 🌍 Origin & Marketing: A dark/brown Russian commercial variety, famously sold by the SeDek seed company. The packet description makes wild marketing claims, calling it a “rejuvenating apple” with anti-cancer and anti-heart-attack properties. The name translates to “Brown Sugar”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially listed as an indeterminate. However, … Read more