Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Chernyy Radzha (Black Raja) 🌍 Origin: A relatively new commercial variety sold by the seed company “NK Elit”. Not much is known about its true pedigree. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. In open ground, it reaches about 1.5 meters (5 ft). The plant is of medium build/vigor with regular leaves (RL). Highly disease-resistant. … Read more
Quick Summary of Brad’s Black Heart (Chernoe Serdtse Breda) 🌍 Origin: A famous American variety bred by Brad Gates (Wild Boar Farms, California), which found its way into the hands of Russian and Eastern European collectors. It is fascinating to see how this Californian heirloom performs in harsh climates like Siberia and the Urals! 🌿 … Read more
Overwintering Chrysanthemums in a Greenhouse: An Unexpected Experiment C cat2008 (Author) ⭐ Pro Grower 📍 Orsha, Belarus (USDA Zone 4/5) 🌱 Quick Summary & Key Takeaways The Real Killer: Most chrysanthemums do not freeze to death in the winter; they die from crown rot caused by sitting in soggy, wet soil during freeze-thaw cycles. The … Read more
Growing Astilbe: From Store-Bought Roots to a Thriving Shade Garden 🌱 Quick Summary & Key Takeaways Rescuing Bare Roots: Don’t let store-bought bare roots rot in the fridge. If they are sprouting, pot them up indoors immediately in a 1-gallon pot. Sun vs. Shade: Astilbe thrives in partial shade. It can handle full sun (and … Read more
Quick Summary of Chukhloma (Orange Icicle/Paste) 🌍 Origin: A highly successful Russian commercial variety from the Gavrish seed company. It is the orange sibling to the red variety Khokhloma. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (very tall) and vigorous, easily exceeding 2 meters (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse. Growers note its distinct foliage: the leaves are very … Read more
Quick Summary of Chernyy Mavr (Black Moor / Black Mauri) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular commercial Russian variety bred by Mashtakov in the Rostov region. Widely distributed internationally as Black Moor or Black Mauri. 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially classed as semi-determinate, but practically grows as a vigorous indeterminate for most gardeners, easily reaching 1.5 – … Read more
Quick Summary of Chesnovy (Reisetomate / Traveler’s Tomato) 🌍 Origin: A world-famous novelty variety. Known internationally as Reisetomate (German for Traveler’s Tomato). In Eastern Europe, it is often called Chesnovy (Garlic Tomato), Tomato-Brain, or even Tourist’s Breakfast. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and incredibly vigorous. It produces a massive amount of suckers and can easily reach … Read more
Quick Summary of Chudo Zemli Ukrainskoe (Ukrainian Wonder of the Earth) 🌍 Origin: A legendary pink oxheart from Ukraine. Note: Do not confuse this with the Russian commercial strain “Chudo Zemli” from Siberian Garden (SibSad), which is a completely different flat-round beefsteak. This is the true Ukrainian heart-shaped heirloom. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (approx. 1.5 … Read more
Quick Summary of Chernosliv (Prune / Black Plum) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular Russian variety. The name translates to “Prune” (dried plum). Widely distributed by companies like Biotekhnika and kept pure by heirloom collectors. Note: Growers suspect it might be genetically identical to “Black Roma”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but very space-saving. The foliage … Read more
Quick Summary of Cherry Yurok iz supermarketa 🌍 Origin: A fantastic “supermarket save” from Russia. A gardener bought delicious cherry tomatoes from a store, saved the seeds, and distributed them under the conditional name “Yurok” (named after a forum user Yuri who shared them). It is suspected to be a commercial French strain, possibly from … Read more
Quick Summary of Chernaya Galaktika (Black Galaxy) 🌍 Origin: A stunning commercial release from the Russian seed company SeDeK. Valued for its extremely high anthocyanin content. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), very vigorous, reaching up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) but with relatively sparse foliage. It is highly cold-tolerant, disease-resistant, and performs beautifully in both … Read more
Quick Summary of Chile Verde (Green Chile) 🌍 Origin: A very popular green-when-ripe variety in Eastern Europe, often sold by commercial seed companies like Biotekhnika and Siberian Garden, as well as private collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching about 1.5 – 2 meters (5 to 6.5 ft). Most growers report a Regular Leaf (RL), … Read more