Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Hippie Zebra 🌍 Origin: A stunning Green-When-Ripe (GWR) bi-color variety. Highly popularized in Eastern Europe through collector V. Popenko’s catalogs. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), usually reaching 1.5–1.8 m (5–6 ft). It performs well in both greenhouses and open ground, showing excellent resistance to blossom drop during heatwaves or cold snaps. Note: … Read more
Quick Summary of Hillbilly 🌍 Origin: A famous American heirloom hailing from the Appalachian region (West Virginia). Often grown in Eastern Europe under translated names like “Derevenskie” (Village tomatoes). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), sprawling, and sometimes exhibits frail or wispy foliage. Note: Growers report both Regular Leaf (RL) and Potato Leaf (PL) strains circulating … Read more
Quick Summary of Khurma (Persimmon) 🌍 Origin: A legendary and highly commercialized Russian variety. The name translates to “Persimmon” because the true fruits resemble the persimmon fruit in color and shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Highly controversial! According to the Russian State Register, the true Khurma is a determinate (bush) plant. However, due to seed company … Read more
Quick Summary of Fenix (Phoenix) 🌍 Origin: A Russian folk heirloom variety from the collection of V. Kolyakov. The name translates to “Phoenix” (Fenix). 🌿 Plant Habit: Medium foliage. Performs very well outdoors in open ground and delivers a solid, dependable yield. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, dark pinkish-red oxheart-shaped fruits. The flesh is incredibly dense, … Read more
Quick Summary of Costoluto Fiorentino 🌍 Origin: A famous, classic Italian heirloom originating from Florence, Italy. The name translates to “Ribbed from Florence”. Very popular among Eastern European growers. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and highly vigorous. In a greenhouse, it easily surpasses 2 meters (6.5 ft) in height. Generally displays good disease resistance. Note: … Read more
Quick Summary of Fitous 🌍 Origin: A highly resilient and dependable Russian variety. The name is “Fitous” (Фитоус). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). It grows compactly to about 50-60 cm (20-24 inches) tall and features sparse/wispy foliage. It is incredibly rugged, requiring minimal care, and thrives even in poor soil and low-water conditions. Perfect for … Read more
Quick Summary of Florentiyskaya Krasavitsa (Florentine Beauty) 🌍 Origin: A visually striking Russian/Eastern European collectible variety. The name translates to “Florentine Beauty”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Can be grown in greenhouses or open ground. Be careful with nitrogen, as it has a tendency to put out too much vegetative growth early on, which can … Read more
Quick Summary of Florida Petite (Флорида петит) 🌍 Origin: A famous micro-dwarf commercial variety, originally developed by the University of Florida specifically for small containers and patio growing. 🌿 Plant Habit: Extremely compact, tree-type micro-dwarf. Plants typically stay between 25-40 cm (10-16 inches) tall. They require absolutely no pruning or suckering and tolerate lower light … Read more
Quick Summary of Fioletovo-Malinovaya Baska 🌍 Origin: A Russian collector variety, originally popularized by seedsman V. Redko. The name translates to “Purple-Raspberry Baska”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. The plants are extremely vigorous, powerful, and healthy, easily growing over 1.5m (5 ft) tall outdoors in open ground. It handles aggressive multi-stem pruning (4-5 stems) effortlessly without … Read more
Quick Summary of Fantaziya (Fantasia) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety from the “Agrosemtoms” seed company. The name translates to “Fantasia” or “Fantasy”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Early-ripening (90-95 days) and indeterminate. It is highly adapted to northern regions and adverse weather conditions. It also boasts excellent disease resistance, specifically to Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV) and … Read more
Quick Summary of Purple Calabash (Фиолетовая тыква) 🌍 Origin: A very old and famous heirloom variety known globally as Purple Calabash. It is renowned for its unique, deeply ribbed shape resembling a miniature pumpkin. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. The plants are extremely rampant and vigorous. Growers report them aggressively pushing out suckers from every possible … Read more
Quick Summary of Fedora 🌍 Origin: An heirloom variety circulated among European collectors. These specific seeds were sourced from a grower in Germany in 2015. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall-growing). Shows moderate resistance to Leaf Mold (Cladosporium), rated a 3 out of 5 by growers. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Heart-shaped (oxheart) tomatoes that exhibit prominent “green … Read more