Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Afro-Cherry 🌍 Origin: A commercial dark-fruited cocktail tomato variety developed by Russian breeders. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). The plant grows to about 1.8-2.2 m (6-7.2 ft) in height. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Dark mahogany/cherry-colored cocktail tomatoes weighing 40-50 g (1.4-1.8 oz). They are very glossy, thick-walled, and grow in clusters of … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Altaechka 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial heirloom from Siberian breeders (Altai region). The name affectionately translates to “Little Altai Girl”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Compact, reaching about 70-90 cm (27-35 inches) in height. It produces beautiful stocky seedlings and is perfectly suited for open ground. Does not require strict pruning. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Aburida 🌍 Origin: A magnificent heirloom popularized by the well-known Ukrainian breeder and collector V.F. Syrai. Highly sought after by collectors of giant paste tomatoes. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-late season variety. Reaches 1.8 – 2 meters (6-6.5 ft) in height. The bushes are robust and produce very beautiful, heavy … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vela Scarlatta 🌍 Origin: A magnificent heirloom variety (the name translates from Italian as “Scarlet Sails”). It is highly prized by collectors of giant oxheart tomatoes. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An incredibly vigorous and powerful plant that exhibits intensive, fast growth and produces a massive yield. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Giant … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Almaty Yellow Tulip (Almatinskiy Zheltyi Tyulpan) 🌍 Origin: The gorgeous yellow sister-variety to the Red Tulip, bred in the Almaty region (city of Esik), Kazakhstan, by the highly acclaimed breeder Vitaliy Gennadievich Alifirov. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (very tall) and mid-season. Just like its red counterpart, it features Potato Leaf (PL) … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Almaty Red Tulip (Almatinskiy Krasnyi Tyulpan) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic modern heirloom bred in the Almaty region (city of Esik), Kazakhstan, by the highly respected tomato breeder Vitaliy Gennadievich Alifirov. The name translates to “Almaty Red Tulip”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season variety. It notably features Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): AH Scorpii 🌍 Origin: A relatively new variety created by the famous American heirloom collector and breeder Dale Thurber (Delectation of Tomatoes). It is a cross between two legendary giant tomatoes: Hoy x Delicious. It is named after AH Scorpii, a red supergiant star in the Scorpius constellation. 🌿 Plant Habit: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Aussie (Avstraliets) 🌍 Origin: A legendary heirloom variety originally from Australia, widely known in the US and Europe simply as Aussie, and translated into Russian as Avstraliets (The Australian). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous plant. Reaches up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse and about 1.2m (4 ft) … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Pineapple Heart (Ananasnoe Serdtse) 🌍 Origin: An unstable exotic selection created by the well-known breeder A.I. Kulik. It originated as a genetic segregation (off-type) of another variety, and growers are still actively stabilizing it. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-early to mid-late season. Because the variety is still segregating, growers report … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Pineapple (Ananas) 🌍 Origin: The world-famous classic heirloom bicolor beefsteak, originally from the USA, but highly popular and widely grown in Russia under the translated name “Ananas”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), regular leaf (RL). It has proven to be relatively resistant to tomato leaf mold (Cladosporium). 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Massive, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Anna German 🌍 Origin: An old, legendary Soviet-era heirloom variety, likely named after the beloved singer Anna German. It is often confused with other yellow multiflora varieties like Wonder of the World and Citrus Garden, but experienced growers confirm it is a distinct, unique strain. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Aquarelle (Akvarel) 🌍 Origin: A reliable Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Watercolor”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (short bush). Specifically, it is a “tree-type” (shtamb) dwarf with a very sturdy, thick central stem that requires minimal staking. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Red, plum-shaped paste tomatoes. They are on the smaller side … Read more