Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Abakan Pink (Abakansky Rozovyi) 🌍 Origin: A highly famous Siberian commercial heirloom. It is known for causing widespread confusion among growers because different Russian seed companies (like Siberian Garden, Poisk, and Altai Seeds) sell vastly different strains under this exact same name. Even the official State Register has two different entries … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Arbuznyi (Watermelon) 🌍 Origin: A well-known Russian commercial commercial variety. The name “Arbuznyi” translates to “Watermelon,” referring to its mahogany-red/dark color with subtle dark green stripes near the shoulders. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Height varies greatly depending on whether it is grown in a greenhouse or open ground. Known for having … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Accordion Cherry (Akkordeon Cherry) 🌍 Origin: A very unique, heavily ribbed red cherry/cocktail tomato. Extremely popular among Russian heirloom collectors for its striking appearance and long shelf life. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching over 2 meters (6.5+ ft) in a greenhouse. The adult plant is powerful and vigorous, though seedlings … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Akrobat (Acrobat) 🌍 Origin: A Russian cascading (trailing) cherry tomato variety bred specifically for container gardening, hanging baskets, and small spaces. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, micro-dwarf/cascading type. It naturally forms a lush, cascading waterfall of foliage and fruit. If staked upright, it reaches about 50 cm (20 inches) in height. Highly … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Auria 🌍 Origin: A highly popular and widely discussed Eastern European heirloom. It is also sometimes circulated under the name Zabava. An orange/yellow version exists called Eros. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), very vigorous, and typically a very heavy yielder. Mid-season to late maturity. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Famous for its elongated, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Altai Yellow (Altayskiy Zheltyy) 🌍 Origin: A classic Siberian/Altai regional heirloom from Russia. Available from several commercial seed companies (like “Siberian Garden”), but many collectors grow specific heirloom strains (like the ones from collector Yashchenko). 🌿 Plant Habit: Often classified as a tall determinate or semi-determinate, growing to about 1.5 – … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Antoshka 🌍 Origin: A fantastic early-season Russian commercial variety. The name “Antoshka” is a friendly, diminutive form of the name Anton (often associated with a cheerful cartoon character in Russia). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush/dwarf type). Extremely compact and sturdy, growing only 30-60 cm (12-24 inches) tall. It requires zero pruning … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Amurskiy Tigr (Amur Tiger) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the “Aelita” seed company. ⚠️ The Seed Mystery (Important!): For several years, Aelita accidentally distributed a completely wrong seed (an off-type) under this name. Many early growers ended up with small, red-and-yellow striped cocktail tomatoes with thin skin (suspected … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Growing Strawberries from Seed 🍓 Why from seed? Plants grown from seed are generally much more vigorous, healthier, and completely virus-free compared to plants grown from runners. 📅 Timing: Start indoors in January/February if you have grow lights (12-14 hours a day), or wait until late February/March if you are relying … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Strawberry Clipper Weevil Control 🐛 The Pest: The Strawberry Blossom Weevil (closely related to the North American Strawberry Clipper Weevil) is a tiny black/brown beetle about 3 mm (1/8 inch) long. 🥀 The Damage: If you see small holes in your strawberry leaves or notice unopened flower buds hanging by a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Pruning Strawberry Leaves After Harvest ✂️ The Debate: Should you cut off all strawberry leaves after the summer harvest? The short answer: you can get great yields whether you do a full prune, a partial prune, or no prune at all. It depends entirely on the health of the plants. 🔴 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Albenga Oxheart 🌍 Origin: A classic Italian heirloom from the Liguria region. Popularized among collectors by Dale Thurber (Delectation of Tomatoes). Important distinction: This is the smooth, classic oxheart version, not to be confused with “Cuore di Bue di Albenga,” which is a deeply ribbed, pear-shaped (pouch) variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: … Read more