Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Ryabinovye Busy (Rowan Beads) 🌍 Origin: A Russian variety popularized by the famous tomato collector V. Popenko. The name translates to “Rowan Beads”, a poetic reference to how the heavy cascades of bright red cherry tomatoes resemble clusters of rowan berries. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (dwarf) and trailing/cascading (often referred to as … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovyi Sneg (Pink Snow) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety, most famously distributed by the “Aelita-Agro” seed company. The name translates to “Pink Snow”, likely referring to the massive cascades of pink fruit it produces. 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially classed as indeterminate (vining), growing over 1.5m (5 ft) tall in greenhouses. However, … Read more
Quick Summary of Rimskaya Svecha (Roman Candle) 🌍 Origin: A strikingly beautiful yellow paste/icicle variety (originally sourced by Russian collectors from the US/Valery Popenko). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, tall, and highly productive. The bush has a very distinct, frail/wispy structure right from the seedling stage. As one grower poetically described it: “A flexible, graceful stem … Read more
Quick Summary of Rio Grande 🌍 Origin: A world-famous commercial paste variety originally developed for hot climates, but widely adapted and heavily grown by Russian and Eastern European gardeners for winter canning. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Grows compactly to about 70-90 cm (2.3 – 3 ft) tall. Excellent for open ground and field growing. … Read more
Quick Summary of Striped Roman (Rimskiy Polosatyi) 🌍 Origin: A famous American heirloom known in the Russian tomato community as “Rimskiy Polosatyi”. 🍅 The Great Debate (Striped vs. Speckled): This forum thread perfectly captures the classic confusion surrounding this variety. As noted by growers (and Tatiana’s TOMATObase), there are essentially two circulating lines: Striped Roman … Read more
Quick Summary of Andine Cornue Orange (Rog And Oranzhevyi) 🌍 Origin: An orange variant of the famous Andean/French heirloom (Cornue des Andes). In the Russian tomato community, it is affectionately known as “Rog And Oranzhevyi” (Horn of the Andes Orange) or “Andean Horned Orange”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous, and highly productive. Performs exceptionally … Read more
Quick Summary of Palenka F1 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian F1 hybrid produced by the “Semco” (Семко) seed company. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and highly vigorous. It is strongly recommended for greenhouse growing (especially polycarbonate greenhouses). While the packet suggests pruning to 1 stem, many growers successfully train it to 3 stems with massive … Read more
Quick Summary of Palchiki (Little Fingers) 🌍 Origin: A classic Russian “family heirloom” (folk breeding) originating from the Rostov region. The original poster has maintained this variety in her family collection for over 20 years. The name Palchiki translates to “Little Fingers”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Outdoors in open ground, it grows to about … Read more
Quick Summary of Striped Pepper (Pertsevidnyy Polosatyy) 🌍 Origin: A classic Russian striped paste variety, though its origins are muddy. The name translates exactly to “Striped Pepper-shaped”. Warning: This variety suffers from a massive identity crisis on the commercial seed market. Different seed companies (SeDek, Gavrish, Nash Sad) sell completely different tomatoes under this name! … Read more
Quick Summary of Polden F1 (Noon F1) 🌍 Origin: A highly reliable Russian F1 hybrid from the “Ilyinichna” seed company/breeder. The name translates to “Noon”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but very easy to manage. It has a sturdy, thick main stem and produces very few lateral suckers. It features unique small, finely divided (cut) … Read more
Quick Summary of Pani Yana (Lady Yana) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety from the popular “SibSad” (Siberian Garden) seed company. The name translates to “Lady Yana” or “Mrs. Yana”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially classified as an early, super-determinate bush variety designed to stay compact (around 50-60 cm / 1.6-2 ft). However, some growers report … Read more
Quick Summary of Dwarf Orion’s Belt 🌍 Origin: A beautiful release from the international Dwarf Tomato Project (DTP). 🌿 Plant Habit: True dwarf (tree-type). The plant is very compact, reaching only about 50-60 cm (20-24 in) in height. It features the classic DTP wide, light-green rugose (wrinkled) foliage. Perfect for container gardening, patios, or small … Read more