Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Midnight Snack F1 is an indeterminate cocktail cherry hybrid developed by PanAmerican Seed (USA) and recognized as a 2019 All-America Selections (AAS) National Winner. The vigorous vines produce heavy clusters of ~1 oz (30 g) round cherries that ripen glossy red with an inky anthocyanin purple-black shoulder. Growers praise its exceptionally polite … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Königin der Nacht (Queen of the Night) is an incredibly beautiful, anthocyanin-rich cocktail tomato originating from Germany. It grows as a compact semi-determinate plant that produces heavy yields of striped, dark-shouldered 2-3 oz fruits. While it is mostly grown for its jaw-dropping aesthetics, the flavor is generally sweet and pleasant. Full summary … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Jaune Flammee (Yellow Flame) is a classic French heirloom. It’s a mid-season, indeterminate vine that produces heavy trusses of small, bright orange cocktail tomatoes (around 1-2 oz). Growers praise its outstanding disease resistance and thick skin, which makes it an absolute workhorse for canning and pickling. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and … Read more
🍅 Quick take: A super compact, low-maintenance determinate that maxes out around 16–20 inches tall. It pumps out 2 oz red cocktail tomatoes and shrugs off bad weather, but the flavor is strictly average. Great for containers! Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zones 4 & 8 Experience) R Rodebielesumer (Elena) ⭐ Pro … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Guernsey Island Pink Blush is an indeterminate, pink cherry/cocktail tomato. Originally discovered as a mutation of the Guernsey Island variety, it produces firm, oval-shaped fruits weighing around 1-1.2 oz. Growers love its wispy but vigorous vines, extreme weather resilience, and very sweet, all-purpose fruits that hold up beautifully in canning jars. Full … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Boar’s Hoof 🌍 Origin: A rare dark cocktail variety from the USA (Brad Gates; Wild Boar Farms). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A vigorous, highly productive vine. It is widely praised for its incredible disease resistance—specifically its ability to completely shrug off Leaf Mold (Cladosporium) in humid greenhouse conditions. 🍅 Fruit … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zheltaya Mishen (Yellow Target) 🌍 Origin: A unique collector’s variety. Some growers report sourcing it from Chinese seed banks, while others got it from famous Russian collectors like V. Redko. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Despite some early descriptions calling it mid-sized, it is a highly vigorous, sprawling vine that easily … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Desert (Dessert) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety famously released by the “Manul” agricultural company. “Desert” translates directly to “Dessert”, hinting at its sweet flavor. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An early-season, well-behaved plant that doesn’t aggressively take over the greenhouse. Highly productive. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Officially described as “very small,” but … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Blue Bayou 🌍 Origin: Created by legendary American independent breeder Tom Wagner (famous for Green Zebra). It has become highly popular overseas with Eastern European exotic seed collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). One of its most striking features is the foliage—the stems and leaves exhibit a distinct blue/purple tint, especially … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vishnya Zimnyaya (Winter Cherry) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Winter Cherry”. Intended for outdoor growing in middle and northern climates. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). The seed packet claims it is a stout, tree-type dwarf that requires zero pruning, but growers report it grows as a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bonner Beste 🌍 Origin: A historic commercial heirloom originally from Germany (the name translates to “Bonn’s Best”). It has been widely adapted and heavily grown by Russian and Eastern European gardeners for its extreme reliability. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous vine. Produces heavy trusses (clusters) of fruit. It is highly … Read more
Quick Summary of Aces High 🌍 Origin: A rare dark cocktail tomato. In the Russian seed market, it became famous due to a hilarious translation error: the first person to import it used Google Translate, resulting in “High Aces” (as in playing cards: Tuzy Vysokie). Growers later pointed out it’s actually named after the famous … Read more