Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Mikado Shtambovyi (Mikado Dwarf) is an incredibly rugged, early-season tree-type dwarf with thick potato-leaf foliage. A legend since the Soviet era for its ability to produce early crops in cold northern regions, this variety thrives completely unprotected outdoors. It produces heavy yields of uniform, 4-5 oz (120-140 g) red fruits that fully … Read more
🍅 Quick take: M16 (Saraev) is a highly rugged, cold-tolerant indeterminate vine that produces impressive 10.5-17.5 oz (300-500 g) red beefsteaks. Bred specifically to handle temperature swings, it doesn’t drop blossoms during cold snaps or heatwaves. Growers praise it for its perfectly balanced, old-school tomato flavor, long harvest window, and ability to keep producing heavy … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kameya is an ultra-early, incredibly rugged determinate bush variety bred specifically for outdoor growing in tough climates. The plant stays compact (under 20 inches) and requires zero pruning or staking. It produces uniform, small red tomatoes weighing 2-3.5 oz (60-100 g). Growers love it for its intense, punchy flavor reminiscent of cherry … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Katinka is a highly resilient, semi-determinate orange cherry tomato. Reaching about 4 feet (1.2 m) tall, it sets massive, forked clusters of sweet, 0.5-0.7 oz (15-20 g) orange cherries. It is highly praised for its exceptional cold tolerance and its ability to resist splitting and cracking during heavy rains and temperature swings. … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Goat’s Udder (Koz’e Vymechko) is a compact, highly resilient heirloom known for its unusually shaped crimson-pink fruits that look like plump icicles or elongated hearts. Weighing 5 to 10.5 oz (150-300 g), these meaty, nearly seedless tomatoes are incredibly versatile. The plants perform exceptionally well outdoors and easily shrug off harsh summer … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Krayniy Sever (which translates to “Far North”) is a highly compact, ultra-early tree-type dwarf originally distributed by the Russian seed company Biotekhnika. Bred specifically for extremely short and cold seasons, this rugged little bush produces round, red tomatoes weighing around 1.8-2 oz (50-60 g). It thrives outdoors or in containers and requires … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kmicic is a compact, determinate paste tomato originating from Poland. It is notable for its potato leaf (PL) foliage and exceptional cold tolerance. The plant produces heavy yields of bright red, plum-shaped fruits weighing around 1.7 oz (50 g), which are firm, store well, and are highly prized for canning and processing. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zemlyak (Countryman) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety released by the Siberian Garden (SibSad) seed company. The name “Zemlyak” translates to “Countryman” or “Fellow Countryman”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). It has a very wide, sprawling growth habit. It requires virtually no maintenance and can be grown without pruning (suckering). 🍅 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vesennie Zamorozki (Spring Frosts) 🌍 Origin & Breeder: A famous Russian heirloom bred by Pavel Saraev. Saraev dedicated his life to developing extreme cold-tolerant tomatoes capable of surviving light spring frosts in open ground without protection. The name translates perfectly to “Spring Frosts”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush) variety. A compact, … Read more
Quick Summary of Serdce Mordovii Rozovoe (Heart of Mordovia Pink) 🌍 Origin: An old, unregistered family heirloom originating from the Republic of Mordovia, Russia. Note: Russian breeder Dmitry Gusev sells a “Red” version of this tomato, but the strain featured here is the highly prized Pink/Raspberry version. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and tall. It reaches … Read more
Quick Summary of Sibirskoye Zastolye (Siberian Feast) 🌍 Origin: A very reliable Russian variety bred specifically for regions with short, difficult summers. The name translates to “Siberian Feast”. ⚠️ Naming Confusion: Do not confuse this variety with “Sibirskie Zastolnye” from the Siberian Garden (SibSad) company, which is a completely different variety that produces round fruits. … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovyi Shlem (Pink Helmet) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial variety released by the highly respected Russian seed company “Siberian Garden” (SibSad). The name translates to “Pink Helmet”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, growing up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) tall in a greenhouse. Like many classic oxheart varieties, it has a “wispy” or … Read more