Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Chernyy Radzha (Black Raja) 🌍 Origin: A relatively new commercial variety sold by the seed company “NK Elit”. Not much is known about its true pedigree. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. In open ground, it reaches about 1.5 meters (5 ft). The plant is of medium build/vigor with regular leaves (RL). Highly disease-resistant. … Read more
Quick Summary of Brad’s Black Heart (Chernoe Serdtse Breda) 🌍 Origin: A famous American variety bred by Brad Gates (Wild Boar Farms, California), which found its way into the hands of Russian and Eastern European collectors. It is fascinating to see how this Californian heirloom performs in harsh climates like Siberia and the Urals! 🌿 … Read more
Quick Summary of Chernyy Mavr (Black Moor / Black Mauri) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular commercial Russian variety bred by Mashtakov in the Rostov region. Widely distributed internationally as Black Moor or Black Mauri. 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially classed as semi-determinate, but practically grows as a vigorous indeterminate for most gardeners, easily reaching 1.5 – … Read more
Quick Summary of Chernaya Galaktika (Black Galaxy) 🌍 Origin: A stunning commercial release from the Russian seed company SeDeK. Valued for its extremely high anthocyanin content. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), very vigorous, reaching up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) but with relatively sparse foliage. It is highly cold-tolerant, disease-resistant, and performs beautifully in both … Read more
Quick Summary of Chernyy Russkiy (Black Russian) 🌍 Origin: A famous old heirloom variety, highly popular among Eastern European gardeners. Interestingly, it is considered a “folk” variety, as growers note it isn’t even listed in the official Russian State Register of Seeds. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but its vigor heavily depends on the seed … Read more
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Quick Summary of Chernaya Russkaya Roza (Black Russian Rose) 🌍 Origin: A beautiful cross between Black Beauty and Russian Rose, bred by the famous Latvian tomato breeder Valdis Pulins. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). The bush reaches about 1.7 meters (approx. 5.5 feet) in height. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Oblate (flattened round) shape. The color is … Read more
Quick Summary of Borisovna’s Black Heart with a Spout 🌍 Origin: A legendary forum-born heirloom! Discovered by grower Natalya (Borisovna) from Karaganda, Kazakhstan, from a market tomato. It has since spread worldwide. Also known as Black with a Spout, Black Oxheart from Borisovna, or Chernoe Serdtse s Nosikom. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching 1.5–2.5 … Read more
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Quick Summary of Cerise Noire du Layon 🌍 Origin: A French dark cherry variety (“Cerise Noire” translates to Black Cherry). Russian growers often note that it appears to be a twin of the popular Russian commercial variety Sladkaya Grozd Shokoladnaya (Sweet Chocolate Bunch). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. Growers note that you … Read more
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Quick Summary of Dwarf Black Wizard 🌍 Origin: A beautiful dark-striped variety from the dwarf tomato family (often circulated among Russian collectors as “Gnom Chernyi Volshebnik”). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate dwarf (tree-type). It has a very sturdy, strong central stem and light-green rugose foliage. Perfect for small spaces or large containers, though it requires some … Read more
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Quick Summary of Chernyi Shokolad (Black Chocolate) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian cherry tomato variety, most notably distributed by the “Poisk” seed company as part of their “Vkusnoteka” (Flavor Library) series. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). The bush is vigorous but has somewhat sparse foliage, meaning it doesn’t get overly bushy. Growers successfully prune it … Read more
Quick Summary of Violet Jasper (Tzi Bi U / Tszy-Yu) 🌍 Origin: A stunning commercial heirloom originally from China. It circulates under multiple translated names, including Violet Jasper, Purple Jasper, Tzi Bi U, and Tszy-Yu. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), typically reaching 1.2–2 m (4–6.5 ft) depending on whether it is grown outdoors or in … Read more
Quick Summary of Tsygan (Gypsy) 🌍 Origin: A very popular and reliable Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Gypsy”, a traditional naming convention in Eastern Europe for dark, mahogany-colored tomatoes. 🌿 Plant Habit: Semi-determinate to indeterminate. It is relatively compact, typically growing 90–120 cm (3–4 ft) tall, though it can reach 1.5 m (5 … Read more