Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Mountain Princess is a determinate, compact bush heirloom originating from the Appalachian highlands of West Virginia (USA). Bred for short-season mountain valleys, it is advertised as a dependable, early 4-8 oz red slicer. However, upland growers report heavy disappointment: vines proved exceptionally vulnerable to Late Blight, fruit set was erratic, and the … Read more
🍅 Quick take: La-chan-y-ha is a compact, determinate bush paste tomato of Chinese origin, highly valued in cold Siberian regions for its reliability. Plants stay under 32 inches (80 cm) tall while pumping out dense clusters of elongated scarlet plums measuring up to 3 inches (8 cm) long. Unlike many rubbery commercial processing types, the … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Gold Nugget is an early, determinate yellow cherry tomato developed by Dr. James Baggett at Oregon State University. It produces wispy, thin-stemmed plants that max out around 3-5 feet (1-1.5 m) depending on whether grown outdoors or in a high tunnel. Growers love its heavy yields, very early ripening, and perfectly balanced, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Fiaschetto is a determinate, mid-season plum tomato (these seeds originally sourced from Solana Seeds). The bushes are very compact, reaching only 2 to 2.5 feet tall, and pump out heavy yields of perfect red paste tomatoes. Growers praise it for its excellent disease resistance and bold, old-fashioned tomato flavor. Full summary ↓ … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Fuzzy Wuzzy is a highly ornamental, determinate compact bush variety famous for its striking silvery-blue, heavily pubescent (fuzzy) foliage and fuzzy, striped little fruits. It is an excellent candidate for container growing. The red and gold striped tomatoes max out around 1 oz (30 g). While growers universally praise its unique beauty, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Diplom is an early-season determinate (bush) variety. Commercial seeds are sold as an F1 hybrid known for reliable, continuous yields of uniform 3.2 oz (90 g) fruits that keep very well in storage. However, growers saving seeds from this variety have ended up with a dehybridized strain that exhibits different traits, such … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Dwarf Desperado is a mid-season determinate variety from the Dwarf Tomato Project. It produces beautiful pinkish-crimson plum or spear-shaped fruits weighing around 2.5 to 5.3 oz (70 to 150 g). The growers absolutely love it for its incredible yields, sweet flavor, firm texture, and excellent shelf life both on and off the … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Orlik is a highly compact, ultra-early determinate variety that thrives outdoors with minimal protection. The bushes stay incredibly short (around 1.5 ft / 0.5 m) but pump out heavy, continuous yields of small, red, round tomatoes weighing between 1.5 to 2.5 oz (40-67 g). With a firm texture and classic, balanced tomato … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Orange Elephant (Oranzhevyi Slon) is a determinate, mid-season commercial Russian variety from the Gavrish seed company. While the packet claims massive 1 lb (500 g) fruits, real-world growers consistently report neat, round 5-7 oz (150-200 g) slicers. The flavor is generally considered average to good, but it earns high marks for excellent … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Obzhorka (Gluttonnie) is a highly productive, compact determinate variety that grows up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall. It requires zero pruning and pumps out heavy clusters of 2 oz (60 g) meaty red plum tomatoes with a pointed blossom end. Known for a classic tomato flavor and an excellent shelf life, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Nepasynkuyushchiysya Yantarnyi (Non-Suckering Amber) is marketed as a low-maintenance, early determinate for outdoor growing. However, growers report highly unstable genetics—plants can range from a 16-inch (40 cm) compact tree-type to a 32-inch (80 cm) sprawling bush, and ripening times vary. Despite the genetic inconsistency, the 1.5-3.5 oz (40-100 g) amber-yellow fruits are … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Nepasynkuyushchiysya Krasnyi (which translates to Non-Suckering Red) is an early-season determinate tomato designed for low-maintenance outdoor growing. Promoted as needing zero pruning, it produces compact bushes about 20 inches (50 cm) tall. While the commercial description claims 2 oz (60 g) fruits, growers have harvested larger 5.3 oz (150 g) tomatoes. It … Read more