Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Dwarf Confetti is a gorgeous release from the Dwarf Tomato Project featuring sturdy, rugose-leaf plants that max out around 2 to 3 feet tall. It pumps out large, oblate bicolor beefsteaks (yellow with bright pink stripes) that deliver a deliciously sweet, fruity flavor. While it thrives in the greenhouse, growers in cooler … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Seedling Space & Potting Up 🌱 The Potting Up Struggle: Transplanting seedlings from starter cells into half-liter (16 oz) cups takes hours of work and drastically increases the footprint of your grow operation. 📦 Direct to Large Pots? Growers often debate whether it’s better to bypass small cells entirely and sow … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Getting Early Greenhouse Cucumbers 🌍 The Challenge: Growing early cucumbers in short-season or cold climates (like USDA Zones 3-5) is notoriously difficult because cucumber roots will rot or stunt in cold soil. 🌡️ Checking Soil Temp: Never plant by the calendar. Bury a thermometer 6–8 inches (15-20 cm) deep. Do not … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Pruning Melons for Short Seasons ✂️ Open Ground (Heirlooms): Most heirloom melons produce male flowers on the main stem and female flowers (the ones that make fruit) on tertiary vines. To force early fruiting in cooler climates, you must pinch the vines: Pinch the main stem after the 3rd or 5th … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Eggplant Care & Container Tricks 🍆 Eggplant Spacing & Pruning: Avoid heavy pruning—just snip out weak inner shoots to improve airflow. Space them about 16 inches (40 cm) apart, or try the “two per hole” trick (planted 4 inches apart sharing a single stake). Make sure tall indeterminate tomatoes don’t shade … Read more
J Julia62 (Julia) 🌱 Beginner (93 posts) 📍 Korolyov, Moscow Region USDA 4 Mariya Suvorova wrote: Nadya, after grafting I gradually pot them up into larger containers—1, 2, then 3-liter (1 to 3-quart) pots, then transplant them into a 5-gallon bucket. The buckets go into the greenhouse, and later when it gets really warm, I … Read more
Quick Summary of Purpurny from China (Purple from China) 🌍 Origin: An heirloom variety originating from China, circulating in the Russian seed-saving community under the name “Purpurny iz Podnebesnoy” (Purple from the Celestial Empire / Purple from China). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but relatively compact and manageable. When grown in a greenhouse and pruned to … Read more