Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Aussie (Avstraliets) 🌍 Origin: A legendary heirloom variety originally from Australia, widely known in the US and Europe simply as Aussie, and translated into Russian as Avstraliets (The Australian). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous plant. Reaches up to 2 meters (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse and about 1.2m (4 ft) … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Pineapple (Ananas) 🌍 Origin: The world-famous classic heirloom bicolor beefsteak, originally from the USA, but highly popular and widely grown in Russia under the translated name “Ananas”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), regular leaf (RL). It has proven to be relatively resistant to tomato leaf mold (Cladosporium). 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Massive, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Anna German 🌍 Origin: An old, legendary Soviet-era heirloom variety, likely named after the beloved singer Anna German. It is often confused with other yellow multiflora varieties like Wonder of the World and Citrus Garden, but experienced growers confirm it is a distinct, unique strain. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Anna Meyer 🌍 Origin: A beautiful family heirloom variety, highly popularized by the well-known American heirloom seed collector Dale Thurber (Delectation of Tomatoes). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Forms a large, vigorous bush with very thick, sturdy stems. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, meaty beefsteaks. It has a very interesting color expression: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Accordion Cherry (Akkordeon Cherry) 🌍 Origin: A very unique, heavily ribbed red cherry/cocktail tomato. Extremely popular among Russian heirloom collectors for its striking appearance and long shelf life. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching over 2 meters (6.5+ ft) in a greenhouse. The adult plant is powerful and vigorous, though seedlings … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Altai Yellow (Altayskiy Zheltyy) 🌍 Origin: A classic Siberian/Altai regional heirloom from Russia. Available from several commercial seed companies (like “Siberian Garden”), but many collectors grow specific heirloom strains (like the ones from collector Yashchenko). 🌿 Plant Habit: Often classified as a tall determinate or semi-determinate, growing to about 1.5 – … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Antoshka 🌍 Origin: A fantastic early-season Russian commercial variety. The name “Antoshka” is a friendly, diminutive form of the name Anton (often associated with a cheerful cartoon character in Russia). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush/dwarf type). Extremely compact and sturdy, growing only 30-60 cm (12-24 inches) tall. It requires zero pruning … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Albenga Oxheart 🌍 Origin: A classic Italian heirloom from the Liguria region. Popularized among collectors by Dale Thurber (Delectation of Tomatoes). Important distinction: This is the smooth, classic oxheart version, not to be confused with “Cuore di Bue di Albenga,” which is a deeply ribbed, pear-shaped (pouch) variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Amarillo & Amarillo Armadillo 🌍 Origin: This thread covers experimental/numbered breeding lines sent to Russian growers simply as “Amarillo”, as well as the named exotic variety Amarillo Armadillo. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), regular leaf. Very vigorous and highly productive. The Armadillo variant grows to about 1.6 m (5.2 ft) when … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Apelsinovoe Mango (Orange Mango) 🌍 Origin: Another stunning creation by Russian breeder Sofia Saakova. It is a cross between Blue Orange (Siniy Apelsin) and the classic Heart of Ashgabat (Serdtse Ashkhabada). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), early to mid-season. It features a slender, “wispy” foliage structure typical of many oxhearts. Despite … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Anastasia Ushakova 🌍 Origin: A fantastic Russian heirloom variety highly prized for its reliability and beautiful shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and incredibly vigorous. It has a very long fruiting period, producing right up until the frost. Standout feature: Exceptional heat tolerance. Growers in hot, southern climates report that it … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Almatinskiy Tricolor (Almaty Tricolor) 🌍 Origin: A relatively new but already highly sought-after variety bred by the famous tomato breeder Vitaly Alifirov from Almaty, Kazakhstan. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous, and highly productive. Usually ripens mid-season, though it can lean towards late-season in cooler climates. It keeps setting fruit well … Read more