Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Big Golden Delicious 🌍 Origin: A superb golden-yellow heirloom. This particular line was sourced from well-known American tomato grower Dale Thurber. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) with excellent disease resistance. A true workhorse that provides huge yields from the beginning of the season right up until the first frost. It sets fruit … Read more
Quick Summary of Bleeding Heart 🌍 Origin & Name: Another masterpiece bred by Brad Gates (Wild Boar Farms). While the name might sound a bit dramatic, Bleeding Heart is actually the common English name for the beautiful Dicentra flower. The tomato was named for its stunning heart shape and vibrant striping. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. … Read more
Quick Summary of Berkeley Tie-Dye Green 🌍 Origin & Lineage: A breathtaking green variation bred by the legendary Brad Gates (Wild Boar Farms) in California. It is a standout member of his iconic Tie-Dye family, which also includes the original Berkeley Tie-Dye, the highly popular Pink Berkeley Tie-Dye, and the beautiful Berkeley Tie-Dye Heart. 🌿 … Read more
Quick Summary of Black Yum Yum 🌍 Origin & Name: A fantastic dark cocktail/salad variety. True to its name, it is highly prized for its incredibly sweet, dessert-like flavor. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, early to mid-season. Reaches about 5.5 to 6 ft (1.7-1.8 m) in height. It is a very well-behaved plant that doesn’t produce … Read more
Quick Summary of the Discussion 🚨 The Problem: A grower faces a common late-summer disaster: a massive harvest of heirloom tomatoes that are all splitting and cracking on the vine, forcing immediate processing into juice and sauces. 🍅 The Heirloom Dilemma: While heirloom varieties are beloved for their rich, juicy flavors, their thin skins make … Read more
Quick Summary of Black Cherry 🌍 Origin & History: Bred by the late Vince Sapp of TomatoFest (Florida, USA) and released in 2003. It made history as the very first truly “black” cherry tomato on the market. Vince managed to capture the rich, smoky, complex flavor profile of large dark Russian heirlooms and pack it … Read more
Quick Summary of Bronza (Amarillo Rusty Paste) 🌍 Origin: Known in the US and Europe as Amarillo Rusty Paste, this variety is often circulated among Russian collectors under the translated name “Bronza” (Bronze) due to its unique coloring. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-early. The bush is thin with weeping (droopy) foliage of medium length. Despite … Read more
Quick Summary of Best Bestos 🌍 Origin & Type: A gorgeous, deeply ribbed (pleated/ruffled) red tomato. Some fruits take on a pear-like or wide piriform shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Reaches up to 6.5 ft (2 meters) in height. Highly prized for its stress tolerance—it performs exceptionally well in both extremely hot regions and … Read more
Quick Summary of Black Emperor 🌍 Origin: A beautiful and productive dark plum tomato variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and tall. Generally considered a mid-season variety, though some growers in colder climates note that it begins ripening quite early for them. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Medium-sized, plum-shaped fruits that ripen to a deep purple/brownish-black color. 👅 … Read more
Quick Summary of Bill Bean Select 🌍 Origin: A fantastic American heirloom variety. Named after the grower (Bill Bean), it has become a staple among collectors who are chasing both giant fruit size and extreme productivity. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-early. A very vigorous and tall vine that produces fruit relentlessly right up until the … Read more
Quick Summary of Bandol Blues 🌍 Origin: A visually stunning anthocyanin (blue/black) variety known for its incredibly dark skin. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, early-season. The plant itself is not overly vigorous; it has a rather frail, scrawny, and wispy build. However, it is very well-behaved, easy to manage, and responds perfectly to being pruned to … Read more
Quick Summary of Blue Jolies 🌍 Origin & Stability: A relatively new and visually stunning exotic variety. However, many growers report that the genetics are still highly unstable (it frequently segregates, producing green cocktail-sized fruits or green pears instead of the intended large orange beefsteaks). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. The bush is tall, strong, … Read more