Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Ultrafiolet (Ultraviolet) 🌍 Origin: A rare dark-fruited variety sent to Russian collectors in 2010 by Ukrainian tomato breeder D.G. Terentyev. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous, and forms a massive, strong plant (“like a tree”). Interestingly, it starts out looking very weak and wispy as a seedling, but explodes with growth once … Read more
Quick Summary of Unikalnyi Kulchitskogo (Kulchitsky’s Unique) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety bred/selected by amateur vegetable grower M.G. Kulchitsky from Novorossiysk. The name translates to “Kulchitsky’s Unique”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching about 1.6 meters (5.2 ft) outdoors and taller in a greenhouse. Features large Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. Known for its incredible … Read more
Quick Summary of Utomlennoe Solntse (Weary Sun) 🌍 Origin: A beautiful heirloom variety originating from Ukraine. The name translates to “Weary Sun” (a reference to a famous vintage Russian tango song). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and vigorous. In a greenhouse, it easily reaches 1.8 – 2 meters (6 – 6.5 ft) in height. Pro … Read more
Quick Summary of Ukrainskaya Elena (Ukrainian Elena / Olena) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded heirloom from Ukraine, popularized by the well-known breeder and collector Ruslan Dukhov. The name is often translated and circulated as Ukrainskaya Elena, Ukrainska Olena, or simply Ukrainian Alena. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), powerful but slender plants with Potato Leaf (PL) … Read more
Quick Summary of Ulybka Sandry (Sandra’s Smile) 🌍 Origin: A mysterious variety with a fascinating history. Originally acquired by a Latvian collector at a seed swap in Germany under the name “Cassandra”. Since the real Cassandra tomato is a completely different red variety, the name was rejected during local registration. It was officially renamed “Ulybka … Read more
Quick Summary of Utenok (Duckling) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular Russian commercial and collectible variety. The name translates to “Duckling”, likely due to its bright orange color and the characteristic “beak” on the end of the fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, dwarf (tree-type / rugose foliage) bush. Very compact, usually growing 35-50 cm (14-20 inches) … Read more
Quick Summary of Teshchin Yazyk (Mother-in-Law’s Tongue) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic heirloom variety originating from Ukraine. The hilarious name translates to “Mother-in-Law’s Tongue”, a playful nod to the long, slightly pointed, “sharp” shape of the fruit. 🌿 Plant Habit: Mid-sized plant (often growing as a compact indeterminate), highly productive, and well-suited for greenhouse cultivation. 🍅 … Read more
Quick Summary of Tamara 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial heirloom variety. It is well-documented in North America via Tatiana Kouchnareva’s TOMATObase. 🌿 Plant Habit (The Det vs. Indet Debate): There is some conflicting information regarding its growth habit. Commercial Russian vendors (like Redko) list it as a determinate, and some growers report it stopping around … Read more
Quick Summary of Tomawak (Tamawak) 🌍 Origin & History: A fascinating “supermarket rescue” variety! It originally started as a commercial ribbed tomato imported from Spain (or Holland) under the name Tomawak (likely a play on “Tomahawk” due to its ribbed shape). Forum members saved seeds from the store-bought fruit, and it successfully de-hybridized over several … Read more
Quick Summary of Tayana (Тайяна) 🌍 Origin: A unique Russian dwarf variety, primarily known among collectors for its highly ornamental appearance. 🌿 Plant Habit & Leaves: Determinate (dwarf bush). It stays very compact, reaching only 45-50 cm (18-20 inches) in height. The absolute standout feature is its highly dissected, lacy, carrot-like foliage (similar to the … Read more
Quick Summary of Timofeich (Тимофеич) 🌍 Origin: A highly productive Russian commercial variety, originally distributed by the GISOK seed company. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. The bush is described as very powerful, easily growing over 2 meters (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse setting. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, slightly oblate (flattened) beefsteaks. Growers … Read more
Quick Summary of Tie Feen (Tiffan) 🌍 Origin & The Name Mystery: Known in Russian collections as Tie Feen (Ти Феен), forum members suspect this is actually a localized mispronunciation of the American heirloom “Tiffan”. Tatiana Kouchnareva’s database lists Tiffan as a potato-leaf pink beefsteak from Dorothy Beiswenger (MN). 🌿 Plant Habit & Genetics: Indeterminate, … Read more