Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Chernomorskiy (Black Sea Giant) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial/heirloom variety from Russia/Ukraine. The name translates directly to “Black Sea Giant”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), usually growing to about 5.5 to 6 ft (1.7 – 1.8 m) in a greenhouse. It is vigorous enough to be pruned to 2 or … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Giant Belgium Pink 🌍 Origin: A pink strain/selection of the legendary Giant Belgium heirloom, which originated in Ohio (USA) in the 1930s. The original variety was so sweet and massive that commercial growers reportedly used it to make tomato wine! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It is a late-season variety that … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Krasnyi (Red Giant) 🌍 Origin: A classic Russian amateur heirloom variety. The name translates directly to “Red Giant.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and highly vigorous. It grows very tall (easily exceeding 6.5 ft / 2 m) and features large, long, “weeping” or drooping foliage. The first blossom truss sets quite … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Green Giant 🌍 Origin: A legendary green-when-ripe heirloom variety bred by Reinhard Kraft of Neunkirchen, Germany, from a stray potato-leaf plant he found. It has become a gold standard for green tomatoes worldwide. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), featuring vigorous, large Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. Known to be highly productive, though … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Novikova (Novikov’s Giant) 🌍 Origin: Bred by Russian hobby gardener A.I. Novikov. It was introduced to North American heirloom collectors in 2007 by Andrey Baranovski of Minsk, Belarus. According to the original lore, Novikov grew towering vines in his greenhouse and harvested up to 66 lbs (30 kg) from a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Limonnyi (Lemon Giant) 🌍 Origin: A famous Russian heirloom. It is widely distributed by the renowned seed company Siberian Garden (SibSad), as well as kept pure by private collectors. The name translates directly to “Lemon Giant”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), typically reaching around 6 to 6.2 ft (1.8 – … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Granenyi (Faceted) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic old Russian heirloom. The original breeder is unknown, but the seeds were preserved and passed down for over 30 years by a family in Pyatigorsk (Caucasus region, Russia). The name “Granenyi” translates to “Faceted” or “Ribbed,” perfectly describing its distinct shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): General Kornilov 🌍 Origin: Pink heirloom variety from Russia. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Can be kept to a moderate 4 ft (1.2 m) out in the open ground, but turns into an absolute monster “tree” in a greenhouse, easily shooting past 6.5 ft (2 m). Very vigorous. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Trška Gora 🌍 Origin: An incredibly rare and deeply historic family heirloom from Slovenia, originally distributed through Dale Thurber’s seed collection. It was cultivated in the exact same family vineyard for over 40 years before being discovered! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Based on grower photos, it produces … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigantsko Srpsko Srce (Giant Serbian Heart) 🌍 Origin: Heirloom oxheart variety originally from Serbia. The native name “Gigantsko Srpsko Srce” literally translates to “Giant Serbian Heart”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall vining). A very vigorous and highly productive plant. Growers report excellent results when growing it in a greenhouse and pruning … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vechnaya Lyubov (Eternal Love) 🌍 Origin: A beautiful and highly sought-after variety popularized by the famous Ukrainian tomato collector Aleksey Kulik. The name translates romantically to “Eternal Love”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate with Regular Leaf (RL) foliage. It is very adaptable: out in the open ground, it behaves almost like a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vashe Velichestvo (Your Majesty) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety from the Siberian breeder “Altai Seeds”. It is officially listed in the Russian State Register. The name translates to “Your Majesty”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It has classic “oxheart” characteristics, meaning the plant is spindly and flimsy with very thin, wispy … Read more