Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 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
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bulgarian Wine Giant 🌍 Origin: A highly prized heirloom variety with roots in Bulgaria, popularized among Russian seed collectors (like V. Redko). The original name is Vinnyi Bolgarskiy Velikan. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very vigorous vines that can easily reach 10 ft (3 m) in a greenhouse, often draped over … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vinson (Vinson Watts) 🌍 Origin & Name Confusion: This variety circulates in Eastern Europe simply as “Vinson”. However, based on the description (large pink beefsteaks with Potato Leaf foliage), it is almost certainly the legendary American heirloom Vinson Watts, brought over and shortened in translation. Vinson Watts is a famous heirloom … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Viking 🌍 Origin & Confusion: This thread discusses a large, red heirloom variety originally sourced from Sweden. Important Note: There is an officially registered Russian commercial variety also named “Viking,” but that one produces small yellow tomatoes. The Swedish “Viking” discussed here is completely different. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vanka (Little Ivan) 🌍 Origin & Name: A private Russian heirloom variety that gained popularity through seed collector Anzhelika Manusha. The name “Vanka” is an affectionate, colloquial diminutive of the name Ivan (essentially meaning “Little Ivan” or “Johnny”). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but highly praised for not being an overly … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): White Wonder 🌍 Origin: A classic, well-known American heirloom variety prized for its unique pale color. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Produces an average yield. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, oblate (flattened and round) beefsteaks weighing around 10.5–17.5 oz (300–500 g). They are a creamy white color, developing a faint pink blush on … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bugay Rozovyi (Bugay Pink) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the Siberian Garden (Sib-Sad) seed company. “Bugay” is Russian slang for a large, muscular, towering man. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Reaches 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m) in height. It is an absolute workhorse variety with fantastic heat tolerance—it will continue … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Belyi Velikan (White Giant) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety. The name translates to “White Giant”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and highly productive. It reliably sets heavy clusters, typically pushing out 5 to 6 large fruits per truss. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, ivory-white to pale yellow beefsteaks. The shape is noticeably … Read more