Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Red Cluster Pear (Kist Krasnykh Grush) is an indeterminate cherry tomato that produces absolutely massive, multiflora-style trusses of small, red, pear-shaped fruits. Known for its wonderfully sweet flavor and a very long harvest window, it is a highly productive and visually stunning variety for greenhouse or trellis growing. Full summary ↓ Growers’ … Read more
🍅 Quick take: King Penguin (Korolevskiy Pingvin) is a meaty, dark pink, elongated indeterminate tomato. While there is some debate over different seed lines (including a tree-type variant), the strain grown by these forum members is a well-behaved vine reaching about 5 feet (1.5 m). Growers rave about its sweet, low-acid flavor and dense flesh, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Krasa Dlinnaya Kosa (which translates to “Beauty With a Long Braid”) is an extremely vigorous, indeterminate red cherry tomato sold by the Russian seed company Biotekhnika. It is famous for its massive, double fan-shaped blossom clusters that produce a heavy yield of sweet, good-sized cherry tomatoes. It thrives outdoors and handles growing … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Krupnaya Grozd (Large Cluster) is an indeterminate, mid-season red oxheart tomato originating from Eastern Europe. It produces heavy yields of large, meaty, heart-shaped fruits that average around 12 oz (350 g), though some vendor descriptions claim they can reach over 2 lbs (1 kg). Growers appreciate its solid production and great late-summer … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kievlyanka (Woman of Kiev) is a vigorous, indeterminate pink heirloom that produces large, meaty plum or heart-shaped fruits weighing anywhere from 7 oz to 1 lb (200-450 g). Growers praise its dense, sugary “watermelon-like” flesh and rich flavor. While it can start slow and is often considered a mid-late to late-season variety, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Chinese Tree (Kitayskoe Derevo) is an indeterminate red tomato that produces heavy yields of large, meaty plum/paste fruits weighing 5-9 oz (150-250 g). Growers praise it for its excellent sweet flavor, firm texture, and outstanding shelf life. It even retains its taste well when ripened on the counter. Full summary ↓ Growers’ … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Karacharovsky Mayak (Karacharovo Lighthouse) 🌍 Origin: An old amateur Russian heirloom from the historic village of Karacharovo. The name translates to “Karacharovo Lighthouse”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) greenhouse variety. It is a very vigorous, heavily foliated vine with an incredible will to survive tough conditions. It responds well to being … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Beauty Queen Heart 🌍 Origin: A gorgeous bicolor oxheart variety. In this thread, growers trace their seed lines back to Russian collector V. Redko and Marianna’s Heirloom Seeds in the US. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching up to 6.5 feet (2 m). A very vigorous grower with regular foliage that … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Canadian Heritage (Canada) 🌍 Origin: The exact history is a bit murky, but it is widely believed to have originated in the US or Canada before becoming a highly sought-after collectible variety among Eastern European growers. Often sold simply as “Canada”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching around 6.5 feet (2 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Caspian Pink 🌍 Origin: A legendary heirloom originally sourced from Russia/Kazakhstan. It gained massive fame in North America for reportedly beating the famous Brandywine in taste tests. Russian seed vendors later re-imported it, marketing it heavily as the “Queen of all Pink Tomatoes.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and naturally bushy. It … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Korol Londona (King of London) 🌍 Origin: A famous Russian heirloom name surrounded by confusion. There are at least two completely different varieties sharing this name. The original old strain comes from Russian breeder N.S. Bykhanov and produces large, oblate beefsteaks. Modern commercial seed companies (like Siberian Garden) sell a variety under … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cardio 🌍 Origin: An Italian heirloom variety popularized by V. Redko. The name “Cardio” perfectly matches its classic, broad anatomical heart shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Reaches about 6 to 6.5 feet (1.8-2 m) in a greenhouse but adapts excellently to open ground. Known for its fantastic fruit set, rarely … Read more