Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Dark Galaxy 🌍 Origin: Originally bred in the USA by Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms. He released this variety into the world at an early stage (F3/F4 generation), warning that it was slightly unstable. This forum thread is a fascinating deep-dive into how Russian growers stabilized different lines of it over … Read more
Quick Summary of Toniman 🌍 Origin: A rare heirloom variety developed by the well-known Serbian tomato breeder Živojin Antić. It was brought into the Russian collector community by dedicated seed savers. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) vine. Grows very well in greenhouses when pruned to 2 stems. Growers report that it adapts beautifully and continues … Read more
.jpg.3be26f64d2aa3f722df93905ef185187.jpg)
Quick Summary of Tufelki Sultana (Sultan’s Slippers) 🌍 Origin: Another highly sought-after artisanal variety developed by Russian breeder Sofia Saakova. The name translates to “Sultan’s Slippers”, perfectly describing its unique shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and highly productive vine. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Pink, elongated, pepper-shaped paste tomatoes with a distinct curve and a pointy … Read more
.jpg.c1048fd6478383c227463bd037fcc7cf.jpg)
🍅 Quick take: Sofia’s Triumph (Triumf Sofii) is an indeterminate, mid-season tomato bred by Sofia Saakova, with large, tall, flat-round fruits painted in emerald, raspberry, red and yellow, and tricolor flesh. The three growers here find it beautiful, sweet and delicious. The one drawback they mention is a short shelf life. Full summary ↓ Growers’ … Read more
Quick Summary of Tegucigalpa 🌍 Origin: A globally known heirloom variety named after the capital city of Honduras. Highly valued by seed savers for its incredible reliability. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but with a very slender, elegant (wispy) vine structure. Because the plant isn’t overly bushy, growers successfully prune it to 4-5 stems to … Read more
Quick Summary of Tryufel Krasno-Rozovyi (Red-Pink Truffle) 🌍 Origin: A legendary “folk” heirloom circulated widely among Russian seed savers. It was originally distributed by a grower named Galya-64 around the year 2000. Because it had no official name, it spread across the internet under various names: Galya’s Truffle, Raspberry Truffle, or Folk Truffle (Narodnyi). 🌿 … Read more
Quick Summary of Sladkiy Shar (Sweet Globe) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety from the “Semena Altaya” (Altai Seeds) company. The name translates to “Sweet Globe” or “Sweet Sphere.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. It produces large, grayish-green leaves. The foliage is so dense that the fruits tend to hide completely under … Read more
Quick Summary of Sweet Cherry Iskra (Sweet Cherry Spark) 🌍 Origin: Developed by Russian amateur breeder Nikolay Alexandrov from the city of Chelyabinsk. Fun fact: The breeder himself actually chimed in on this very thread to comment on the grower’s results! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, very vigorous, reaching over 2 meters (6.5 ft) in height. … Read more
Quick Summary of Thessaloniki (Saloniki) 🌍 Origin: A famous Greek heirloom that is highly respected and widely grown by Russian and Eastern European gardeners, who often refer to it locally as Saloniki or Fesaloniki. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), though its height heavily depends on the climate. In the colder Russian outdoors, it typically reaches … Read more
Quick Summary of Sibirskaya Liana (Siberian Liana) 🌍 Origin: An old, established Russian heirloom variety that has been kept in private collections for many years. The name translates to “Siberian Liana” (Siberian Vine), referring to its extremely vigorous, climbing growth habit. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall vine). The grower notes that it performs best and … Read more
Quick Summary of Sibirskiy Gigant (Siberian Giant) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the well-known “Gavrish” seed company. The name appropriately translates to “Siberian Giant”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It produces an extremely vigorous and massive vine. Growers report it reaching up to 3 meters (nearly 10 ft) tall when pruned to … Read more
Quick Summary of Salatnye (Salad) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom variety circulated among seed collectors. Interestingly, experienced growers suspect it might be a “twin” (the exact same genetics) of another variety known as Podarok Moey Zhene (My Wife’s Gift). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching about 2 meters (6.5 ft) in height. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more