Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
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 Sigarovidnyi Malinovyi (Raspberry Cigar) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the “Aelita” seed company. The name translates to “Raspberry Cigar” (or Crimson Cigar), perfectly describing its shape and color. Amazing seed saver fact from this thread: A grower successfully germinated seeds that had expired 13 years prior! 🌿 Plant Habit: … Read more
Quick Summary of Lilac Plum (Sirenevaya Sliva) 🌍 Origin: Sourced from the famous Ukrainian tomato breeder and seed collector Aleksey Kulik. The name translates to “Lilac Plum”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. Growers note that the bush is very powerful and can easily support being pruned to 3 main stems to maximize … Read more
Quick Summary of Brown Sugar (Sakhar Korichnevyi) 🌍 Origin & Marketing: A dark/brown Russian commercial variety, famously sold by the SeDek seed company. The packet description makes wild marketing claims, calling it a “rejuvenating apple” with anti-cancer and anti-heart-attack properties. The name translates to “Brown Sugar”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially listed as an indeterminate. However, … Read more
Quick Summary of Heart of Compassion (Serdtse Dobroty) 🌍 Origin: An Eastern European heirloom. The name translates beautifully to “Heart of Compassion” (Serdtse Dobroty). Distributed by well-known private seed collectors like Valentina Redko. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It is a late-season variety, requiring a longer growing period to reach full maturity. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
Quick Summary of White Sugar (Sakhar Belyi) 🌍 Origin: An Eastern European heirloom variety. The name translates directly to “White Sugar” (Sakhar Belyi). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but often behaves as a mid-sized sprawling bush in open ground, reaching about 1.6 meters (5.2 ft). It is a mid-to-late season variety. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Medium-sized … Read more
Quick Summary of Santa Cruz 🌍 Origin: Often circulated by Russian seed collectors (like V. Popenko). It is widely positioned in the community as an “improved De Barao” (referencing the legendary Eastern European canning variety). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (very tall), easily reaching 2.5 meters (8+ ft). Growers describe the bush as a “monster”—very vigorous … Read more
Quick Summary of Smilyanskiy Rudasa 🌍 Origin & History: A rare Eastern European heirloom with a great backstory. It was bred by Ukrainian breeder A.P. Rudas. The seeds in this thread took a fascinating journey: bought at a market in Hungary, brought to Germany, and then shared with Russian growers. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). … Read more
Quick Summary of Sozvezdie Vesov (Constellation Libra) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety from Siberian Garden (SibSad). The name translates to “Constellation Libra” (often just sold as “Libra” / “Vesy”). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching about 1.7m (5.6 ft). The bush is not overly vigorous or densely leafed. Growers recommend pruning and training it to … Read more
Quick Summary of Family Variety from Zurab Kukhianidze 🌍 Origin & History: An authentic old Georgian family heirloom. The 15-year-old seeds were originally saved by the father of a forum member’s husband (Zurab Kukhianidze) in Georgia. The Russian tomato community successfully germinated these old seeds, saved the strain from extinction, and affectionately nicknamed it “Zurabchik”. … Read more
Quick Summary of Sibirskiy Kazak (Siberian Cossack) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety (often sold by the Aelita seed company). The name translates to “Siberian Cossack.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Outdoors in open ground, it usually stops around 1.2–1.3m (4 ft), but in a greenhouse, it easily reaches 1.8m (6 ft). It is a mid-to-late … Read more
Quick Summary of Virginia Sweets 🌍 The “Full Circle” Journey: Virginia Sweets is a well-known American bicolor heirloom. However, watching it grow in the harsh climates of Russia and Siberia offers fascinating insights! In Eastern Europe, the name is often literally translated as “The Sweets of Virginia” or “Virginia’s Candies,” leading to some funny linguistic … Read more