Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dobrynya Nikitich 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety. It is named after Dobrynya Nikitich, a famous, legendary bogatyr (knight/hero) from ancient Russian folklore known for his immense strength and size. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, growing 5-6.5 feet (1.5-2 m) tall. It is recommended to top the plant after the 8th-10th truss … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): De Barao Gigant (Giant De Barao) 🌍 Origin: A large-fruited mutation/selection from the legendary Russian “De Barao” family of workhorse canning tomatoes. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Incredibly vigorous, massive plants that easily exceed 6.5 feet (2 m) even when grown outdoors. Requires strong staking and support. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large plum/oval … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Jersey Giant 🌍 Origin: A rare heritage paste tomato originally from New Jersey, USA. It is highly valued among global collectors for its massive, meaty fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A sprawling, late-season, and very vigorous plant. Produces reliably with no skipped trusses. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Huge, elongated red paste/plum tomatoes … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dynnye (Melon) 🌍 The Heirloom Mystery: “Dynnye” translates to “Melon” or “Melon-like”. However, as this thread perfectly illustrates, there are at least three completely different tomatoes circulating in the seed-trading world under this exact name. 🍅 Variant 1 (The Determinate Beefsteak): A determinate (bush) plant producing light-yellow oblate (flattened) beefsteaks up … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Datterini Red 🌍 Origin: An Italian-style heirloom/commercial variety. The name “Datterini” translates to “little dates”, perfectly describing their elongated, grape-like shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very vigorous and heavily branched. Best grown by removing all suckers up to the first flower cluster, then allowing multiple stems to develop for maximum … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): De Barao (Red) 🌍 Origin: An absolute legend in the post-Soviet gardening world. Supposedly originally hailing from Brazil, it was introduced to the USSR in the 1990s and became a staple for millions of gardeners. This thread focuses on the classic Red version, though there are Black, Pink, and Yellow variants. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): De Barao Tsarsky (Royal) 🌍 Origin: A premium, upgraded offshoot of the legendary Russian “De Barao” family. The name “Tsarsky” translates to “Royal” or “Tsar’s”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A massive, towering vine that loves to climb. Shows excellent resistance to Leaf Mold (Cladosporium) and extreme heat, but generally requires a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): De Barao Gold / Yellow 🌍 Origin: Part of the legendary Russian “De Barao” family. De Barao varieties (which come in Red, Black, Pink, Gold, and Giant) are famous across Eastern Europe for their extreme ruggedness and cold tolerance. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A massive, towering vine that can easily reach … 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 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): Giant of Siebenburgen 🌍 Origin: A historic European heirloom originating from the Siebenbürgen region (modern-day Transylvania, Romania). In Russia, it circulates as Gigant Zibenburgena. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching over 6.5 ft (2 m) inside a greenhouse. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, red, classic oxheart-shaped tomatoes. They are very meaty and … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gostinets 🌍 Origin: A Russian variety released as part of the “Vkusnoteka” (Tasty Collection) line. The name roughly translates to “A Little Gift” or “Treat”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but growers report it being fairly manageable, reaching about 5 ft (1.5 m) in a greenhouse. Requires staking and pruning. 🍅 … Read more