Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 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 Summary (TL;DR): Klubnichnoe Derevo (Strawberry Tree) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety released in 2015 by the Siberian Garden (Sibsad) seed company. Not to be confused with the old European heirloom “German Red Strawberry”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but stays somewhat manageable. Outdoors it reaches about 3.3-4 feet (1-1.2 m), though it … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cuban Salami 🌍 Origin: A relatively rare and highly sought-after variety in the Russian/Eastern European seed swapping community. Its exact origins are a mystery, but most growers agree it is likely an accidental (or intentional) cross involving the famous “Cuban Pepper-shaped” (Kubinskiy Pertsevidnyi) black paste tomato. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Karl 🌍 Origin: A rare Eastern European heirloom passed around by private collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An absolute beast of a plant. Growers report it easily reaching 8-10 feet (2.5-3 m) with the most massive root system they’ve ever seen. It pushes suckers very aggressively, so stay on top … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ispanskiy Shokolad (Spanish Chocolate) 🌍 Origin: An unofficial “folk” variety that originated from seed swaps on Russian social media. The name translates directly to “Spanish Chocolate”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching up to 6.5 feet (2 m). Growers report mixed fruiting habits. Some get a long, continuous harvest, while others … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ispanskiy Gigant (Spanish Giant) 🌍 Origin: A Russian collector’s variety circulating under the “working name” Spanish Giant. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and a reliable, heavy yielder. It is a late-season variety. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large red beefsteaks. They are mostly oblate (flattened and ribbed), though the plant occasionally throws wide, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Intuition F1 (Intuitsiya F1) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian F1 hybrid, primarily released by the seed company Gavrish. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indet. An incredibly vigorous, disease-resistant plant. It sets fruit reliably in any weather (hot or cold) and keeps producing right up until the first hard frost. Growers highly recommend pruning … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Green Zebra 🌍 Origin: A legendary American variety bred by Tom Wagner (Tater Mater Seeds) in 1983. It is arguably the most famous green-when-ripe tomato in the world. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Can be a bit of a slow starter and sometimes grows spindly outdoors, but yields are generally reliable. It … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Green Honey 🌍 Origin: A US-bred variety that gained massive popularity among European and Russian growers through local seed catalogs. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A true workhorse with an incredible harvest window, pumping out fruit right up until the first frost. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Cocktail-sized beauties weighing up to 2.1 oz … Read more
Quick Summary of Zagadka Prirody (Nature’s Riddle) 📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zagadka Prirody 🌍 Origin: A highly popular commercial Russian bicolor beefsteak introduced by the Siberian Garden (SibSad) seed company. The name translates to “Nature’s Riddle” or “Enigma of Nature”. 🌿 Plant Habit (Beware of Off-types!): The true variety is a massive, extremely vigorous indeterminate … Read more
Quick Summary of Zarzhavevshaya Dusha (Rusty Soul) 📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zarzhavevshaya Dusha 🌍 Origin: A relatively recent artisanal variety developed by the famous Latvian tomato breeder, Valdis Puliņš. The name translates to “Rusty Soul” (or “Rusted Soul”). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A massive, incredibly vigorous plant that can easily handle being pruned to multiple … Read more
Quick Summary of Zolotoy Dozhd (Golden Rain) 📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zolotoy Dozhd 🌍 Origin: A legendary Russian heirloom heavily discussed in the gardening community. Important: There is a massive mix-up in the commercial seed market. Commercial packets (from companies like Poisk or SeDeK) often contain small pear-shaped cherries. The true forum heirloom (traced back … Read more