Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Gargamel is a stunning indeterminate anthocyanin variety bred by Phil Seneca (Secret Seed Cartel). It produces small, egg-shaped fruits with deep purple/black shoulders and striped orange/red bottoms. Growers here universally praise its jaw-dropping looks, excellent storage capabilities, and heat tolerance. However, flavor reviews are highly polarized: it needs abundant sunshine and full … 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 of Yantar (Amber) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety developed by the Kazakh Research Institute of Potato and Vegetable Farming. The name perfectly translates to “Amber”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Semi-determinate. A vigorous, sprawling bush that loves to spread out on the ground if not staked. Extremely low-maintenance and highly heat-resistant, making it perfect for … Read more
Quick Summary of Yaponskaya Roza (Japanese Rose) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Siberian heirloom variety bred for reliability in open ground and unheated greenhouses. The name translates to “Japanese Rose”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (short-growing bush), reaching about 60–80 cm (24–32 inches) in height. Very low maintenance; seed producers recommend pruning suckers only up to the … Read more
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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
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