Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Volovye Serdtse Polosatoe 🌍 Origin: A Russian variety. The name literally translates to “Striped Oxheart” or “Striped Cow’s Heart”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Generally classed as an indeterminate, but multiple growers report it behaves almost like a determinate or semi-determinate, abruptly capping its own growth around 2.3 to 4 feet (70-120 cm). … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Volf Zossi (Wolf Zossi) 🌍 Origin: A variety originating from Germany. It was introduced to the Russian heirloom community by seed collector Vyacheslav Feldman. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), regular leaf (RL), mid-season maturity. Growers report it yields very well when pruned to 2 or 3 stems. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bulgarian Wine Giant 🌍 Origin: A highly prized heirloom variety with roots in Bulgaria, popularized among Russian seed collectors (like V. Redko). The original name is Vinnyi Bolgarskiy Velikan. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very vigorous vines that can easily reach 10 ft (3 m) in a greenhouse, often draped over … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Black Vernissage (Vernisazh Chernyi) 🌍 Origin: A very popular, striking variety bred by Ukrainian tomato breeder Ruslan Dukhov. It is part of the famous “Vernissage” series, which also includes Pink, Yellow, and Green variations. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An extremely vigorous and productive vine that easily reaches over 6.5 ft … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Volovyi Ushi (Ox Ears) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial and heirloom variety. The name translates to “Ox Ears” (sometimes sold as Volovye Ushko or “Little Ox Ear”). Note: Multiple seed companies (like Altai Seeds and Myazina) sell lines under this name, resulting in wild variations in fruit shape and size. 🌿 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Viking 🌍 Origin & Confusion: This thread discusses a large, red heirloom variety originally sourced from Sweden. Important Note: There is an officially registered Russian commercial variety also named “Viking,” but that one produces small yellow tomatoes. The Swedish “Viking” discussed here is completely different. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vareniki 🌍 Origin & Name: A fantastic commercial heirloom originating from Northern Kazakhstan. The name “Vareniki” translates to traditional Eastern European dumplings (similar to pierogi). It was named this because the ideal fruit shape is supposed to resemble a dumpling – a plump, half-moon or boat shape, often finishing with a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): White Wonder 🌍 Origin: A classic, well-known American heirloom variety prized for its unique pale color. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Produces an average yield. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, oblate (flattened and round) beefsteaks weighing around 10.5–17.5 oz (300–500 g). They are a creamy white color, developing a faint pink blush on … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bugay Rozovyi (Bugay Pink) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the Siberian Garden (Sib-Sad) seed company. “Bugay” is Russian slang for a large, muscular, towering man. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Reaches 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m) in height. It is an absolute workhorse variety with fantastic heat tolerance—it will continue … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bolshoy Rozovyi Vernisazh (Large Pink Vernisage) 🌍 Origin: Part of the famous “Vernisage” series created by Ukrainian breeder Ruslan Dukhov. The name translates to “Large Pink Vernisage”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-early maturity. It is a sprawling, sturdy, and highly vigorous plant. It is very forgiving—you can prune it to 2 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Barmaley 🌍 Origin: Variety from the Siberian Garden (Sib-Sad) seed company. It is named after “Barmaley”, a famous pirate villain from classic Russian children’s fairy tales. 🌿 Plant Habit: A reliable mid-season variety that performs well both in greenhouses and outdoors in open ground. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Beautiful pinkish-raspberry slicers. Major … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Banzai 🌍 Origin: A Russian variety sold commercially by companies like Gavrish, though some growers have been saving their own family strains of this tomato since the 1990s. 🌿 Plant Habit: The commercial packet lists it as a 5 ft (1.5 m) plant, but growers consistently report it behaves as a … Read more