Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Boloto (Swamp) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian commercial heirloom originally introduced by the seed company TomAgroS (formerly GISOK). The name “Boloto” translates to “Swamp”. It was named for its unusual muddy, bronze-green, olive color when fully ripe. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but generally on the shorter side. Growers report it … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bychie Serdtse Oranzhevoe (Orange Oxheart) 🌍 Origin & Confusion: A popular commercial Russian variety sold by various seed companies (Russkiy Ogorod, Poisk, Sibsad, etc.). However, growers report massive variations depending on the seed vendor. It is often confused with varieties like Liskin Nos (Fox Nose), Oranzhevoe Serdtse (Orange Heart), and Korol … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Babushkina Radost (Grandma’s Joy) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded heirloom variety circulated by Russian and Ukrainian private seed collectors (originally sourced from a Ukrainian grape growers’ forum and popularized by Vera Monakhova). The name translates to “Grandma’s Joy”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A tall, vigorous plant that easily reaches 2 meters … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bolshaya Medveditsa (Ursa Major) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial and heirloom variety (circulated by commercial vendors and private collectors like Kulik). The name translates to “Ursa Major” or “The Great Bear.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A tall, vigorous vine that reaches 1.8m to over 2m (6 to 6.5+ ft) depending on … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bochkovoy Zasol (Barrel Pickling) 🌍 Origin & Name: An old heirloom variety originating from the Astrakhan region of Russia. The name translates to “Barrel Pickling” or “Barrel Fermentation.” It is named after the traditional Russian method of fermenting whole vegetables in large wooden barrels for the winter, implying these tomatoes are … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Black John (Blek Dzhon) 🌍 Origin: A dark Russian variety circulated by domestic seed vendors (like Brizhan and L. Myazina). Note: Some growers report older seed lines segregating, producing a mix of Potato Leaf (PL) and Regular Leaf (RL) plants. The original, stable strain should be PL. 🌿 Plant Habit: Tall … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bychiy Lob (Bull’s Forehead) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Siberian variety released by the Russian seed company “Siberian Garden” (SibSad). The name translates to “Bull’s Forehead” in English. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, though some growers report that it occasionally self-tops (terminates with a flower truss) around 6.5 ft (2m) in the greenhouse. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Babushkino (Grandma’s) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular heirloom variety widely circulated among collectors. The name translates to “Grandma’s”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and tall (easily pushing past 7 ft / 2m in a greenhouse). An absolute workhorse of a plant that pumps out heavy yields. Often grown to 2 or … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Burracker’s Favorite 🌍 Origin: A famous heirloom variety from the USA (Virginia), named after the Burracker Hollow in the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was introduced to the gardening world by Craig LeHoullier. In Russia, it’s known as “Burrakerskie Lyubimtsy”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. The plant is notorious for having somewhat “wimpy” … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Banan Oranzhevyi (Orange Banana) 🌍 Origin: A popular commercial Russian variety (widely distributed by seed companies like Gavrish and Aelita). The name translates to “Orange Banana”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Mostly indeterminate (growing over 6.5 ft / 2 m in greenhouses), though some growers report shorter determinate strains. It has a characteristic … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bolshaya Malina (Big Raspberry) 🌍 Origin: Russian heirloom variety. The name translates to “Big Raspberry”. The original seeds in this thread trace back to the well-known Russian tomato collector V. Redko. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). The height varies significantly depending on growing conditions: about 1.1m (3.5 ft) in open ground, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Big Girl (Большая девочка) 🌍 Origin: Often circulated among Russian and Ukrainian collectors under the name “Bolshaya Devochka” (Big Girl) or sometimes incorrectly as “Bonnie Magnificent”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Outdoors it stays relatively compact (around 3 ft / 1 m), but in a greenhouse, it easily reaches 5.5 ft (1.7 … Read more