Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Altaechka 🌍 Origin: A fantastic commercial heirloom from Siberian breeders (Altai region). The name affectionately translates to “Little Altai Girl”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Compact, reaching about 70-90 cm (27-35 inches) in height. It produces beautiful stocky seedlings and is perfectly suited for open ground. Does not require strict pruning. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Abakan Pink (Abakansky Rozovyi) 🌍 Origin: A highly famous Siberian commercial heirloom. It is known for causing widespread confusion among growers because different Russian seed companies (like Siberian Garden, Poisk, and Altai Seeds) sell vastly different strains under this exact same name. Even the official State Register has two different entries … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Arbuznyi (Watermelon) 🌍 Origin: A well-known Russian commercial commercial variety. The name “Arbuznyi” translates to “Watermelon,” referring to its mahogany-red/dark color with subtle dark green stripes near the shoulders. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Height varies greatly depending on whether it is grown in a greenhouse or open ground. Known for having … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Altai Yellow (Altayskiy Zheltyy) 🌍 Origin: A classic Siberian/Altai regional heirloom from Russia. Available from several commercial seed companies (like “Siberian Garden”), but many collectors grow specific heirloom strains (like the ones from collector Yashchenko). 🌿 Plant Habit: Often classified as a tall determinate or semi-determinate, growing to about 1.5 – … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Antoshka 🌍 Origin: A fantastic early-season Russian commercial variety. The name “Antoshka” is a friendly, diminutive form of the name Anton (often associated with a cheerful cartoon character in Russia). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush/dwarf type). Extremely compact and sturdy, growing only 30-60 cm (12-24 inches) tall. It requires zero pruning … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Amurskiy Tigr (Amur Tiger) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the “Aelita” seed company. ⚠️ The Seed Mystery (Important!): For several years, Aelita accidentally distributed a completely wrong seed (an off-type) under this name. Many early growers ended up with small, red-and-yellow striped cocktail tomatoes with thin skin (suspected … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Apricot Jam (Abrikosovyi Dzhem) 🌍 Origin: A delightful novelty variety circulating among Russian collectors. Experienced growers strongly suspect that this variety is actually synonymous with another famous Russian fuzzy tomato called Yellow Target (Zheltaya Mishen). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), producing powerful, vigorous bushes with large fruit trusses. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Amarillo & Amarillo Armadillo 🌍 Origin: This thread covers experimental/numbered breeding lines sent to Russian growers simply as “Amarillo”, as well as the named exotic variety Amarillo Armadillo. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), regular leaf. Very vigorous and highly productive. The Armadillo variant grows to about 1.6 m (5.2 ft) when … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Apelsinovoe Mango (Orange Mango) 🌍 Origin: Another stunning creation by Russian breeder Sofia Saakova. It is a cross between Blue Orange (Siniy Apelsin) and the classic Heart of Ashgabat (Serdtse Ashkhabada). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), early to mid-season. It features a slender, “wispy” foliage structure typical of many oxhearts. Despite … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Appetitnye Shchechki (Appetizing Cheeks) 🌍 Origin: A modern commercial Russian variety introduced by the “Gavrish” seed company. The name charmingly translates to “Appetizing Cheeks”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season (110-115 days). Recommended for greenhouse growing but can perform well outdoors in warmer zones. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Designed to be a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Anastasia Ushakova 🌍 Origin: A fantastic Russian heirloom variety highly prized for its reliability and beautiful shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and incredibly vigorous. It has a very long fruiting period, producing right up until the frost. Standout feature: Exceptional heat tolerance. Growers in hot, southern climates report that it … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Apelsin (Orange) 🌍 Origin: A very popular commercial Russian heirloom. The name translates literally to “Orange” (the citrus fruit), perfectly describing its appearance. Distributed by major Russian seed companies like SeDeK, Aelita, and Poisk. 🌿 Plant Habit: Generally considered indeterminate (or semi-determinate depending on conditions), mid-season. Growth height varies from 1 … Read more