Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Sugar Gem F1 (Samotsvet Sakharnyi F1) 🌍 Origin & Name: Another popular commercial hybrid from the Russian SeDek seed company’s “Gem” (Samotsvet) series. The name translates to “Sugar Gem”. Note: Some Ukrainian private collectors sell “de-hybridized” open-pollinated (OP) versions under similar names. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and incredibly vigorous. Growers consistently … Read more
Quick Summary of Super Runner (Supergonets) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian commercial dwarf variety from the SeDek seed company. The name “Supergonets” loosely translates to “Super Runner” or “Super Messenger”, implying speed and earliness. 🌱 Seed Viability Phenomenon: A massive point of interest for seed savers: one forum grower successfully germinated a commercial packet … Read more
Quick Summary of Heartbreaker (Serdtseed) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian commercial heirloom variety. The name translates beautifully into English as “Heartbreaker” (Serdtseed). Cultivated and circulated by well-known private seed collectors like Yashchenko and Redko. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), usually growing to about 1.5 meters (5 ft). It features classic oxheart genetics with sparse, … Read more
Quick Summary of Kelli’s Heart (Serdtse Kelli) 🌍 Origin: Circulated widely by Russian seed collectors (such as V. Redko), though the name suggests Western origins. Translated locally as “Serdtse Kelli”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season variety. It possesses classic oxheart genetics, characterized by very thin, “wispy” or weeping foliage. (Don’t worry if the plant … Read more
Quick Summary of Siberian Crown (Sibirskaya Korona) 🌍 Origin & Name: A robust commercial variety from the Russian seed company Semena Altaya (Seeds of Altai). The name translates to “Siberian Crown”. 🔍 Shape Discrepancy: The official seed packet often describes this variety as an oxheart (heart-shaped). However, growers report that it actually produces round-cuboid (blocky) … Read more
Quick Summary of Serbian Oxheart (Serbskoe Byche Serdtse) 🌍 Origin: A traditional heirloom from Serbia. This variety is very well known in international seed-saving circles, having been circulated heavily by the famous North American collector Tatiana Kushnareva (Tatiana’s TOMATObase). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but on the compact side, typically reaching 1 – 1.2 meters (3-4 … Read more
Quick Summary of Siberian Giant (Sibirskiy Velikan) 🌍 Origin: A classic commercial Siberian variety (this is the traditional red version, not to be confused with Siberian Giant Pink). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and powerful. It grows to about 1.5 – 1.7 meters (5-5.5 ft) tall and performs well in both greenhouses and open ground. … Read more
Quick Summary of Lilac Plum (Sirenevaya Sliva) 🌍 Origin: Sourced from the famous Ukrainian tomato breeder and seed collector Aleksey Kulik. The name translates to “Lilac Plum”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and extremely vigorous. Growers note that the bush is very powerful and can easily support being pruned to 3 main stems to maximize … Read more
Quick Summary of Pink Early Ripener (Skorospelka Rozovaya) 🌍 Origin & Name: A commercial Russian variety. The name translates directly to “Pink Early Ripener” or “Pink Early Bird” (Skorospelka Rozovaya). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (compact bush), moderately branching, reaching a height of 50-70 cm (20-27 inches). Excellent for open ground and temporary film tunnels. 🍅 … Read more
Quick Summary of Sweet Kiss (Sladkiy Potseluy) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian cherry variety produced by the Siberian Garden (SibSad) seed company. The name translates directly to “Sweet Kiss”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Highly adaptable. In open ground, it behaves as a robust semi-determinate, growing to about 80 cm (31 inches). However, inside a greenhouse, it … Read more
Quick Summary of Sugar Giant (Sakharnyi Gigant) 🌍 Origin & Vendor Issues: A large-fruited Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Sugar Giant”. However, there is massive inconsistency between the major seed vendors (Russian Garden/RO vs. Siberian Garden/SibSad). 🔍 The Shape Mystery: The packet from “Russian Garden” promises a large, barrel-like (cuboid) or blocky plum … Read more
Quick Summary of Pink Plum (Sliva Rozovaya) 🌍 Origin & Name: A Russian commercial heirloom. The name translates to “Pink Plum”. Veteran growers note it is virtually identical to a famous variety bred specifically for harsh climates by the Far Eastern Research Institute of Agriculture. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (compact). In open ground, it typically … Read more