Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Pascal de Picardie (originally developed under the working title Crazy Horse Antho Paste) was bred by Dean Slater (USA) and named in honor of French tomato enthusiast Pascal Antigny. An indeterminate vine characterized by distinctively wispy, weeping foliage, it yields elongated, pointed plums weighing 2.1 to 4.6 oz (60-130 g) that turn … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Pera D’Abruzzo (frequently traded simply as Abruzzo) is an ancient indeterminate Italian heirloom originating from the coastal and mountainous Abruzzo region. It bears heavy clusters of large, deeply ribbed, bell- or pear-shaped red beefsteaks weighing 7 to 12.7 oz (200-360 g), with pruned plants capable of pushing 2.2 lb (1 kg). Celebrated … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Maiden’s Kiss is an open-pollinated variety originally hailing from Nebraska, USA (introduced around 2007). It is a vigorous, indeterminate, mid-season paste tomato producing meaty, red plum-shaped fruits weighing 6-7.8 oz (170-220 g) and larger. In northern trial conditions, it proved to be a heavy yielder with a balanced sweet-tart profile and excellent … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Menryka is an indeterminate, mid-season variety (stabilized from a commercial hybrid in 2005 by German collector Reinhard Kraft) that produces 1.8 oz (50 g) plump reddish-pink plums with a sharp pointed tip, setting about 8 fruits per truss. Tested in USDA Zone 4, it offers a balanced sweet-tart flavor ideal for whole-fruit … Read more
🍅 Quick take: La-chan-y-ha is a compact, determinate bush paste tomato of Chinese origin, highly valued in cold Siberian regions for its reliability. Plants stay under 32 inches (80 cm) tall while pumping out dense clusters of elongated scarlet plums measuring up to 3 inches (8 cm) long. Unlike many rubbery commercial processing types, the … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Largo de Jauja is a mid-season, indeterminate heirloom (noted here as originating from Spain) that produces long, meaty red plum tomatoes. Growers love it for its fantastic keeping qualities and versatile culinary use. It sets heavy yields of 3.5-7 oz (100-200 g) fruits with very few seeds and almost no gel, making … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kenosha Paste is a highly productive, mid-season indeterminate vine with wispy foliage. It produces meaty, sweet red plum tomatoes weighing around 4.5-5.5 oz. While it is an absolute workhorse for canning and processing, its surprisingly juicy, sweet flavor profile makes it just as fantastic for fresh eating. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes … Read more
🍅 Quick take: IPK LYC 859 El Salvador is an indeterminate, mid-season, multi-purpose red plum tomato with a distinctive pointed tip. While the flavor is described as mild or slightly bland (making it better suited for processing or canning rather than fresh eating), its main standout feature is its massive yield. Growers report that this … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Hugo is an indeterminate, mid-late season paste mater bred by the Czech outfit Moravoseed. Pumping out 7 oz (200 g) blocky, red, pepper-shaped fruits, it boasts a solid disease package and crazy shelf life (up to 4-6 months). Growers praise its resilience through heat and drought, as well as its meaty, tender … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Fiaschetto is a determinate, mid-season plum tomato (these seeds originally sourced from Solana Seeds). The bushes are very compact, reaching only 2 to 2.5 feet tall, and pump out heavy yields of perfect red paste tomatoes. Growers praise it for its excellent disease resistance and bold, old-fashioned tomato flavor. Full summary ↓ … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Fuego Rosa is an indeterminate, pepper-shaped paste variety bred by Fred Hempel. It produces beautiful, glossy pink fruits with gold striping. Growers report good yields, but flavor reviews are wildly mixed: greenhouse growers found it sweet and juicy, while outdoor growers reported thick skins and dry, rubbery flesh. Full summary ↓ Growers’ … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Flaschentomaten (which simply translates to “bottle tomatoes” in German) is an indeterminate, mid-to-late season paste/cherry variety that originated from a German grower (Valera Zonn) who grew out seeds from the commercial hybrid Corianne F1. Because it’s an unstable dehybridization, growers report two main shapes: one with a distinct pointy beak, and one … Read more