Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Jersey Giant 🌍 Origin: A rare heritage paste tomato originally from New Jersey, USA. It is highly valued among global collectors for its massive, meaty fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A sprawling, late-season, and very vigorous plant. Produces reliably with no skipped trusses. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Huge, elongated red paste/plum tomatoes … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Jalpa 🌍 Origin: A beautiful striped paste tomato popular among Eastern European collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate. Grows as a very sturdy, compact tree-type bush (shtamb), typically reaching about 24 inches (60 cm) tall outdoors. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Elongated, red paste tomatoes with striking yellow stripes. Length is about 4-4.7 inches … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dusya Krasnaya (Red Dusya) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety, famously sold by the Siberian Garden (SibSad) seed company. 🌿 Plant Habit: Officially listed as a mid-sized plant (3-5 feet), but many growers report it behaving like a sturdy tree-type dwarf or semi-determinate, often staying under 3-4 feet when grown outdoors. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dix Doigts de Naples 🌍 Origin: A classic heirloom paste tomato from Italy. It is most commonly found in seed catalogs under its French translation, Dix Doigts de Naples, which means “Ten Fingers of Naples” (in Italian: Dieci Dita di Napoli). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A very vigorous and highly productive … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gerkules (Hercules) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial determinate variety (seeds distributed by ASK). The name translates to “Hercules.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). While commercial packets claim it stays extremely dwarf (10-16 inches / 26-40 cm), growers report it easily grows to nearly 3 ft (80-90 cm) in good garden soil. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gumanitarnyi iz SShA (US Humanitarian Aid) 🌍 Origin: A fascinating piece of Cold War/Post-Soviet history! These seeds were originally distributed to Russian citizens in 1995 in commercial packets as part of United States humanitarian aid programs. The original variety name was lost, so Russian seed savers preserved and circulated it under … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gibrid Tarasenko No. 7 (Tarasenko Hybrid 7) 🌍 Origin: Bred by the legendary Soviet/Ukrainian breeder Feodosiy Tarasenko. Crucial Note: Despite having “Hybrid” in its name, this is a fully stabilized, open-pollinated (OP) heirloom variety. You absolutely can (and should!) save seeds from it. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). It grows very … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Grushovka (Little Pear) 🌍 Origin: A legendary Russian heirloom name, but be aware: there are multiple distinct strains circulating under this name! The two most famous are the commercial strain bred by N.M. Egorov (a compact bush) and an old family heirloom strain popularized by a grower named Natalya Borisovna (a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gusinoe Yaytso (Goose Egg) 🌍 Origin: A very popular commercial heirloom released by the Russian seed company Siberian Garden (SibSad). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), highly vigorous. It frequently exceeds 6.5 ft (2 m) in a greenhouse. Standout feature: It exhibits “wispy” or drooping foliage, which is common for large paste … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Svitera (Giant Sweater) 🌍 Origin: Claimed to be from the USA, but circulated in Russia under the translated name “Gigant Svitera”. It is highly likely a renamed or mistranslated classic American paste tomato. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very vigorous and powerful grower that can easily reach the roof of … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): General Kornilov 🌍 Origin: Pink heirloom variety from Russia. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Can be kept to a moderate 4 ft (1.2 m) out in the open ground, but turns into an absolute monster “tree” in a greenhouse, easily shooting past 6.5 ft (2 m). Very vigorous. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gribnoe Lukoshko (Mushroom Basket) 🌍 Origin: A very famous Russian commercial heirloom released by Siberian Garden (SibSad). The name translates directly to “Mushroom Basket,” perfectly describing its heavily ribbed, woven-basket-like shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate / Semi-determinate. Depending on the growing conditions, it can stay bushy and compact around 4 ft … Read more