Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Zhenskaya Grud 📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zhenskaya Grud 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom oxheart variety. The name “Zhenskaya Grud” translates to “Woman’s Breast”, named for its distinct shape. There is also a very similar (or possibly identical) strain circulating under the name “Devichya Grud” (Maiden’s Breast). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Grows to … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Evgeniya 🌍 Origin: Bred in 2009 by the well-known tomato breeder Ruslan Dukhov. Not to be confused with the commercial determinate variety “Zhenechka”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very vigorous vines that easily reach over 10 ft (3 m). 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Massive pink strawberry-shaped/oxheart tomatoes. They are very meaty and … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gonsiorovski’s Home Heart 🌍 Origin: A legendary family heirloom from Minusinsk, Siberia, maintained by the Gonsiorovski family. It is sometimes sold or traded under the name “Minusinsk Hearts from Gonsiorovski”. The name translates to “Gonsiorovski’s Home Heart”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, growing up to 6.5 feet (2m). Like many classic oxhearts, … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Jovan 🌍 Origin: A rugged, highly productive heirloom from Serbia. Developed/maintained by the well-known Serbian tomato breeder and seed saver, Živojin Antić. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Growers report it is incredibly resilient, producing high yields even during seasons with severe temperature swings and poor weather. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, raspberry-pink oxhearts. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Galina 🌍 Origin: Commercial/heirloom variety. Note: Do not confuse this with the famous “Galina’s Yellow” cherry tomato from Siberia! This is a completely different, large-fruited red/pink oxheart. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), growing very vigorously up to 8 ft (2.5 m) in a greenhouse. Because the vines are so strong, it … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigant Novikova (Novikov’s Giant) 🌍 Origin: Bred by Russian hobby gardener A.I. Novikov. It was introduced to North American heirloom collectors in 2007 by Andrey Baranovski of Minsk, Belarus. According to the original lore, Novikov grew towering vines in his greenhouse and harvested up to 66 lbs (30 kg) from a … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Grightmire’s Pride 🌍 Origin: A famous heirloom originally from Yugoslavia. It was introduced to the North American heirloom tomato community by Fred Grightmire of Ohio, USA. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching up to 6.5 ft (2 m) in a greenhouse. It exhibits the classic oxheart “wispy” or weeping foliage (drooping … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Hungarian Oval 🌍 Origin: A well-known international heirloom variety. In this thread, seeds were sourced from the famous Russian collector V. Redko. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Unlike many wispy oxheart varieties, this one has strong, vigorous vines. It produces heavily and responds well to being pruned to 2 main stems in … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Volovye Serdtse (Ox’s Heart) 🌍 Origin & Naming: A classic commercial heirloom from Russia, officially registered in 2000 by “NK-LTD” (Semena NK). Language Note: In Russian, “Volovye” means Ox, and “Bychie” means Bull. While Americans use the term “Oxheart” as a generic shape category, in Russia, Volovye Serdtse (Ox’s Heart) and … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vjerino 🌍 Origin: A treasured family heirloom originating from Bosnia. This variety holds a special place in the heirloom community because the seeds were passed down from a Bosnian woman’s stepdaughter directly to the late Dr. Carolyn Male, a legendary American tomato grower and author. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Velmozha (Nobleman) 🌍 Origin: A well-known commercial variety from Russia. The name “Velmozha” translates to “Nobleman” or “Grandee”. It was developed by the Institute of Cytology and Genetics (Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) as an improved, determinate version of the famous Budenovka tomato. It is officially listed in … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Blyudo Rozovoe (Pink Dish) 🌍 Origin: The name translates to “Pink Dish” or “Pink Platter”, which perfectly describes its size and primary use as a top-tier slicing tomato. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and mid-season. This variety is incredibly resilient! Growers report it performing admirably outdoors even under severe weather stress … Read more