Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Dwarf Sunkissed Peach is a mid-season dwarf variety that produces beautiful, elongated bicolor plum tomatoes. The compact plants stay short, reaching about 2-2.3 ft (60-70 cm) tall. The grower praises its sweet, fruity flavor and meaty, aromatic flesh that looks absolutely stunning when sliced open. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Colibri F1 is a vigorous indeterminate French hybrid from Clause. While technically marketed as a “salad/slicer plum,” growers find its firm texture and uniform 5.5-6 oz (160-170 g) red fruits absolutely perfect for canning whole. It features short internodes and throws massive, often forked clusters, making it a heavy yielder in the … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Koster 🌍 Origin: A popular Russian commercial heirloom variety. The name translates to “Campfire” or “Bonfire”. Popularized by the Russian seed vendor Valery Medvedev. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Very compact and stocky, typically staying between 16 to 27 inches (40-70 cm) tall. Does exceptionally well outdoors but can drop blossoms … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Italiansky Delikates (Italian Delicacy) 🌍 Origin: Sourced from Eastern European seed swaps, specifically popularized by the legendary Ukrainian private seed collector V.F. Siray. The name translates to “Italian Delicacy”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Grows up to 6.5 feet (2 m) outdoors. It has very short internodes, meaning the plant gets … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Izumrudnye (Emeralds) 🌍 Origin: Grown from seeds originally sourced from China. The Russian working name translates to “Emeralds”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A very vigorous plant that throws a lot of suckers, but uniquely, it sets fruit very well on those unpruned suckers. It has distinctive, heavily serrated foliage. 🍅 Fruit … Read more
Quick Summary of Black Emperor 🌍 Origin: A beautiful and productive dark plum tomato variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and tall. Generally considered a mid-season variety, though some growers in colder climates note that it begins ripening quite early for them. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Medium-sized, plum-shaped fruits that ripen to a deep purple/brownish-black color. 👅 … Read more
Quick Summary of Superekzotik (Super Exotic) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular Eastern European/Russian commercial heirloom. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It is a very vigorous vine, with growers reporting heights anywhere from 1.7 m to almost 2.5 m (5.5 to 8 ft) in a greenhouse. The foliage is relatively sparse/airy, allowing good light penetration. 🍅 … Read more
Quick Summary of Santa Cruz 🌍 Origin: Often circulated by Russian seed collectors (like V. Popenko). It is widely positioned in the community as an “improved De Barao” (referencing the legendary Eastern European canning variety). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (very tall), easily reaching 2.5 meters (8+ ft). Growers describe the bush as a “monster”—very vigorous … Read more
Quick Summary of Sprut Slivka F1 (Octopus Plum F1) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular commercial F1 hybrid from Russia. It is part of the famous “Sprut” (Octopus) series of hybrids, which were aggressively marketed as being able to grow into massive “tomato trees” under hydroponic commercial conditions. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and exceptionally vigorous. Even … Read more
Quick Summary of Sladkiy Kesidi (Sweet Casady) 🌍 Origin: A very popular elongated striped variety. Known globally as “Sweet Casady” (originally bred by Tom Wagner), it is widely grown and traded among Russian and Eastern European collectors under the translated name “Sladkiy Kesidi”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and extremely vigorous! Growers describe the foliage as … Read more
Quick Summary of Palchiki (Little Fingers) 🌍 Origin: A classic Russian “family heirloom” (folk breeding) originating from the Rostov region. The original poster has maintained this variety in her family collection for over 20 years. The name Palchiki translates to “Little Fingers”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Outdoors in open ground, it grows to about … Read more
Quick Summary of Streak Lightning (Polosa Molnii) 🌍 Origin: A stunning striped and anthocyanin (purple-splashed) variety. In Russian collections, it circulates under the translated name Polosa Molnii. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching 1.4–1.8m (4.5–6 ft). Seedlings can look remarkably spindly and fragile (wispy foliage), but the plant gains moderate vigor once planted out. Avoid … Read more