Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Malinowy Ożarowski (Ozarowski Raspberry) is a highly popular, early-season indeterminate pink tomato from Poland. It is famous for its rugged, low-maintenance vines and heavy yields of sweet, raspberry-pink fruits. While originally a Potato Leaf (PL) variety producing 3.5 to 10.5 oz (100-300 g) slicers, growers often encounter Regular Leaf (RL) variants in … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Nepasynkuyuschiysya Alyi (Non-Pruning Scarlet) is a highly productive, early-season potato leaf (PL) determinate variety. As the name implies, it is bred to be grown outdoors without any pruning or suckering. However, growers note that while it stays around 2 ft (60 cm) out in the dirt, it turns into a massive, sprawling … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Lotus (now officially renamed White Lotus / Belyi Lotos) is an early indeterminate, potato-leaf variety producing creamy white slicers weighing around 2-5.5 oz (60-150 g). While yields and germination rates can be wildly inconsistent, growers who succeed with it praise its delicate, sweet, fruity flavor and claim it easily outcompetes other white … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Canadian Giant (Kanadskiy Velikan) is an indeterminate, potato leaf (PL) variety that produces heavy yields of massive, sweet beefsteaks. Growers should be prepared to give it plenty of room, as the vines are known for their vigorous, sprawling habit. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4 Experience) I ilja … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kmicic is a compact, determinate paste tomato originating from Poland. It is notable for its potato leaf (PL) foliage and exceptional cold tolerance. The plant produces heavy yields of bright red, plum-shaped fruits weighing around 1.7 oz (50 g), which are firm, store well, and are highly prized for canning and processing. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Kartofelnyi Malinovyi (Potato Raspberry) 🌍 Origin: A commercial heirloom variety distributed by Siberian Garden (SibSad). The name perfectly describes it: it has “potato” style leaves and produces “raspberry” pink fruit. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Reaches about 5.2 feet (1.6 m) in height. Features highly distinctive Potato Leaf (PL) foliage that lacks … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Altai Yellow (Altayskiy Zheltyy) 🌍 Origin: A classic Siberian/Altai regional heirloom from Russia. Available from several commercial seed companies (like “Siberian Garden”), but many collectors grow specific heirloom strains (like the ones from collector Yashchenko). 🌿 Plant Habit: Often classified as a tall determinate or semi-determinate, growing to about 1.5 – … Read more
Quick Summary of Barossa Fest 🌍 Origin & Name: A 2017 release from the Dwarf Tomato Project. It was developed by crossing Golden Dwarf Champion with Green Giant. Fun Fact: It is named after the Barossa Valley, a famous wine-producing region in South Australia known for its annual festival. 🌿 Plant Habit: A tree-type indeterminate … Read more
Quick Summary of Sweet as Linda (Sweet Linda) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic cherry tomato bred in the USA by M. Murdock. It is a stabilized cross between the legendary Marianna’s Peace and Sungold F1. He named the resulting variety in honor of his wife. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, vigorous, and tall (growing up to 2 … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovyi Gigant (Pink Giant) 🌍 Origin: An official commercial variety registered in the Russian State Register. Note: It should not be confused with the family heirloom “Ukrainian Pink Giant” (Rozovyi Gigant Ukrainskiy). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but its growth habit is sprawling. It enthusiastically throws out side shoots (suckers) in all directions. … Read more
Quick Summary of Rozovyi Slon (Pink Elephant) 🌍 Origin: A very popular commercial Russian variety sold by several major seed companies (GISOK, Aelita, Sibsad). Famous for its reliability and size. 🌿 Plant Habit: Features beautiful Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. Depending on the seed source and climate, it behaves as a tall determinate or semi-determinate. It … Read more
Quick Summary of Stump of the World (Pen Mira) 🌍 Origin: This is the famous American heirloom from the Ben Quisenberry collection! In the Russian tomato community, it circulates under the direct literal translation “Pen Mira” (Stump of the World). It’s fascinating to see how highly regarded this US classic is among Russian growers. 🌿 … Read more