Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Lopatinskie is a highly productive, large-fruited variety that is the subject of a massive seed-source split in the gardening community. Growers buying commercial packets (usually from Siberian Garden / SibSad) often get a short determinate bush producing red fruits. Meanwhile, seeds passed around by private collectors usually result in a tall indeterminate … Read more
🍅 Quick take: King Kong is an indeterminate, mid-season red beefsteak that fully lives up to its name. It is highly prized by growers for producing massive, sweet fruits that regularly exceed 2 lbs (1 kg), with one grower hitting 2.6 lbs (1.2 kg). It thrives in greenhouses but requires careful pruning and is best … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Kanary (Canaries) is an indeterminate Russian tomato with a bit of an identity crisis. Due to expired seed patents, there are multiple strains floating around the market. The official registry lists it as a mid-season, red round/heart tomato weighing up to 18 oz (500 g). However, a highly popular “rogue” strain circulates … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Red General (Krasnyi General) is a heavy-yielding indeterminate variety that produces large, glossy red tomatoes weighing up to 14 oz (400 g). Known among growers as an absolute workhorse, it boasts a classic, rich tomato flavor. While some seed lines produce oblate (flat-round) beefsteaks, other strains throw large, blunt oxhearts on taller, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kupets-Molodets 🌍 Origin: A highly productive commercial Russian variety developed and distributed by the Aelita seed company. The name roughly translates to “Fine Merchant” or “Brave Merchant”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). The seed packet claims it grows up to 3.3 feet (1 m), but in a greenhouse, it frequently stretches … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Belle du Poitou 🌍 Origin: Vintage heirloom from France. The name translates directly to “Beauty of Poitou” (a historical province in west-central France). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A reliable and strong-growing vine. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, perfectly round red beefsteaks. They are exceptionally uniform and smooth, frequently reaching up to … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cosmonaut Volkov (Kosmonavt Volkov) 🌍 Origin: A legendary Soviet heirloom bred in 1985 by amateur agronomist Igor Maslov. He named it in honor of his friend, Cosmonaut Vladislav Volkov, who tragically died during the Soyuz 11 mission in 1971. Warning: Modern commercial seed packets are notorious for selling incorrect “off-types” under … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Krupnyi iz Khakasii (Large from Khakassia) – Real Siberian Heirloom. 🌍 Origin: A beloved family heirloom from the Askizsky District of the Republic of Khakassia (Siberia, Russia). The name literally translates to “Large from Khakassia”. It was widely popularized among collectors by Lyudmila Gladilova from Kazakhstan. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kuum 🌍 Origin: A highly respected Eastern European heirloom variety. While its exact history is a bit muddy, it has earned a legendary reputation among Russian seed collectors as the ultimate “reliable red” workhorse. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), easily reaching 6.5 feet (2 m) or more in a greenhouse. It … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kot Timofey (Tomcat Timofey) 🌍 Origin: Originally sourced from a private Ukrainian seed collector named Manusha. The name “Kot Timofey” translates to “Tomcat Timofey”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but stays relatively manageable. Usually hits around 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) in open ground. It is an incredibly … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ispanskiy Gigant (Spanish Giant) 🌍 Origin: A Russian collector’s variety circulating under the “working name” Spanish Giant. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall) and a reliable, heavy yielder. It is a late-season variety. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large red beefsteaks. They are mostly oblate (flattened and ribbed), though the plant occasionally throws wide, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Imperator Chu Fu (Emperor Chu Fu) 🌍 Origin: Circulated in the seed market as a commercial heirloom of Chinese origin. 🌿 Plant Habit: Mid-season, indeterminate. A very resilient plant that performs well outdoors in open ground. Growers note it recovers easily if topped or damaged during the seedling stage. 🍅 Fruit … Read more