Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Krokha (which translates to “Crumb” or “Tiny Tot”) is an ultra-early determinate red cherry tomato from Belarus. Originally bred to be a compact, no-prune 1.5 ft (40-50 cm) bush for outdoor growing, it can reach over 3 ft (1 m) in a greenhouse. It produces sweet, glossy 1 oz (25-40 g) fruits … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Krasnyi Karlik (Red Dwarf) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial micro-dwarf variety popularized heavily by the Russian seed vendor Valery Medvedev. Some experienced growers suspect it might simply be a renamed “Red Robin”. 🌿 Plant Habit: True micro-dwarf. Stays extremely compact, usually under 16 inches (40 cm) when grown in natural sunlight. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Wow Cherry 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but somewhat manageable. When grown out in the open dirt with multi-stem pruning, it topped out around 4 feet (1.2 m). Extremely resilient and productive, even when crowded and shaded. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red, completely round cherry tomatoes. They are very small, averaging … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gardener’s Delight (Vostorg Sadovoda) 🌍 Origin: A world-famous old European commercial variety (originally German/British). In the Russian and Ukrainian seed collector circuits, it often circulates under the translated name “Vostorg Sadovoda” or slightly misspelled as “Gardeneros Delight”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. It produces a relatively sturdy, dependable vine. Growers note that … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vishnya Krasnaya (Red Cherry) & Vishnya Zholtaya (Yellow Cherry) 🌍 Origin: Popular Russian commercial cherry varieties. “Vishnya” translates directly to “Cherry” in Russian, hence “Red Cherry” and “Yellow Cherry”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Very vigorous, sprawling indeterminate plants. They require ample space and staking. One grower noted that they can take up … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vnuchenka (Granddaughter) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety from the Russian seed company “Aelita”. The name affectionately translates to “Little Granddaughter”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (short bush). Marketed as a patio/container variety that grows to 20 inches (50 cm), but real-world growers note it can easily reach 28 inches (70 cm) when … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Volshebny Kaskad F1 (Magic Cascade) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial F1 hybrid cherry tomato. The name beautifully translates to “Magic Cascade”, referring to its long, cascading trusses of red cherries. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and incredibly vigorous. Growers warn that this plant turns into a massive “space hog” and will easily … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bychiy Glaz (Bull’s Eye) 🌍 Origin & Naming Confusion: The name translates to “Bull’s Eye”. Important Note: There is a major name collision here! In the North American heirloom community (via Tatiana’s TOMATObase), “Bychiy Glaz” refers to a medium-sized, heart-shaped red tomato sourced from a private Russian collector. However, the commercial … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Aligote 🌍 Origin: A commercial French cherry tomato from the well-known seed company, Vilmorin. Often discussed online as an F1 Hybrid, though sometimes sold without the hybrid label. 🌿 Plant Habit: Can reach up to 1.5m (5 ft) tall. The official seed packet suggests severe pruning (topping the plant after just … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Accordion Cherry (Akkordeon Cherry) 🌍 Origin: A very unique, heavily ribbed red cherry/cocktail tomato. Extremely popular among Russian heirloom collectors for its striking appearance and long shelf life. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching over 2 meters (6.5+ ft) in a greenhouse. The adult plant is powerful and vigorous, though seedlings … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Akrobat (Acrobat) 🌍 Origin: A Russian cascading (trailing) cherry tomato variety bred specifically for container gardening, hanging baskets, and small spaces. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, micro-dwarf/cascading type. It naturally forms a lush, cascading waterfall of foliage and fruit. If staked upright, it reaches about 50 cm (20 inches) in height. Highly … Read more
Quick Summary of Elfin 🌍 Origin: A fantastic red grape/cherry tomato variety. Well-known and distributed by major Russian seed vendors like Gusev and Happy Garden. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (vining) and highly sprawling. It produces a massive amount of suckers. However, it is remarkably low-maintenance: many growers don’t bother pruning the suckers at all and … Read more