Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Costoluto Genovese 🌍 Origin: A legendary Italian heirloom from the Genoa region. It has been a staple in Italian gardens for generations, highly prized for its heavily scalloped, decorative shape. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), vigorous, and incredibly robust. It is famous for its hardiness, tolerating both heat spells and cooler … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Corrogo 🌍 Origin: A striking, deeply pleated (ruffled) heirloom variety, highly valued for its unique decorative shape that resembles an accordion or a blooming flower when sliced. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-early season. It is a very vigorous, low-maintenance variety that easily handles being grown with multiple stems without sacrificing … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cul de Singe 🌍 Origin: A wonderful heirloom oxheart variety from France. The name literally translates to “Monkey’s Ass” (a playful traditional name in French horticulture!). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A very productive and heavy-yielding plant. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Gorgeous, plump red hearts. Fruits can reach 300-400 grams (10.5-14 oz), … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A very famous early-season heirloom of Dutch origin. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but highly manageable. It doesn’t grow overly wild, usually stopping around 1.8 m (6 ft) in a greenhouse setting. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small, bright red cocktail tomatoes weighing 30-70 g (1-2.5 oz). They grow in large, complex … Read more
Quick Summary of Atol 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety originally from Poland, also widely sold in Russia by the “Sedek” seed company. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Compact, typically reaching 50-60 cm (20-24 inches) in height. Extremely rugged, cold-tolerant, and perfectly suited for open ground (outdoors) without any protection. In some regions, it can even … Read more
Quick Summary of Aunt Anna 🌍 Origin: A magnificent red heirloom variety that is highly prized in our community for its incredible flesh-to-seed ratio. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate and vigorous. Growers recommend growing it in a greenhouse and pruning to 2 stems. It is quite adaptable and can even perform well in slightly shaded spots. … Read more
Quick Summary of Yabloki na Snegu (Apples on the Snow) 🌍 Origin: A popular early-season Russian commercial heirloom variety (frequently sold by “Russkiy Ogorod”). The poetic name translates to “Apples on the Snow”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Grows very compact, typically around 40–80 cm (16–32 inches) tall. Highly suitable for container gardening (thrives in … Read more
Quick Summary of Yablochnyi Spas (Apple Feast) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial/heirloom variety often distributed by well-known seed vendors like Valeriy Medvedev and Ilya Korolev. The name “Yablochnyi Spas” translates to “Apple Feast” (or Apple Savior), a traditional Russian agricultural holiday in August. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, very tall and vigorous, easily reaching over 2 … Read more
Quick Summary of Yablochnyi Lipetskiy (Apple Lipetsk) 🌍 Origin: A legendary Russian heirloom from the Lipetsk region. It was saved from a single tomato given to a gardener in 1996 and popularized on Russian tomato forums years later. The name translates to “Apple of Lipetsk”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate with moderate vigor. It grows well … Read more
Quick Summary of Ela 06 🌍 Origin: A spectacular Polish breeding line. It is a cross between Aurija (a famous elongated paste tomato) and Megagroniasty (a legendary Polish cherry tomato known for its massive multiflora trusses). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, extremely vigorous, and disease-resistant. Growers describe it as growing “like a tree” with very thick, … Read more
Quick Summary of Shchelkovskiy Ranniy (Shchelkovsky Early) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety. The name translates to “Shchelkovsky Early”. It was widely distributed by the commercial seed company “Russkiy Ogorod” (Russian Garden). 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate, compact bush. Seed packets claim a micro-dwarf height of 30–35 cm (12–14 inches), though greenhouse growers report it reaching … Read more
Quick Summary: Shedevr (Masterpiece) 🌍 Origin: A highly regarded commercial variety from the Altai region of Russia. (Note: Do not confuse this with similar-sounding varieties like Slavyanskiy Shedevr or Altayskiy Shedevr). The name translates to “Masterpiece”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. It reaches about 1.5 to 1.8 meters (5 to 6 ft) in a greenhouse. … Read more