Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
Quick Summary of Florentino 🌍 Origin: Originally distributed by the Russian seed company “Biotekhnika”. It is a heavily ribbed, European-style tomato. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Grows to about 1.5 – 2 meters (5 – 6.5 ft) depending on whether it’s grown outdoors or in a greenhouse. Uniquely, it forms flower trusses very frequently—every two leaves. … Read more
Quick Summary of Fokus-Pokus (Hocus Pocus) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial variety from the “Aelita” seed company. The name translates to “Hocus Pocus”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Early season and indeterminate. It is a striking “Angora” type plant with silvery-green, heavily fuzzy (woolly) foliage. This dense fuzz makes the plant highly unattractive to insect pests. It … Read more
Quick Summary of Faworyt 4 (Favorite 4) 🌍 Origin: A highly impressive Polish breeding line. The name translates to “Favorite 4”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Features a very thick, strong, and sturdy stem. It demonstrates excellent disease resistance and robust growth. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Massive, uniform beefsteaks. The skin is red, but the dense interior flesh … Read more
Quick Summary of Francuzskiy Grozdevoy (French Cluster) 🌍 Origin: A highly popular commercial Russian heirloom, originally popularized by the “Siberian Garden” (Sibsad) seed company, with various lines kept by private collectors. The name translates to “French Cluster”. 🌿 Plant Habit: There are two distinct lines circulating among growers. One is a determinate (bush) topping out … Read more
Quick Summary of Thessaloniki (Saloniki) 🌍 Origin: A famous Greek heirloom that is highly respected and widely grown by Russian and Eastern European gardeners, who often refer to it locally as Saloniki or Fesaloniki. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), though its height heavily depends on the climate. In the colder Russian outdoors, it typically reaches … Read more
Quick Summary of Sicilian Pepper (Sitsiliyskiy Perchik) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety introduced by the Gavrish seed company. The name translates to “Sicilian Pepper”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching around 200 cm (6.5 ft). It can be grown both in greenhouses and outdoors (open ground) with proper staking. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Elongated, pepper-shaped … Read more
Quick Summary of Smilyanskiy Rudasa 🌍 Origin & History: A rare Eastern European heirloom with a great backstory. It was bred by Ukrainian breeder A.P. Rudas. The seeds in this thread took a fascinating journey: bought at a market in Hungary, brought to Germany, and then shared with Russian growers. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). … Read more
Quick Summary of Semko 98 F1 🌍 Origin: A highly reliable commercial F1 hybrid from the Russian agricultural company “Semko”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Compact and semi-spreading, growing only 50-55 cm (20-22 inches) tall. It is highly adaptable and can be grown in open ground, greenhouses, or even indoors on a windowsill. 🍅 Fruit … Read more
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Quick Summary of Sem Gnomov (Seven Dwarfs) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial/amateur variety. The name translates to “Seven Dwarfs”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). It is very short and compact, growing only up to 50 cm (20 inches) tall. Growers note that it does not require any pruning or suckering. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Perfectly round, … Read more
Quick Summary of Sibirskiy Skorospelyi (Siberian Early) 🌍 Origin: A true, historic Soviet commercial variety officially registered in 1959 by the West-Siberian Vegetable and Potato Selection Experimental Station. The name translates to “Siberian Early-Ripening”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (bush). Very compact, usually growing 30-50 cm (12-20 inches) tall. It produces a lot of suckers and … Read more
Quick Summary of Solnechnyi (Sunny) 🌍 Origin: A relatively rare Russian heirloom variety popularized by the well-known tomato collector Vladimir Anderson. The name translates to “Sunny”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season, and very tall. It is a highly vigorous and unpretentious plant that can easily reach 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) in a greenhouse. It sets … Read more
Quick Summary of Skifeya (Scythian Fairy) 🌍 Origin & Fascinating History: This variety has an incredible backstory. The seeds were discovered by a Russian collector in a remote Siberian village near Abakan, right next to the ruins of Zinkhir—the oldest stone city in the world, once belonging to the ancient Scythian civilization. The local village … Read more