Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Krasnaya Mishen (Red Target) 🌍 Origin: A fascinating and somewhat mysterious Russian commercial/heirloom variety. Its genetics are notoriously unstable, leading to a massive debate among growers. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It is an incredibly vigorous vine that requires staking. The biggest quirk of this variety is that a single seed … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Klondayk (Klondike) 🌍 Origin: A popular commercial heirloom originally tracing back to Ukraine, but officially registered and distributed widely in Russia by the seed company Aelita. Also circulates as “Klondayk Pink” or “Klondayk Yellow/Orange”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching about 6 feet (1.8 m). It has a wispy, viney structure. … Read more
Quick Summary of Janet’s Jacinthe Jewel 📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Janet’s Jacinthe Jewel 🌍 Origin: A stunning bicolor variety bred by Brad Gates at Wild Boar Farms (California, USA). It was released around 2010 and named in honor of his wife, Janet. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. Height varies greatly depending on growing conditions, usually ranging … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Grushka Oranzhevaya (Orange Pear) 🌍 Origin: A Russian/Eastern European commercial variety. The name translates directly to “Orange Little Pear”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate / Semi-determinate. It has regular leaf foliage and grows to about 3.3 ft (1 m). It can be staked, caged, or simply allowed to sprawl on the ground … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Beduin / Grusha Chernaya (Black Pear) 🌍 Origin & Naming: A highly popular Russian heirloom known alternatively as “Beduin” (Bedouin) or “Grusha Chernaya” (Black Pear). Note: Seed companies sometimes sell them under slightly different names, and it is often compared to the famous Japanese Black Trifele. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (though … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Arbuz (Watermelon) 🌍 Origin & The Name Controversy: “Arbuz” translates directly to “Watermelon”. There is a famous old heirloom called Watermelon Beefsteak which is strictly Potato Leaf (PL). However, the strain discussed in this thread (popularized by our forum member Svetikk from Lithuanian seeds) is distinctly Regular Leaf (RL). Because of … Read more
Quick Summary of Alleghany Sunset 🌍 Origin: A stunning and highly regarded heirloom bicolor tomato that has won over many growers in our community. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, regular leaf. Reports on plant vigor vary: some seed sources describe it as a very powerful and tall plant, while other growers found their bushes to be … Read more
Quick Summary of Amazing Grace 🌍 Origin: An heirloom variety originating from the USA. True to its name, it is a beautiful and elegant tomato that many growers purchase simply because of its lovely moniker! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, tall, and vigorous with a long fruiting period. While some original seed sources list it as … Read more
Quick Summary of Yantarnyi Med (Amber Honey) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial heirloom, most famously distributed by the “Uralskiy Dachnik” (Ural Summer Resident) seed company. The name translates to “Amber Honey”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). There is an ongoing debate and mystery regarding its foliage—some seed batches produce Potato Leaf (PL) plants (as usually … Read more
Quick Summary of Tie Feen (Tiffan) 🌍 Origin & The Name Mystery: Known in Russian collections as Tie Feen (Ти Феен), forum members suspect this is actually a localized mispronunciation of the American heirloom “Tiffan”. Tatiana Kouchnareva’s database lists Tiffan as a potato-leaf pink beefsteak from Dorothy Beiswenger (MN). 🌿 Plant Habit & Genetics: Indeterminate, … Read more
Quick Summary of The Very Best (Samye Luchshie) 🌍 Origin & Name: A deeply historical heirloom variety. The name translates directly to “The Very Best” (Samye Luchshie). According to historical records, seeds were given by a resident of Kattakurgan (Uzbekistan) to the famous Soviet tomato breeder I.M. Maslov in 1984. 🌿 Plant Habit: Semi-determinate to … Read more
Quick Summary of Siberian Giant Pink (Sibirskiy Velikan Rozovyi) 🌍 Origin: A classic large-fruited Russian heirloom. The name translates to “Siberian Giant Pink”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), robust vine reaching about 2 meters (6.5 ft) in a greenhouse environment. 🍃 Leaf Type Alert: Forum growers note that this variety can sometimes show genetic segregation … Read more