Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Reinhard’s Purple Heart is an indeterminate oxheart bred by German seed saver Reinhard Kraft, loaded with medium-sized, pointed purple hearts on heavy-bearing vines. Growers in short-season regions (USDA Zones 3-4) report monster production in both high tunnels and open dirt. However, flavor reviews are sharply divided: while some praise its rich, sweet-tart … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Reinhard’s Green Heart is a standout indeterminate, mid-season green-when-ripe oxheart bred by German tomato pioneer Reinhard Kraft. Known for heavy 9-14 oz (250-400 g) fruits on slender, wispy vines, it develops an emerald gel interior and an amber-pink blush at the blossom end when fully ripe. Reviewers overwhelmingly praise its intense, candy-sweet, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Reinhard Kraft’s White Heart (Weisses Herz von Reinhard Kraft) is a mid-season, indeterminate white oxheart bred by German tomato specialist Reinhard Kraft from a cross between Cherokee Green and an unknown pink heart. The slender, wispy vines grow 5.25 to 6 ft (1.6-1.8 m) and pump out heavy, pale ivory hearts weighing … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Pink Lemon (Reinhard Kraft strain) is a mid-season, semi-compact indeterminate bicolor producing 8-10 oz (220-280 g) oblate beefsteaks. The golden-yellow skin develops a soft pink blush at the blossom end, revealing a dense interior marbled with a red central starburst. Growers praise its ability to hold high sugar levels even when grown … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Menryka is an indeterminate, mid-season variety (stabilized from a commercial hybrid in 2005 by German collector Reinhard Kraft) that produces 1.8 oz (50 g) plump reddish-pink plums with a sharp pointed tip, setting about 8 fruits per truss. Tested in USDA Zone 4, it offers a balanced sweet-tart flavor ideal for whole-fruit … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Ludmilla’s Pink Heart (Rozovoe Serdtse Lyudmily) is an indeterminate heirloom oxheart tracing back to Kazakhstan and Germany. Celebrated by northern gardeners for being remarkably early-ripening for a large-fruited heart, it yields meaty, elongated pink hearts weighing 8-16 oz (225-450 g) with minimal seeds and sweet, tender flesh. The vine is slightly sturdier … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Great White Blue is an indeterminate anthocyanin tomato that produces medium-sized fruits (around 7 oz / 200 g). Bred by Reinhard Kraft, it features a white base skin with striking dark blue/purple splashes on the shoulders. While forum feedback on this specific naming variant is limited, the grower here reports it is … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Green Giant 🌍 Origin: A legendary green-when-ripe heirloom variety bred by Reinhard Kraft of Neunkirchen, Germany, from a stray potato-leaf plant he found. It has become a gold standard for green tomatoes worldwide. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), featuring vigorous, large Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. Known to be highly productive, though … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Reinhard’s Chocolate Heart is an indeterminate, large-fruited black oxheart bred by German heirloom specialist Reinhard Kraft from a Cherokee Green cross. Growing on slender vines with weeping, wispy leaves, it yields massive 14-21 oz (400-600 g) terracotta-chocolate hearts with meaty, seed-poor interiors. Growers note it can be fussy about early blossom drop … Read more