Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Potimar is a powerhouse indeterminate European heirloom beefsteak whose name evokes the ribbed, pumpkin-like contours of a French potimarron squash. The vigorous vines produce monster, flat-round red slicers weighing 17.6 to 28 oz (500-800 g) with minimal seeds. Defying descriptions of “grainy, watermelon-like” meat, growers confirm the interior is exceptionally dense, juicy, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Pera D’Abruzzo (frequently traded simply as Abruzzo) is an ancient indeterminate Italian heirloom originating from the coastal and mountainous Abruzzo region. It bears heavy clusters of large, deeply ribbed, bell- or pear-shaped red beefsteaks weighing 7 to 12.7 oz (200-360 g), with pruned plants capable of pushing 2.2 lb (1 kg). Celebrated … Read more
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🍅 Quick take: Navarro is an indeterminate, mid-to-late season Spanish heirloom originating from the northern province of Navarre (Navarra). It throws massive 14-23.5 oz (400-670 g) red fruits with astonishing botanical polymorphism: deeply fluted beefsteaks, blunt hearts, and lobed shapes resembling stalagmites all appearing simultaneously on the same vine. Meaty, low-seeded, and reliably sweet, it … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Negro de Silex (Negro de Siles) is a rare Spanish heirloom originating from the mountain village of Siles in Jaén, Andalusia. It is an indeterminate, mid-season beefsteak producing oblate, heavily ribbed dusky fruits weighing 3.5-17.5 oz (100-500 g) with plump shoulders and a faint anthocyanin blush. Growers praise it for its repeatable, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Muchamiel (Tomate de Mutxamel) is a celebrated traditional heirloom from the Alicante province in southeastern Spain. It grows as an indeterminate, mid-season vine bearing flat, heavily ribbed red beefsteaks weighing 10.5-12.5 oz (300-350 g), distinguished by their hallmark green shoulders. When trialed in cool northern greenhouses, it yields well and produces exceptionally … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Maya and Sion’s Airdrie Classic is an open-pollinated heirloom originating from Airdrie, Alberta, Canada. It grows as an indeterminate, potato-leaf vine producing mid-season, ribbed red beefsteaks with rich, old-school balanced flavor. Bred in a challenging northern climate, it sets every single truss without dropping blossoms, making it a reliable performer in cool, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Monterosa F1 is an indeterminate, early-to-mid season gourmet ribbed hybrid developed in 2012 by Semillas Fitó in Catalonia, Spain, crossing the traditional Pera de Girona with Italy’s Costoluto Genovese. The vigorous vines yield 5.3-14 oz (150-400 g) deeply fluted, velvety raspberry-pink beefsteaks with solid, non-hollow meat. While professional growers praise its heavy … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Maciza Montserrat (Montserrat Macizo) is a heavy-hitting indeterminate Spanish heirloom from Catalonia. Unlike traditional hollow-pocketed Montserrat stuffing tomatoes, the “Maciza” (solid) strain is bred to be completely dense, meaty, and nearly seedless with warm salmon-pink flesh. While standard vines pump out ribbed 10.5-21 oz (300-600 g) slicers, plants with lighter fruit sets … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Lehrertomate (German for “Teacher’s Tomato”) is a traditional German indeterminate heirloom bred for producing massive, scarlet-red beefsteaks tipping the scales between 14-25 oz (400-700 g). The fruit are dense, meaty, and lightly ribbed with remarkably few seeds and a rich, old-fashioned balanced flavor. While it sets fruit reliably in cool northern summers, … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Lucchese is a classic indeterminate Italian heirloom originating from Lucca in Tuscany. It produces massive, bright red, deeply fluted beefsteaks easily reaching 14 oz (400 g) and larger. The flesh is dense, meaty, and slightly dry with an old-school, slightly tart, balanced flavor. While growers in short northern zones classify it as … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Granny’s Throwing is an indeterminate, early-season tomato known for its pleated, pear-like “pouch” shape. While its flavor may not beat a fresh slicing beefsteak, growers rave about its absolute resilience against bad weather and zero blossom drop. It produces massive yields of dense 3.5-7 oz (100-200 g) fruits that are considered top-tier … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Nizhegorodskie is a mid-season, indeterminate heirloom that produces round, slightly ribbed red slicing tomatoes weighing up to 14 oz (400 g). It is known for its excellent productivity, setting fruit in distinct tiers all the way up the tall 6.5 ft (2 m) vines. Growers report that it performs equally well in … Read more