Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Korolevskoe Serdtse (Royal Heart) 🌍 Origin: A stunning Russian heirloom. The name perfectly translates to “Royal Heart”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). An absolute workhorse that performs exceptionally well, especially in greenhouse setups. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, beautiful oxheart-shaped fruits. The skin is a glowing orange with striking pink marbling. They … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Calcutta (Kalkutta) 🌍 Origin: Sourced and popularized by Russian seed collector V. Redko. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching over 8 feet (2.5 m) in a greenhouse. Like many heart and paste varieties, it has long, droopy, “wispy” foliage that often looks wilted even when perfectly watered. It handles heat well … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ivanovskie 🌍 Origin: A regional “folk” heirloom from Russia. The name simply means it originated from or is associated with the Ivanovo region. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but on the shorter side, usually topping out around 5 feet (1.5 m). Great for greenhouses or open ground. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Verace 🌍 Origin: Heirloom from Italy. It is famously grown there specifically to make a traditional, extremely thick sauce of the exact same name. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indet. A very tall and vigorous vine that easily reaches 6.5 feet (2 m) and keeps climbing. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Massive crimson-red beefsteaks. These … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zheltyi Klyuv (Yellow Beak) 🌍 Origin: A beautiful Russian heirloom. The name translates to “Yellow Beak,” perfectly describing the distinct, elongated pointy tip on the bottom of the fruit. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Performs exceptionally well in greenhouses (reaching over 6 ft) and does well outdoors (around 5 ft / … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Da Chilo 🌍 Origin: A massive heirloom variety from Italy. The name “Da Chilo” translates to “Weighing a kilo” (2.2 lbs), which perfectly describes its size potential! 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A highly vigorous, tall plant that thrives in a greenhouse environment when pruned to two main stems. Mid-season maturity. 🍅 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Dynnye (Melon) 🌍 The Heirloom Mystery: “Dynnye” translates to “Melon” or “Melon-like”. However, as this thread perfectly illustrates, there are at least three completely different tomatoes circulating in the seed-trading world under this exact name. 🍅 Variant 1 (The Determinate Beefsteak): A determinate (bush) plant producing light-yellow oblate (flattened) beefsteaks up … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Gigantsky Mech (Giant Sword) 🌍 Origin: A fantastic Eastern European heirloom. The name translates to “Giant Sword”, which likely hints at the elongated, pointy shape of some of its fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Very productive and vigorous. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Bright red and massive. Interestingly, it produces two shapes … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Grebeshok 🌍 Origin: An old family heirloom from the town of Kupino in the Novosibirsk region of Siberia. The name translates to “Cockscomb” or “Scallop”, perfectly describing its highly ribbed shape. (See the forum debate below regarding its history). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching about 5.2 ft (1.6 m). A … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Vashe Velichestvo (Your Majesty) 🌍 Origin: A commercial variety from the Siberian breeder “Altai Seeds”. It is officially listed in the Russian State Register. The name translates to “Your Majesty”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). It has classic “oxheart” characteristics, meaning the plant is spindly and flimsy with very thin, wispy … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Bulgaria 🌍 Origin: An heirloom variety named after Bulgaria. Often grown by collectors who prioritize flavor over yield. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, but tends to be on the shorter side in the greenhouse (around 5 ft / 1.5 m). It has extreme wispy foliage—the plant looks incredibly pale, spindly, and weak, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Armyanskie (Armenian) 🌍 Origin: A magnificent heirloom bicolor tomato. The name simply translates to “Armenian”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but generally has a somewhat frail, wispy, or “weeping” bush structure. Despite the delicate foliage, it has incredibly strong fruit stems (pedicels), meaning the heavy trusses rarely need extra support. Throws … Read more