Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kolovyi 🌍 Origin: An old, preserved Ukrainian heirloom variety. The name “Kolovyi” roughly translates to “Stake” (as in a wooden tomato stake), implying the plant requires sturdy support. Also sometimes circulated in seed swaps as “Kolovyi Kubanskiy”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Generally considered indeterminate, though outdoors in open ground it often tops … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kazakhstan Yellow 🌍 Origin: A legendary underground heirloom from the Russian/Eastern European tomato community. It was grown for over 25 years by a forum member named Slava before he finally shared the seeds online and gave it the working name “Kazakhstan Yellow.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A very resilient and … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kyzyl Tau 🌍 Origin: Modern heirloom bred by the famous tomato breeder Vitaly Alifirov from Almaty, Kazakhstan. The name “Kyzyl Tau” translates from Turkic languages to “Red Mountain.” 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A very productive and vigorous plant that performs exceptionally well in a greenhouse when pruned to 2 stems. … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kumquat Pink Opal 🌍 Origin: A stunning Russian stabilization project. It was selected out of a segregation of the Indigo Kumquat variety by breeders Mira Almakaeva and Olga Degtyareva. Currently at the F5 generation and showing excellent stability. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate but tends to be on the shorter, bushier side, … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kalyani 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). A very sturdy, vigorous plant with heavy foliage cover. Reaches about 6.5 feet (2 m) tall in a greenhouse setting. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Large, oblate beefsteaks ranging from 14 to 17.5 oz (400-500 g). The color is a vibrant crimson-scarlet. The flesh is incredibly dense, … Read more
📌 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): Krupnyi iz Khakasii (Large from Khakassia) – Real Siberian Heirloom. 🌍 Origin: A beloved family heirloom from the Askizsky District of the Republic of Khakassia (Siberia, Russia). The name literally translates to “Large from Khakassia”. It was widely popularized among collectors by Lyudmila Gladilova from Kazakhstan. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Izumrudnye (Emeralds) 🌍 Origin: Grown from seeds originally sourced from China. The Russian working name translates to “Emeralds”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. A very vigorous plant that throws a lot of suckers, but uniquely, it sets fruit very well on those unpruned suckers. It has distinctive, heavily serrated foliage. 🍅 Fruit … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Italian Sweet 🌍 Origin: A classic heirloom variety originally from Italy, widely circulated among seed collectors for its outstanding taste. 🌿 Plant Habit: Vigorous indeterminate (tall) vines with Potato Leaf (PL) foliage. They grow exceptionally well in greenhouses, easily reaching over 6.5 feet (2 m). Performs best when pruned to 2 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ispanskaya Roza (Spanish Rose) 🌍 Origin: A Russian collector’s variety (noted to be circulated by N. Berezhnova). The name translates to “Spanish Rose” and is considered an unofficial or “working” name in the heirloom community. 🌿 Plant Habit: Semi-determinate. Mid-to-late season. It grows to around 3 to 4 feet (1-1.2 m) … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Izumrudnaya Grusha (Emerald Pear) 🌍 Origin: A Russian heirloom whose name translates to “Emerald Pear”. A very popular Green-When-Ripe (GWR) variety. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Typically grows to 6.5 – 10 feet (2-3 m). The foliage is somewhat light and well-behaved, not overly bushy, but also not the weeping “wispy” … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Iskry Plameni (Sparks of Flame) 🌍 Origin: An Eastern European heirloom variety. The name translates beautifully to “Sparks of Flame”, which perfectly describes its striking red and yellow striped appearance. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but generally has a compact footprint with slender vines. Grows to about 5 feet (1.5 m) … Read more