Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
🍅 Quick take: Kuraga (Dried Apricot) is an indeterminate orange paste tomato. It produces meaty, very sweet 5 oz (150 g) plum-shaped fruits on skinny, wispy vines. While it can be grown outdoors, it performs much better and yields higher when given the shelter of a greenhouse. Full summary ↓ Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Bear Claw (Kogot Medvedya) is an indeterminate pink heirloom that produces massive, lightly ribbed, pear/oxheart-shaped fruits weighing up to 28 oz (800 g). While the flavor is universally praised as sweet, juicy, and meaty, growers have mixed feelings about its productivity, with some struggling with poor fruit set per truss. It is … Read more
🍅 Quick take: Krasa Dlinnaya Kosa (which translates to “Beauty With a Long Braid”) is an extremely vigorous, indeterminate red cherry tomato sold by the Russian seed company Biotekhnika. It is famous for its massive, double fan-shaped blossom clusters that produce a heavy yield of sweet, good-sized cherry tomatoes. It thrives outdoors and handles growing … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Beauty Queen Heart 🌍 Origin: A gorgeous bicolor oxheart variety. In this thread, growers trace their seed lines back to Russian collector V. Redko and Marianna’s Heirloom Seeds in the US. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching up to 6.5 feet (2 m). A very vigorous grower with regular foliage that … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Canadian Heritage (Canada) 🌍 Origin: The exact history is a bit murky, but it is widely believed to have originated in the US or Canada before becoming a highly sought-after collectible variety among Eastern European growers. Often sold simply as “Canada”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching around 6.5 feet (2 … Read more
📌 Quick Summary: Krem Brule (Creme Brulee) 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial dark tomato variety. The name translates to “Creme Brulee”. It is at the center of a famous seed-market confusion, as two major Russian companies (Aelita and Gavrish) sell completely different tomatoes under the exact same name. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Reaches around … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Kosovo 🌍 Origin: A world-famous heirloom whose seeds were originally brought to the US by a former U.N. worker returning from Kosovo. It is now widely grown and loved globally, including by Eastern European collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), easily reaching up to 8.2 feet (2.5 m). It displays classic … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Strawberry Sergeant 🌍 Origin: Bred by Russian breeder Sofia Saakova. It is a cross between Mrs. Schlaubaugh’s Famous Strawberry and Sgt. Pepper’s. The Russian name is “Klubnichniy Serzhant”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), mid-season. The plants are quite sturdy and strong. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Pink fruits with dark anthocyanin splashes on … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Klenoviy Sirop (Maple Syrup) 🌍 Origin: Developed and stabilized by breeders Sofia Saakova and Elena Danko. It is an accidental cross between the variety Sweet Horizon and an unknown pollen donor. The name translates to “Maple Syrup”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Strong, vigorous vines that usually reach over 5 feet … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Ispanskiy Shokolad (Spanish Chocolate) 🌍 Origin: An unofficial “folk” variety that originated from seed swaps on Russian social media. The name translates directly to “Spanish Chocolate”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), reaching up to 6.5 feet (2 m). Growers report mixed fruiting habits. Some get a long, continuous harvest, while others … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Blushing Bride 🌍 Origin: A well-known American heirloom variety. It is widely traded among European and Ru collectors under the direct translation “Zastenchivaya Nevesta” (Shy Bride). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall), but generally considered very compact and well-behaved for a climbing vine. It is not an aggressive grower and is easy … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Zefir v Shokolade (Marshmallow in Chocolate) 🌍 Origin: A commercial Russian variety from the “Poisk” seed company’s “Vkusnoteka” (Flavor Library) line. The name playfully translates to “Marshmallow in Chocolate”. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). Usually reaches around 6 feet (1.9 m) in open ground. It sets fruit consistently without dropping blossoms. … Read more