Heirloom Tomato Varieties & Reviews | Tomat-Pomidor
Honest reviews of global tomato varieties from a 15-year-old growers community.
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Candy Sweet Icicle 🌍 Origin: Created by Brad Gates at Wild Boar Farms in California. Note: Growers report that two distinct color lines are currently circulating: a pearly pink/red version with yellow stripes, and a dark chocolate/brick-red version with green stripes (which is closer to the original release). 🌿 Plant Habit: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Cœur de Zèbre (Heart of Zebre Apricot) 🌍 Origin: Created and developed by breeder Jean-Claude Bosher in France. It is the result of a cross between Cœur de Bœuf and Red Zebra. Note: Do not confuse this with “Zebra Heart”, which is a spontaneous mutation circulating in the USA. 🌿 Plant … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Crushed Heart 🌍 Origin: A stunning creation by Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms (California, USA). Interestingly, among Russian and Eastern European growers, the name has sparked translation debates—some translate it literally as “Broken” or “Wounded Heart”, while others translate it as “Smitten/In Love” (playing on the word “crush”). 🌿 Plant … Read more
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📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR): Coeur de Boeuf Jerusalem 🌍 Origin: A rare and highly prized heirloom oxheart variety. While it carries a French name (translating to “Jerusalem Oxheart”), this specific heavy-yielding strain has been heavily preserved, circulated, and perfected by Eastern European and Russian tomato collectors. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). The bush is slender … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: A specific heirloom strain known as Big Orange (from Amuz). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, early season. The plant has a thin, “wispy” foliage structure, which is completely normal for this variety (don’t worry if the seedlings look a bit frail). It is very low-maintenance and unpretentious. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: … Read more
📌 Quick Summary (TL;DR) 🌍 Origin: An interesting and somewhat unstable heirloom paste tomato. Its lineage is linked to crosses involving Amish Paste and Amish Red. 🌿 Plant Habit: Mid-season, indeterminate. The plant has thin, wispy foliage (typical for many paste/oxheart types) but is surprisingly sturdy and not flimsy. Highly productive. 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Elongated, … Read more
Quick Summary of Bananu 🌍 Origin: A very attractive elongated yellow/orange paste tomato. Seeds are widely distributed by European and Russian seed vendors (e.g., R. Kraft, A. Kulik). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-early (often leaning towards early). The plant is characteristically wispy, with thin stems and sparse, delicate foliage. Despite looking fragile, it is remarkably … Read more
Quick Summary of Blue Keyes 🌍 Origin & Type: A striking novelty anthocyanin cherry/pear tomato. It is part of a series (along with Amber Keyes, Black Keyes, etc.). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate. The bush tends to be tall, thin, and rather lanky/leggy with regular foliage. Several growers report that it is quite sensitive to extreme … Read more
Quick Summary of Bandol Blues 🌍 Origin: A visually stunning anthocyanin (blue/black) variety known for its incredibly dark skin. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, early-season. The plant itself is not overly vigorous; it has a rather frail, scrawny, and wispy build. However, it is very well-behaved, easy to manage, and responds perfectly to being pruned to … Read more
Quick Summary of Bobbie 🌍 Origin & Strains: A well-known heirloom oxheart tomato. There is an interesting discussion among growers about the color: seeds sourced from Tatiana’s TOMATObase (Canada) typically produce pure red fruits, while strains sourced from some US vendors produce pink/raspberry-pink fruits. 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate, mid-season. Like many oxheart varieties, it features … Read more
Quick Summary of Brad’s Atomic Grape 🌍 Origin: A highly popular, exotic, and multi-colored variety created by Brad Gates (Wild Boar Farms, USA). 🌿 Plant Habit: Indeterminate (tall). The seedlings are notoriously wimpy, scrawny, and slow-growing. Adult plants are very productive but have extremely brittle stems that can snap easily under the weight of the … Read more
Quick Summary of Big Dolly Red 🌍 Origin: An old heirloom from Kentucky, USA. Developed over 40 years ago by Milo Eason, it is a cross between an unknown red heart-shaped tomato and ‘Big Red Stafford’. Fun fact: In Russia, this variety is often affectionately translated and sold under the name “Большая красная кукла” (Big … Read more