My spring frosts that cause the most damage are generally radiant frosts... The cold of outer-space freezes the leaves on clear nights, even when the air temperature is as high as 40F. This can be reduced if the plant orients it's leaves towards the horizon at night.
I have grown I-3, Spiridonovskie Red, and Siberian.
I didn't like spiridonovkie because it is a dwarf and can't compete well considering my weeding habits. It sailed through the frosts. I scored it a medium on the ability to grow in cold weather.
I-3 was more susceptible to cold/frost. I scored it as low on the ability to grow in cold weather. It flowered super late, so was eliminated from further consideration.
Siberian did fine with the cold/frost. I scored it as low on the ability to grow in cold weather. It was another dwarf so eliminated from further consideration.
Jagodka, another Russian variety, was quite susceptible to frost, but grew very well in cold weather. It is currently my main early season production tomato.
Nevskiy Red, was more tolerant of frost/cold, and grew great in cold weather the first time I grew it, but didn't grow well the second year when it was a wetter/cooler season, so I dropped it.
I scored F1 Sungold as susceptible to frost/cold, and gave it a medium score for ability to grow in cold weather. It is usually among the first fruits to ripen in my garden. If I had been scoring the F3/F4 sungold plants this year for frost tolerance I would have given them a high score.
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