2022 Dwarf Tomato Project
I've been growing these for several years, and want to know if anyone else is. I'm growing these in Earthboxes. This year, among others I am growing
Sneaky Sauce
Perfect Harmony
Wild Fred
BrandyFred
Beauty King
Crimson Sockeye
Fred's Tie Dye
And for the first time
Elsie's Fancy
Choemato
Lucky Swirl
Sneaky Sauce. I hope to be back with more names.
This one has a Turkish Yellow Eggplant on the left.
Comments (22)
cindy-6b/7a VA
last year
ekgrows
last yearRelated Discussions
NH Dwarf Tomato Project
Comments (10)I'll check out the other sources to see if there are any offered there, too. It's too late for me to order any for this year's crop, but I still enjoy "following the seed". Megan, I plan to grow mine in 5 gallon buckets, in Al's 5:1:1 mix, modified to retain more moisture in our Oklahoma climate (5 parts pine bark fines, 1/2 part chicken manure, 1/2 part spaghnum peat, 1/2 perlite, 1/2 part Turface or calcined clay). Usually one would use 1 part peat and 1 part perlite, but I modified with the manure and the Turface to retain a bit more moisture. It seemed to work fine last year, but I will give it this year and see how it continues to work for me. I also throw in a handful of Tomato Tone, and a handful of Espoma's Dolimitic Lime. I will probably foliar feed with the 3:1:2 fertilizer formula that Al recommends as the best ratio for all plants, and one that he specifically suggests is Foliage Pro. I haven't been able to find that brand locally yet, so I use the John's Lady Bug that I found at Horn's. It is actually a 3:1.5:2, but is close enough to fit the bill. It has micronutrients available for the plants as well, and that's another reason Al recommends the Foliage Pro. Al Tapla's potting soil mix and fertilizer recommendations are well known on Container Forums across the board. He also has a "gritty" mix for those who grow cacti, do bonsai, etc., that requires a rapid draining mix. Haven't tried that one yet. One step at a time. I find that mixing my own is much more economical as well because I can get 3 cf bags of pine bark fines for approx. $4 a bag, and that is the bulk of the mix. However, any good potting mix may serve you well, too, such as Sta-Green (Lowe's has 2 cf bags for $10 now), Scott's. Just don't use the garden soil or potting "soils" which are too heavy for use in containers. What varieties did Craig send you, if you know? Susan...See MoreAnyone Growing Dwarf Tomatoes?
Comments (13)Ralph, in years past I would have had tons to swap. I grew for a friends church plant sale in addition to my friends and family. But this year I cut back to just friends and family and myself. It was just too much work to grow that many (and the promised help never seemed to materialize) so I am making my life easier this year! I used Al's 5-1-1 recipe for potting soil in the past. Last year I was in a crunch for time so I used Miracle Gro (not moisture control) on Craig's recommendation. He uses that in his containers. I had an outstanding year for tomatoes!!! It might also have been I found a great liquid fertilizer other than MG? Or it could have been the great summer we had? But I won't argue with success! I will have to look at the Carolina Gardening Forum. Won't be able to make the swap this year. I'm in Greensboro, and have a new Grandson so not so much time on my hands....See More2016 Contest - Dwarf Project: New Big Dwarf
Comments (193)I like to get my seeds from vendors that grew their plants in areas similar to mine, if possible (however, most places are pretty different). The reason I like to do this is acclimatization. If a plant gets used to growing in a greenhouse, or a vastly different region, it might take a few years of growing in your climate to get it acclimatized sufficiently. I think acclimatization to your own personal soil and water is as important as acclimatization to the climate, however. Seeds from my friend a couple miles away just don't grow the same in my soil. Even my neighbor's yard is different with seeds from the same seed packet. When I say they don't grow the same, I mean the production and taste is different. The plants can still seem healthy....See MoreCraig LeHoullier's Reviews of Dwarf Tomatoes
Comments (7)Jamie - thanks for posting this link! And I hope you continue to post links to the remaining articles. I didn't read all of the reviews yet but did read the reviews for the dwarfs I grew this season if he listed them. Beauty King, Tasmanian Chocolate, Wild Fred, Mr. Snow, Brandyfred( in a 5 gallon bucket), and Rosella Purple. I was most impressed with Beauty King, Brandyfred, and Mr. Snow. I think I let Wild Fred set too many fruit and they didn't size up very well for me. Rosella Purple had a nice early fruit set and ripened earliest of all the dwarfs. All 5 of my dwarfs in raised beds eventually succumbed to Septoria but the Brandyfred that was about 100 yards from my garden and any other tomatoes and was protected by a tree line never got Septoria. It did get knocked over by wind 3 times and lost a few green fruit each time. I'm going to grow all of my dwarfs in containers next year but I need to figure out a better way to keep them upright when a storm rolls through. Maybe a large rock in the bottom of each container. I have saved seeds for 4 varieties and purchased seeds for 8 varieties if would like some for next season. I'm fermenting seeds from the last 2 Brandyfred right now. ETA: the other varieties I have seed for that I didn't list are Iditarod Red and Sleeping Lady that Heritage Seed Market included as a bonus. I also bought some of my dwarfs from Victory seeds....See Morenanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
last yearHere's a mid June update. Hopefully some of these flowers will set fruit during these relatively ( less than 90f) days. I'm thinking of "helping" the pollination with an electric toothbrush. It's been windy. Anybody thoughts about whether "helping" is worth it?
nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
last yearlast modified: last yearHere's a mid June update. Hopefully some of these flowers will set fruit during these relatively ( less than 90f) cool days. I'm thinking of "helping" the pollination with an electric toothbrush. It's been windy. Anybody thoughts about whether "helping" is worth it?
nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
last yearlast modified: last yearAnother update. It's been very hot most days, but there are a few fruit! Fortunately the plants are still small enough to use shade cloth over the pea fence cages.
Choemato
Sneaky Sauce
I think this is Wild Fred
nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
last yearlast modified: last yearAnother update
Fred's Tie Dye
Crimson Sockeye
Lucky Swirl
Beauty King
Perfect Harmony
Elsie's Fancy
nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
last yearlast modified: last yearAnother update. Nothing ripe yet.
Perfect Harmony
Elsie's Fancy
Choemato
Sneaky Sauce
Wild Fred
Brandy Fred
Fred's Tie Dye
nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
last yearnanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
last yearlast modified: last yearNot quite ripe, but stll pretty!
Elsie's Fancy.
Dwarf Fred's Tie Dye
nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
last yearlast modified: last yearMore harvested tomatoes
Sneaky Sauce
Fred's Tie Dye
nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
last yearlast modified: last yearThank you @calamondindave. I'm embarrassed to say I am not a sophisticated tomato taster. I mostly make gazpacho
or roast them.
I grow Crimson Sockeye regularly, because it usually does well in my garden.I grow a lot bicolor tomatoes, looking for the flavor and texture of our family favorite "Pinapple". I always taste for that, and they have never met that standard , but they are usually good and pretty.
I like striped ones too
Here's a cut Fred's Tie Dye; next time I'll cut it the other way.
ekgrows
last yearlast modified: last yearnanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
10 months agolast modified: 10 months ago2023 anyone? @ekgrows, I t to try Caitydid !
ekgrows
10 months ago
nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)Original Author