2022 Dwarf Tomato Project
nanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
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cindy-6b/7a VA
last yearekgrows
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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 MoreDwarf tomatoes
Comments (9)So, based on notes from previous years, these are the tomatoes from The Dwarf Tomato Project that I've grown so far: Rosella Purple Dwarf Mr. Snow Tasmanian Chocolate Summertime Green Sarandipity Dwarf Purple Heart Chocolate Lightning Dwarf Wild Fred I might have forgotten some, but not many. Of these, my favorite has been Dwarf Wild Fred although Tasmanian Chocolate has been above average too in production and flavor. So was Purple Heart, though not as productive. So, for 2017, I'm growing these: BrandyFred Dwarf (Dwarf Wild Fred x Brandywine) Dwarf Sweet Sue (Golden Dwarf Champion x Green Giant) Fred's Tie Dye (Dwarf Wild Fred x Berkeley Pink Tie Dye) Maralinga Dwarf (Cherokee Purple x Wilpena) Summertime Gold Dwarf (Golden Dwarf Champion x Green Giant) That just addresses dwarfs produced from the multi-nation breeding program known as The Tomato Dwarf Project. For other dwarf vareities that I've grown, some were okay but most were not. I do love New Pink Dwarf and grew it for many years. It produced equally well in large containers or in the ground for me. Other dwarf varieties I've tried, like the Czech Bush that Amy mentioned above, were dismal failures, producing poorly and being a general waste of space. Whippersnapper is highly productive but the tomatoes are nothing special and, in order to earn a regular spot in my growing tomatoes, the fruit have to be special or extra special. Among the extra-small, if not necessarily labeled as dwarf varieties, Bush Early Girl is one of the most productive tomato varieties I've ever grown. It literally had so many tomatoes on it that the foliage disappeared----buried underneath tons of tomatoes per plant. Martino's Roma is an excellent dwarf type paste tomato. I don't think it is listed as a dwarf, and probably is describe as a compact determinate, but it is the smallest paste tomato plant I've ever grown and in my head I classify it as a dwarf. Three tomato varieties I like because they stay insanely small are Red Robin, Orange Pixie and Yellow Canary. They are very small plants that produce abundantly. You can grow them in pots as small as 4", although they yield better if grown in at least 1 gallon sized pots. Some people grow them indoors in winter for fresh winter tomatoes, but I haven't found a way yet to keep the cats and dogs from knocking the plants off tables, shelves or window sills, so I don't even bother....See More"Dwarf Tomato Project results in 24 seed releases"
Comments (3)Actually they have released 108 varieties from the Dwarf Tomato Project since 2010. I think 24 may be new releases this year. Victory seeds offers all of them. I haven't grown any of them before but I ordered 7 varieties this year from Victory seeds and Heritage Seed Market. Heritage sent me a couple bonus packs as well. I plan to grow 7 of them this year. Some in a raised bed and some in containers. The project has officially come to a close now but many of the collaborators are continuing on with the breeding. Victory Seeds - Dwarf Tomato Project Releases I have: Dwarf Mr. Snow Dwarf BrandyFred Dwarf Wild Fred Dwarf Mahogany Dwarf Iditarod Dwarf Beauty King Dwarf Rosella Purple Dwarf Sleeping Lady Dwarf Tasmanian Chocolate...See MoreStarting Dwarf Tomato Seeds
Comments (1)I grew about 10 dwarfs for the first time last year and they did grow slower than the standard sized tomatoes. I'm planning to start my dwarfs a week or 10 days earlier than the others this year. They have very thick stems compared to non dwarfs....See Morenanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
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