I think most folks are wary of Dwarf tomatoes, thinking they are miniature plants with miniature fruit. I am here to show you they aren’t any of those things. They are dwarf only in stature, most growing between 3 and 4 feet. They also do really well in large pots if you don’t have the real estate for a garden. You can still enjoy a homegrown tomato instead of those nasty, red things that they call tomatoes at the store.

I started out with a couple of varieties. I was intrigued by the story of how they came to be. For years, if someone wanted smaller plants, they chose determinate varieties that didn’t get very big, the plant or the tomatoes. There’s not a whole lot of variety there. Smaller fruits, almost all of them were red, a lot of the early tomatoes fall into the diminutive category and their flavor, while head and shoulders above store tomatoes, were still not as flavorful as one would hope. (Mostly because they don’t have time to develop the flavors in longer season tomatoes.)

Dwarf (Tree Type) tomatoes from The Dwarf Tomato Project. I grew 6 of them in 2016 and was very impressed with most of them. They are perfect for a small space gardener who wants a slicer instead of the smaller tomatoes that are usually produced by most determinate tomatoes.

 This class of tomatoes exhibits characteristics of both determinate and indeterminate types. Historically called “tree-type,” they are now commonly referred to as” dwarfs”. Tree-type tomato plants have very thick main stems with minimal branching. Their foliage can be either regular or potato leaf but in either case, are rugose (e.g. dark green in color and crinkly in texture). Due to their slow growth rate, they appear from a distance to be determinate achieving three to four feet in height. However, like indeterminate, they continue to set fruit throughout the growing season. Compact and everbearing, what a great combination! They come in many colors, shapes and sizes.

To learn more go the link below, it’s really quite fascinating. The Dwarf Tomato Project grew out of a comment made in a Tomato Forum at Gardenweb when Craig LeHoullier lamented the fact that the dwarf category in tomatoes was very restricted. He suggested it would be good to cross dwarfs with heirlooms to remedy this situation and mentioned New Big Dwarf being listed in a 1915 Isbell Seed Catalogue which noted how the variety was developed by crossing Dwarf Champion (known since the late 1800s) with the largest known tomato at that time, Ponderosa. Patrina, a friend thought this sounded like a fun thing to do and decided to have a go at crossing some dwarfs with heirlooms in her next summer season in Australia.

Patrina and Craig decided to use this material to start a project where anyone (who wanted to help grow the many generations that would be needed to stabilise new varieties) could volunteer to grow some plants. The goal was to create a selection of tastes, colours and sizes that would equal heirloom varieties with plants having an advantage of being more compact and therefore more manageable. Volunteers were given the opportunity to name any new novel dwarf tomato type they discovered in appreciation for helping in the project.

I bought the majority of my seeds for these Dwarfs from Tatianas Tomatobase, Victory Seeds, and Tomatofest. As more people become aware of them, they are becoming readily available in limited varieties from other online seed companies.

Check out their story and pictures at the following link:
www,dwarftomatoproject.net

These plants are wonderful for containers (the larger, the better) as long as they have enough sunlight. Remember that ripening times start when the plants are transplanted into the garden. This year, I have 29 dwarf varieties available.

Of the varieties I have grown, I have some favorites: Dwarf Fred’s Tye-Dye, Dwarf Purple Heart, Dwarf Golden Gypsy, Dwarf Tasmanian Chocolate, Dwarf Brandy Fred and Dwarf Sweet Sue.

Dwarf Fred’s Tye-Dye
A beautiful, purplish-colored fruit, it is sweet, large, and abundant. I think this is the one I fell in love with in the beginning. A medium-sized tomato, purple with jagged gold and green stripes and the deep crimson flesh of that black tomatoes are known for.

Dwarf Purple Heart
This plant produces heart-shaped, medium- to medium-large fruit that ripens to a dusky rose purple hue. The flavor is well-balanced, sweet, intense, and prolific. As with all heart-shaped tomatoes, some are more of an oblate shape, but most are shaped like hearts.

Dwarf Golden Gypsy
A potato leaf dwarf with heavy yields of medium to large smooth oblate yellow fruit. Pale yellow flesh with an intense and refreshing flavor. 

Dwarf Tasmanian Chocolate
Strong-yielding, short, sturdy vines bear heavy crops of beautiful, plump, mahogany red faintly striped tomatoes with a delicious, well-balanced flavor. Perfect for large containers on a deck or balcony. I was surprised at how well it did in a larger pot. Isn’t this one a beauty!

Dwarf Brandy Fred
Oblate medium to medium large fruit that ripens to a dusky, rosy purple hue. The flavor is well-balanced and intense, and the variety is quite prolific. It reminds me of a Pink Brandywine, which I believe is in its parentage.

Dwarf Sweet Sue
A medium-sized fruit that ripens to a bright yellow with a pink blossom end blush. The flavor is outstanding, well-balanced, and sweet. I like pretty tomatoes that taste good as well.

These tomatoes are the ones I can vouch for having grown and eaten them myself. .

Now for some new ones that I am looking forward to trying,

Stony Brook Heart
Compact, reaching 3’ to 4’ and very productive. The distinctly heart-shaped tomatoes are a beautiful scarlet color with distinct jagged golden stripes. Average size run between six to ten oz, but they can reach one pound or more. The meaty flesh has a classic tomato flavor with an initial burst of sweetness

Dwarf Perfect Harmony
Orange-yellow skin, a beefsteak type, flattened at the poles and with more or less plump shoulders. Grows 4’ – 5’ tall, and produces a good quantity of medium-large, up to twenty oz, bright-orange colored, with a distinctly tart, full flavor.

Dwarf Metallica
All you rock fans unite. I wanted to try this one, partly because of the name. Not necessarily my favorite band, but hey, I know some of you like them. This tomato is a looker, with it’s dark pink color with metallic green striping.  A beefsteak I can see a BLT in it’s future.Mild and well-balanced flavor, slightly sweet and tangy. Very productive. Can be grown in large pots.

Dwarf Idaho Gem
Any Idaho fans out there? I personally love Idaho. This variety produces lots of medium to large fruits, ranging from 4 to 14 oz, a true yellow (not orange), that are juicy, sweet, and flavorfully mild; a well balanced, delightful flavor. This is a perfect meaty slicing tomato that helps prove that yellow tomatoes are not bland or too mild.

There are many more to choose from. Unfortunately, I can’t showcase them all in this one post. Otherwise, no one will want to finish reading this. I fear I have gone on far too long. However, my next post will be on a few more.

I have a treat for you now. This is one of the prettiest tomato plants I have ever seen. It is called Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet. It is named after the developers own daughter. This has the most interesting chartreuse-green foliage. When it germinated I about had a stroke thinking it had contracted a virus or had a serious nutrient deficiency. I rushed over to pull them until I realized all 9 plants were the same color. Whew! After doing some research, I find that it isn’t any of those things. These tomatoes are supposed to be very sweet. The chartreuse gene that causes that color, also encourages it to grow a little taller than other dwarfs. Most dwarfs only grow 3″ to 4″ feet (hence the name), this one can reach 4″ to 5″. I am excited to try it this year. Without further adieu, I introduce you to my shining star (literally):

Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet
Don’t be put off by the chartreuse-colored leaves. The first time I saw them I rushed to pull them thinking they had a virus, except that all of them had it! The fruit are oblate shaped, 6 – 16 oz each, and pink. Flavor i son the sweet side, the texture is meaty The chartreuse gene causes plants to grow a bit taller, so be sure to stake it well.

Isn’t that a beauty! Until next time, God bless!