Interested in Growing a Multiflora Dwarf?

[oakley]

Yellow fruit?! Hope the flavor is there. Save lots of seed if good!!!

[jmsieglaff]

I posted earlier this spring, I started 19xF2 seed in January and eventually potted up and then put the plants into their final pots. They lived by our south facing patio door until the weather was cooperative to live on the deck, which was the very end of April this year. I have 10 plants. While the micro part of my hunt was largely a failure, as most are what I'd call small dwarfs 24-30" tall. Many are multiflora, many have antho shoulders, I was hoping with 10 plants I'd find something other than red, but all are red. I've saved seed from the best 5 plants and will grow out seed from 2 of the best varieties in 2019, hoping to find some more micro habit. The best of all of this? It's July 1, the other day I picked these 2.5 lbs of all at minimum--very good to excellent tasting cherry tomatoes. I picked a similar amount a few days before that as well. In fact, having these plants allowed us to stop buying store cherry tomatoes at the end of May--something we typically don't do until mid July otherwise!

[tryno12]

Dan, did the great grandparent of my 13X that was red and yellow striped have a name?
Thanks
Pete

[tryno12]

Same story here. A lot of early cherry toms with a few MMF's all started in Jan and set out early May..........

[dfollett]

Originally Posted by tryno12

Dan, did the great grandparent of my 13X that was red and yellow striped have a name?
Thanks
Pete

The pedigree of 13X is: (Red Robin x Rose Quartz multiflora F4) X Sweet Baby Girl F4.

I happened to have an F4 of Sweet Baby Girl (a tasty hybrid indeterminate red cherry tomato) growing at the time I made the first few crosses with the micros. I've grown out the SBG offspring to F6 and never seen anything except red.

It's interesting because in addition to the red w/yellow stripes I fount in the F2, I've since found black and black w/green stripes in the 13X line. Most are quite tasty. I need to find someone to follow up with the other colors.

[tryno12]

In my post #545 if that is some Golden Heart mix showing thru?

[tryno12]

I see Dan that your post #560 answered my question once I read it close
Thanks
Pete

[oakley]

Originally Posted by jmsieglaff

I posted earlier this spring, I started 19xF2 seed in January and eventually potted up and then put the plants into their final pots. They lived by our south facing patio door until the weather was cooperative to live on the deck, which was the very end of April this year. I have 10 plants. While the micro part of my hunt was largely a failure, as most are what I'd call small dwarfs 24-30" tall. Many are multiflora, many have antho shoulders, I was hoping with 10 plants I'd find something other than red, but all are red. I've saved seed from the best 5 plants and will grow out seed from 2 of the best varieties in 2019, hoping to find some more micro habit. The best of all of this? It's July 1, the other day I picked these 2.5 lbs of all at minimum--very good to excellent tasting cherry tomatoes. I picked a similar amount a few days before that as well. In fact, having these plants allowed us to stop buying store cherry tomatoes at the end of May--something we typically don't do until mid July otherwise!

That is impressive. I'm getting early fruit but just a 1/4 of that. Still great and welcome.
Getting a dozen or so weekly since mid May. Had a bowl, halved, with fresh tarragon, garlic, and shallots with a steak last night. Also no need for store bought cherries. Lots of fruit but the heat wave is halting the harvest a bit.

[bjbebs]

I've been steadily picking for a good week. No great tastes but all good to very good. A couple plants are making 1 1/2 to 2 oz. fruit. 2 of the 3 51x plants are showing yellow fruit. This will come to a quick end as they are determinates. All others appear to be indeterminate.

[SeanInVa]

Dan,
Pretty neat project you've got going here!

I'm certainly interested in growing some of these out. I've got a few tents that sit idle most of the year with LED lights, and lots of space outdoors during the summer. It would be fairly easy to keep up with smaller pots as opposed to buckets and raised beds for the normal summer tomato faire. I will shoot you a PM with some info if you're willing to send some out!

No recent posts -

I've just started picking from four of Dan's crosses, but I haven't done the taste testing yet:
32 X Wherokowhai
53 X Dwarf Sweet Sue
67 X Leggy
72 X Stick

Others have no ripe tomatoes yet:
40 X Lithium Sunset X Pink Boar X Cherokee Lime Stripes - not flowering yet
52 X Megatrusses. two have green fruit but the others have no flowers yet
65 X Streak Legal - only one is flowering
66 X Crazy Calliope - only one is flowering

It looks like I'll be digging up lots of plants in another month to pot and put in the greenhouse.

[hl2601]

A 2018 report from the four micro multi floras I grew-The best of the two varieties were the 46x and the 2 generations of 51x. The 33x had the lovely wispy foliage, the tomatoes were red with nipples but medium in taste so I won't continue. The most exciting thing was to find two yellow fruiting plants in both the 51x F3 and the 51x F4. I grew 8 plants and only two( one from each generation) were yellow. Plants were maybe 18" and multiflora having between 13-21 tomatoes on a branch. I needed to stake them or alternatively let them cascade so stems would not break. These plants really produced. The flavor was slightly tart, but nicely old fashioned and really good so I will continue with both 51x.

[hl2601]

BTW- here are Dan's descriptions of the above crosses I grew for everyone's reference.
33X - (RR X RQ mf F4) X (Tidy X Pork Chop F2) 10” red lg cherry fine leaf, strong tart flavor, excellent production
46X - (RR X RQ mf F5) X Lollipop 12” RL very good production multi flora-ish may throw yellow fruit (9 flavor)
51X - (RR X RQ mf F4) X Dwarf Golden Heart F6
F3- 12” RL red heart medium cherry multiflora strong flavor (8+ flavor)
F4-12” red lg cherry with a nipple

Note:The 51x yellows were a deviation. I got all red from my 46x plants.

[dfollett]

Thanks for the posts. Keep growing.

[tryno12]

Dan, I hope to post some a bit later, I am behind and have some bug issues.
Pete