Siberian Question

AlittleSalt · July 16, 2015

I have 4 Siberian tomato plants (Not Siberian Red, Tiger, or any of the others) - just Siberian.

I have read they grow as Dwarfs - and they grow 8' tall. Plant them 18" apart - and 4' apart. So, needless to say, I'm confused on what Siberian may grow as. This evening or tomorrow evening, it's time to plant them in-ground before they get any bigger in their solo cups. I usually plant tomatoes 3' apart. Our drip irrigation emitters are spaced 18" apart. Do any of you know how far apart should I plant them?

**carolyn137** · July 16, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

I have 4 Siberian tomato plants (Not Siberian Red, Tiger, or any of the others) - just Siberian.

I have read they grow as Dwarfs - and they grow 8' tall. Plant them 18" apart - and 4' apart. So, needless to say, I'm confused on what Siberian may grow as. This evening or tomorrow evening, it's time to plant them in-ground before they get any bigger in their solo cups. I usually plant tomatoes 3' apart. Our drip irrigation emitters are spaced 18" apart. Do any of you know how far apart should I plant them?

For many years the public SSE Catalog, also online, has listed Siberian and distinguished it from the variety Siberia,

so let me type out what is said.

Introduced through SSE in 1984 by Will Bonsall, originally from the Lowden Collection ( that's in Canada, CJM). Dwarf sprawling plants with very early fruit set. Egg shaped 2-3 inch fruits with good strong flavor. Not the same as Siberia, which is inferior in all respects.

Determinate, 60 days from Transplant.

I don't know how far apart you plant your det vs indet, I planted both about 3-4 apart with no problem. And rows were 5 ft apart on either side. So the indet ones would fill the space between the rows on either side as they sprawled but the det would behavior better.

The only catch here is that they describe Siberian as having sprawling plants, but as a det they certainly wouldn't spread as far as the indet,

Carolyn

AlittleSalt · July 16, 2015

Thank you Carolyn. I'll go ahead and plant them 3 feet apart and live and learn. I've read they are good for making sauce. I also read that they will produce in temperatures as low as 38F.

Linda10 · July 16, 2015

My Siberian plants this year were as described by Carolyn above. They were grown in 15 gallon pots spaced close together with cages. Very productive...147 tomatoes total. These are my early tomatoes so they will set fruit in the low 40's here. plants were about 3 to 4 feet tall at the most.

Wi-sunflower · July 17, 2015

About 15 + years ago when Siberia / Siberian first came out there was a lot of wrong seeds being offered. I think in part because it was a "hot" variety and because of the "smuggled out of Russia on a stamp" story. I had grown a Siberia I got from Totally Tomatoes and later got Siberian from SSE. At that time I was saving and selling seeds but wasn't yet a TV member and didn't know about TomatoBase to check on my varieties.

As it turns out NEITHER of the varieties I had were correct for type. A member here that got seeds from me for "Siberian" told me it was wrong BUT he loved whatever it was. He lived in the PNW and it was 1 of the few varieties that grew well for him there. HE renamed it Cowberian in honor of my state of Wisconsin. Cowberian is not a dwarf type plant but is not a big plant either. Fruit is in the Matina class (2-3 oz) and has decent flavor.

Carol

July 16, 2015	#1
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Siberian Question I have 4 Siberian tomato plants (Not Siberian Red, Tiger, or any of the others) - just Siberian. I have read they grow as Dwarfs - and they grow 8' tall. Plant them 18" apart - and 4' apart. So, needless to say, I'm confused on what Siberian may grow as. This evening or tomorrow evening, it's time to plant them in-ground before they get any bigger in their solo cups. I usually plant tomatoes 3' apart. Our drip irrigation emitters are spaced 18" apart. Do any of you know how far apart should I plant them?

July 16, 2015	#4
Linda10 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brush Prairie, WA Posts: 925	My Siberian plants this year were as described by Carolyn above. They were grown in 15 gallon pots spaced close together with cages. Very productive...147 tomatoes total. These are my early tomatoes so they will set fruit in the low 40's here. plants were about 3 to 4 feet tall at the most. __________________ Linda10

July 17, 2015	#5
Wi-sunflower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,591	About 15 + years ago when Siberia / Siberian first came out there was a lot of wrong seeds being offered. I think in part because it was a "hot" variety and because of the "smuggled out of Russia on a stamp" story. I had grown a Siberia I got from Totally Tomatoes and later got Siberian from SSE. At that time I was saving and selling seeds but wasn't yet a TV member and didn't know about TomatoBase to check on my varieties. As it turns out NEITHER of the varieties I had were correct for type. A member here that got seeds from me for "Siberian" told me it was wrong BUT he loved whatever it was. He lived in the PNW and it was 1 of the few varieties that grew well for him there. HE renamed it Cowberian in honor of my state of Wisconsin. Cowberian is not a dwarf type plant but is not a big plant either. Fruit is in the Matina class (2-3 oz) and has decent flavor. Carol