New Big Dwarf: Opinions?

[bigcheef]

My first year with New Big Dwarf and I really like this tomato.

Other than some BER early on, the plant has performed well and the fruits taste great. Fruits are also much larger than any dwarf I have seen before.

Super meaty and a balanced to sweet flavor on my palate, they go great on a BBQ samich:







RIK

[nctomatoman]

I love it!....though it does not love growing here in Raleigh (always gets diseased fairly early on, but does yield reasonably well before its demise). The size and quality of NBD was part of the inspiration for the Dwarf project that we kicked off, since it is the only large fruited dwarf (and was intentionally bred to be such, with seed companies crossing Ponderosa with Dwarf Champion at the turn of the century, then releasing the successes with various names, such as Dwarf Giant and New Big Dwarf).

I wonder who will hit the jackpot in the F2 and beyond with green or yellow or purple or brown or bicolored or orange large fruited, delicious dwarfs!?!?!

[Adenn1]

How big does NBD get? Would it be a good container plant? Already thinking about next year...

[nctomatoman]

It is a great container plant. For me, tops out at about 3 feet, thrives in a 5-10 gallon pot, the short and stout nature lends itself to a single 4 foot stake.

[bigcheef]

Adenn1,

I have my NBD growing in a 10 gal container and I am not pleased with the results because of BER. I would suggest using a larger container than I did to help prevent this problem. Watering schedules can also help in the prevention of BER in container grown plants. In the heat of summer, you may want to water once in the morning and once in the evening. As long as you have several holes for drainage this should help.

To answer your question more directly….. yes, I do think NBD is a good choice for containers, but I will probably grow mine in the ground next year since it is difficult for me to water more than once a day.

RIK

[bigcheef]

Woops,

I guess you were quicker on the draw than me Craig.

Have you ever had problems with BER in your container grown NBD's?

RIK

[nctomatoman]

RIK - no more so than any other of the dozens of varieties I grow each year in pots. You are on the money with the watering issue - plants in pots are much less forgiving of inadequate watering than plants in the ground - they dry out much more quickly, and if they get really dry (withered foliage) with developing fruit, BER also develops quickly. I water twice daily in the summer - morning and evening - and water well (at least 20 seconds full open, no nozzle - till water comes out the bottom).

[Rena]

I like it but I would try Golden Dwarf Champ. Decent size tomatoes very husky plant. I have cut mine off twice and its working on a third crop. Flavor of NBD is better but GDC has great flavor. -Rena

[Grub]

I agree with everything above, but will add that the plant also seemed prone to EB in my humid garden compared with others in pots nearby. I had three growing in pots in various spots and they just weren't that hardy.

Between them, NBD produced a medium crop of largish pinks. But I'm a little less enthusiastic about its flavour, ranking it as very good, but not up there with Gregori's Altai, which produced at a similiar time. And more. And bigger.

Of course, GA is an indeterminate that ranges to 7ft or more. Of the pot crop I found Mountain Princess a better producer with equally good or even slightly better flavour. Thanks for MP seeds, Tony in Orlando, wherever you are.