Recommendation for productive dwarf tomato

roper2008 · November 27, 2019

Since all my tomatoes get eaten in my back yard, except for tiny one's like Post Office Spoonful. I would like to grow a few dwarf varieties in my earthboxes that stay in my front yard. I would like red or pink, productive, not tart, dwarf tomato. Any recommendations?

The one's that get eaten in the back yard are by varmints, not me unfortunately.

November 27, 2019

I have grown New Big Dwarf for 2 years and love them! Only problem was this year 3 plants grew to 6 feet tall! ( should be 2 ft) but the produxtion was great- large nearly seedless tomatoes.

Cole_Robbie · November 27, 2019

NBD yields well, I agree. Tasmanian Chocolate did pretty well for me, too.

The thing about yield is that you can only get so much before the flavor starts to suffer. I have had dwarf varieties that were grown commercially in Russia and the former Soviet states. Yield was tremendous. My plants looked like a commercial for a magic fertilizer. But flavor was watered down and mediocre. The plant's leaf surface area is the limiting factor for sugar production.

roper2008 · November 27, 2019

I have some old seed of New Big Dwarf that I received from grunt before he passed away. Never have grown them. I will try germinating them this spring. I can't do
black tomatoes because of grey mold.

November 27, 2019

I read a review of Tasmanian Chocolate that said it was very tasteless- but one really never knows why, so I am not really swayed. I'm ready to try it once!

Nan_PA_6b · November 27, 2019

I've read lots of folks say they loved Tasmanian Chocolate.

Father'sDaughter · November 27, 2019

If you want sweet vs tart, two pink options are Pink Passion and Arctic Rose.

I worked on Pink Passion and remember it being a heavy producer and relatively early.

This year I grew Arctic Rose and it set so many medium to large tomatoes that the two dwarf size plants snapped the bamboo stakes I was using to support them.

GrowingCoastal · November 27, 2019

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nan_PA_6b

I've read lots of folks say they loved Tasmanian Chocolate.

Grown in a container they tasted great through the whole season, last year.

Father'sDaughter · November 28, 2019

Sleeping Lady was a winner for a Black this year for me. Early, productive, and a nice deep flavor.

For a yellow with big flavor, Golden Gypsy. I've been searching for a Yellow tomato that had a nice flavor "punch" that wasn't all citrus. I think I found it. The fact that it produced a lot of medium to large beefsteaks was a huge plus. It was a bit later to ripen than the others, but worth the wait.

I'm now in search of a red and/or pink dwarf with a balanced/rich flavor and good production. My unreleased Tastywine struggled this year, so I purchased released seeds from Victory for next year. Also going to try Waratah next year. If anyone has any other suggestions for a red or pink dwarf with big flavor, please send them along!

tryno12 · November 28, 2019

NBD yields well, I agree. Tasmanian Chocolate did pretty well for me, too. (I copied that) but that is what I found. Arctic rose did well, quit for a week and started again - good variety and production. Rosella Crimson and Crimson Sockeye good pinks flavor and production. Yellow Mr. Snow was great like Arctic Rose production wise but yellow. 2 yrs. ago Tennessee Suited was great producer and taste - I goofed this year and put in bad ground not raised bed and was pathetic

Yukon Quest was early, good but not production wise. Beauty King is always great in all respects in good dirt.
Pete

November 28, 2019

I would recommend Husky Cherry Red F1. It produced more and more as the season progressed for us, just like a non-dwarf indeterminate cherry (we grew it in the ground). Acidity level is about normal for a tomato, IMO (about as acidic as Roma—maybe a touch more). It's sweet for some people, but it was about as sweet as Roma for me (one of the F2s was very sweet, however). It was quite early for us. It's a dwarf indeterminate. The leaves are rugose. The fruits are round. They range in size from maybe 0.75" to 2" in diameter, depending on your soil and the fruit. Don't bite the fruit. Put the whole thing in your mouth, or it might explode.

roper2008 · November 28, 2019

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check these out.

maxjohnson · November 28, 2019

I had bad luck with New Big Dwarf in two states.

Coastal Pride Orange was the most productive for me.

Copper River is a bicolor green when ripe semidwarf that's very productive. It should be able to grow with a 52" tomato cage. People called it indeterminate, but I grew one in 5-gal grow bag with those dinky triangle shaped cage and it was productive. Also on of the best tasting.

tryno12 · November 29, 2019

Shule1, I assume you bought the Husky Cherry Red F1 at a store? My only hold back from growing it would be the skin toughness/thickness - how was the skin? and how large were the fruits?
Thank you
Pete

Greatgardens · November 29, 2019

I have had good success with Dwarf Pink Passion over several years. Pink, smallish (3-5 oz), early, only moderate cracking/splitting, good flavor. Because of its small plant size and earliness, it is my first slicer, ripe by the 3rd week in June here in 5b. More than a week earlier than regular ind. earlies for me.

November 27, 2019	#1
roper2008 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Virginia Bch, VA (7b) Posts: 1,337	Recommendation for productive dwarf tomato Since all my tomatoes get eaten in my back yard, except for tiny one's like Post Office Spoonful. I would like to grow a few dwarf varieties in my earthboxes that stay in my front yard. I would like red or pink, productive, not tart, dwarf tomato. Any recommendations? The one's that get eaten in the back yard are by varmints, not me unfortunately. Last edited by roper2008; November 28, 2019 at 11:40 AM.

November 28, 2019	#11
shule1 Guest Posts: n/a	I would recommend Husky Cherry Red F1. It produced more and more as the season progressed for us, just like a non-dwarf indeterminate cherry (we grew it in the ground). Acidity level is about normal for a tomato, IMO (about as acidic as Roma—maybe a touch more). It's sweet for some people, but it was about as sweet as Roma for me (one of the F2s was very sweet, however). It was quite early for us. It's a dwarf indeterminate. The leaves are rugose. The fruits are round. They range in size from maybe 0.75" to 2" in diameter, depending on your soil and the fruit. Don't bite the fruit. Put the whole thing in your mouth, or it might explode. Last edited by shule1; November 28, 2019 at 04:33 AM.

November 28, 2019	#13
maxjohnson Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: OH 6a Posts: 592	I had bad luck with New Big Dwarf in two states. Coastal Pride Orange was the most productive for me. Copper River is a bicolor green when ripe semidwarf that's very productive. It should be able to grow with a 52" tomato cage. People called it indeterminate, but I grew one in 5-gal grow bag with those dinky triangle shaped cage and it was productive. Also on of the best tasting. Last edited by maxjohnson; November 28, 2019 at 01:04 PM.

November 27, 2019	#2
JoParrott Guest Posts: n/a	I have grown New Big Dwarf for 2 years and love them! Only problem was this year 3 plants grew to 6 feet tall! ( should be 2 ft) but the produxtion was great- large nearly seedless tomatoes.

November 27, 2019	#3
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	NBD yields well, I agree. Tasmanian Chocolate did pretty well for me, too. The thing about yield is that you can only get so much before the flavor starts to suffer. I have had dwarf varieties that were grown commercially in Russia and the former Soviet states. Yield was tremendous. My plants looked like a commercial for a magic fertilizer. But flavor was watered down and mediocre. The plant's leaf surface area is the limiting factor for sugar production.

November 27, 2019	#6
Nan_PA_6b Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 3,194	I've read lots of folks say they loved Tasmanian Chocolate.

November 27, 2019	#7
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,919	If you want sweet vs tart, two pink options are Pink Passion and Arctic Rose. I worked on Pink Passion and remember it being a heavy producer and relatively early. This year I grew Arctic Rose and it set so many medium to large tomatoes that the two dwarf size plants snapped the bamboo stakes I was using to support them.

November 28, 2019	#10
tryno12 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Indianapolis Area 46112 Posts: 857	NBD yields well, I agree. Tasmanian Chocolate did pretty well for me, too. (I copied that) but that is what I found. Arctic rose did well, quit for a week and started again - good variety and production. Rosella Crimson and Crimson Sockeye good pinks flavor and production. Yellow Mr. Snow was great like Arctic Rose production wise but yellow. 2 yrs. ago Tennessee Suited was great producer and taste - I goofed this year and put in bad ground not raised bed and was pathetic Yukon Quest was early, good but not production wise. Beauty King is always great in all respects in good dirt. Pete

November 29, 2019	#14
tryno12 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Indianapolis Area 46112 Posts: 857	Shule1, I assume you bought the Husky Cherry Red F1 at a store? My only hold back from growing it would be the skin toughness/thickness - how was the skin? and how large were the fruits? Thank you Pete

November 29, 2019	#15
Greatgardens Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Indiana Posts: 1,124	I have had good success with Dwarf Pink Passion over several years. Pink, smallish (3-5 oz), early, only moderate cracking/splitting, good flavor. Because of its small plant size and earliness, it is my first slicer, ripe by the 3rd week in June here in 5b. More than a week earlier than regular ind. earlies for me.