Dwarf tomatoes?

littlesapphire 8/23/2011, 11:20 am

I'm a little different. I start thinking about Christmas gifts in the middle of summer, and start either making them or collecting them.

Well, I was thinking recently about how cool it would be to give my mom and mom-in-law some dwarf tomato plants just on the verge of ripening for Christmas. How fun would that be?! But I have no experience with dwarf tomatoes and was wondering what everyone thought. I know I'll need to start them relatively soon if I want them to be ready by Christmas!

I'm thinking something exceptionally small and compact. I've heard about Red Robin and Florida Petite tomatoes, but I'm having a really hard time finding seeds. Any other thoughts?

Squat_Johnson 8/23/2011, 6:44 pm

Tomatoes really like lots of light and heat. I really don't have experience with dwarf varieties, but wanted to sound off on another idea I saw for christmas... it was a rosemary tree. Someone took rosemary bushes and pruned them in the triangle christmas tree shape. Very cute, and my rosemary has lived through the winter before (cold tolerant).

littlesapphire 8/23/2011, 7:48 pm

Hey SJ, thanks for the tip. I've actually seen those rosemary Christmas trees being sold at local shops in winter. They're very cute! I'm not a big fan of rosemary, however.

I've read up a little bit on red robin tomatoes (as much as I could, anyway; there's not much info on them out there), and a lot of people have had success growing them on a window sill through the winter. They're apparently tolerant of cold temperatures. I figure it's worth a shot to try, and if they're a total flop, well, I can try again in spring and give out seedlings as mother's day gifts.

quiltbea 8/23/2011, 11:55 pm

I've never seen a dwarf tomato, but I've got some very small determinate ones, Sophie's Choice and they only grow 18-24" tall and only need a short stake. The tomatoes themselves, tho, are large.

Dwarf tomatoes? 07-30-13

Here's one of my three Sophie's plants.

I transplanted this to its pot 6/8 and on 8/2 I harvested my first one.

Dwarf tomatoes? 08-02-11

On the left is my first Sophie's Choice with some San Marzano Nano toms picked 8/2.
Mine have only produced 4-6 toms per plant, but they are good-sized toms.

happycamper 8/24/2011, 4:15 am

I have never seen a dwarf tomato before, nice looking fruit. Very interesting, thank you for the pictures!

mijejo 8/24/2011, 8:00 am

Littlesapphire, I have a tiny Red Robin dwarf tomato plant. I bought mine at a nursery in May. At that time, it had about six cherry tomatoes at various stages of ripening. I planted it in MM. After those tomatoes ripened, it did nothing until August. It is now giving me fruit again. The tomato taste is not as desirable -- to me -- as my Sweet 100, but I am fond of this little guy and will plant it next year if I have luck starting it from seed. I found a source: http://www.reimerseeds.com/red-robin-tomato.aspx

It is very tiny and compact, which is perfect to give as a container plant. I have mine in one square of my SFG, but I could easily plant 4 per square. It is a determinate and does not require pruning. However, I do trim the dead leaves and stems closest to the ground.

littlesapphire 8/24/2011, 9:04 am

Thank you, Mijejo! I'll check into that website for sure! I figured they wouldn't be as sweet tasting as some of the larger plants, but if I can get them to produce toms in the winter, they'll sure taste better than what you can buy in the store Very Happy

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