Westside

how can tell you how many dwarfs is too many ........ here's a pic of my "Worry" grow out last year - raised beds 4' x 3.3' - six plants was a very tight fit

I've grown these below and found them to be very, very good. Growing friend asked me to start a couple of Boronia for her this year because she too liked the tomatoes a lot last year.
1 Adelaide Festival
2 Boronia Dwarf
7 Dwarf Mr. Snow
12 Dwarf Wild Spudleaf
15 Rosella Purple

These are also good ones I have grown but not repeated.
18 Tasmanian Chocolate
19 TastyWine
21 Yukon Quest - the smallest, maybe 2.5 ft in a 5 gal pot.

With all their arms they do take up space. I'd give them at least 4ft square each. If I don't I get problems with powdery mildew.

Can someone please explain the dwarf growth habit terminology? Are dwarf determinates always on the shorter side like Yukon Quest? Specifically I keep seeing "tree type" in the descriptions, and I have no idea what that means.

I'm most interested in dwarfs as an alternative to some other shorties that are, well, not exactly favorites for flavor. I have DIY-type tunnels with less vertical space on the outside edges and I can't figure out how to tell which ones would be suitable for that space vs which would get to be 5' tall, which doesn't really seem very dwarf to me.

The dwarves from that project are indeterminate varieties.
Vladimír

Craig’s description I think is informative, think of it as a half as tall indeterminate. Meaning it is short and bushy, but given favorable conditions it will continue to grow taller and produce fruit (e.g., not determinate). Half as tall, meaning try to see what indeterminate parentage is in a variety and do the math. For example I am working a family of dwarf project cherries that used Mexico Midget as the indeterminate. That is a very tall plant, so these dwarf plants are easily 4’, some selections can approach 5’ in my garden. I’ve grown other dwarf project releases that are closer to 2.5-3’. Barring tropical locations, maximum height is probably driven by growing season length, nutrition and disease.

Tips can always be cut if they get too long.
Tree Form I can't explain.

From what I've seen, tree form habit is sort of like the plant grows to a dwarf height but it doesnt get wide and sprawling like some others. They are compact in width as well as height. Here is an example of Lime Green Salad dwarf that is described as "tree form" from Dave's Garden. Perhaps others on this forum will have some better pictures.

https://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/110958/

I have no favorites yet, but these are the dwarf tomatoes that I am planning to grow this season:

Adelaide Festival
Boronia
BrandyFred
Chocolate Champion
Lemon Ice
Rosella Purple
Sweet Scarlet Dwarf
Tasmanian Chocolate
Uluru Ochre
Wherokowhai
Willa's Cariboo Rose
Wilpena

All in 5 gallon self-irrigating planters.

New Big Dwarf has been my favorite dwarf variety for many years, but now there is real challenger to it. I grew Brandy Fred for first time this year and the one I just sliced to a sandwich is amazing. It is sweet and flavorful with just right amount of acidity.

I had an other ripe from other plant earlier and it was not as good as this one. I wonder, if this one is more ripe or if there is a difference between these plants. I will save seeds from this tomato and mark them different than the ones I saved earlier. I will also try to leave the tomatoes ripen longer on that other container grown plant.

This was definitely the best tasting tomato I have eaten this season.

Sari

Toomanymatoes wrote: ↑Mon Feb 22, 2021 12:42 pm I have no favorites yet, but these are the dwarf tomatoes that I am planning to grow this season:

Adelaide Festival
Boronia
BrandyFred
Chocolate Champion
Lemon Ice
Rosella Purple
Sweet Scarlet Dwarf
Tasmanian Chocolate
Uluru Ochre
Wherokowhai
Willa's Cariboo Rose
Wilpena

All in 5 gallon self-irrigating planters.

I have now tried a few tomatoes from each of these plants, with the exception of Wilpena which hasn't produced a tomato for me yet (which is strange - plenty of blossoms though).

BrandyFred, Rosella Purple and Sweet Scarlet were my favorites. I am partial to pink/red tomatoes.

Willas wasn't too bad either. Similar to my best determinates.

Uluru Ochre was interesting and had a unique color and taste.

Lemon Ice was productive, but did not have much flavor. Many split.

Boronia, Chocolate Champion and Tasmanian Chocolate were similar to most average tasting purple/black tomatoes that I have tried. CC and TC were much more productive than Boronia.

Adelaide Festival and Wherokowhai are typical bi-colors. I keep trying, but still not a fan of orange bi-color and orange tomatoes.

Plants weren't too productive for me, with the exception of Lemon Ice and Tasmanian Chocolate.

Grown in containers in zone 6B in Canada.

Seems like this thread needs a revival. What dwarfs has everyone been growing? Anyone find any unique, old, or hard to find varieties? Always looking for something new to try.

Last year I found Little Red Corvette to be outstanding. It tasted like Twizzlers. While Sissy's britches isn't a dwarf, it grew like a bush and didn't get taller than 4 ft for me in a raised bed. That one tasted like bacon. Green Martian was incredible. Very compact and such a beautiful light crisp refreshing taste. K-17-52 longkeeper - mine was yellow not red, but it was phenomenal too. Big Valentine, Yellow Surprise Variegated, Gondwana Rose, Midnight Select, Mirabelle.. all were really amazing tomatoes.

So now I gotta know, what's everyone else been growing??

I'm trying Pink Opal, Round Robin and Aussie Drop. Repeating Mary's Cherry and Velvet Night which have both been very good in previous years.

So...for those of you who live where summers are above 90F for at least 3 months, have you noticed if any dwarf varieties tend to do better than others? The year I grew a couple beds of dwarf varieties was the year I discovered nematodes in those garden beds, and I got none to few tomatoes! I'm finally trying a few dwarf varieties again, this time in a different garden plot.

I've grown a few varieties for the first time this year. The ones that I'm planning to plant again that also match your description are Uluru Ochre, Sweet Scarlet, Loxton Lad and Maralinga (smaller than the other ones, but still good in a burger or sandwich).