Dwarf and Micro-Dwarf Tomato Varieties I'm Excited to GROW! (The Dwarf Tomato Project)

The Dwarf Tomato Project: www.dwarftomatoproject.net
Hey ya'll, I'm Jess from Roots & Refuge Farm
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There was a time that all I wanted in the world was a little farm where I could raise my family and grow our food. Now, that is exactly what exists outside my door. In watching it unfold, a new dream was formed in my heart - to share this beautiful life with others and teach them the lessons we've learned along the way. Welcome to our journey, friend. I am so glad you're here.
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[@jbeargrr]

I'm older, (65) and have been through some life and health challenges that have slowed me way down. Instead of the huge garden jungle I used to grow, this year I'm only growing a few tomatoes in big containers. They're about the size of those big tubs people get for their kids' toy boxes. I love hearing about different varieties, and the thought of having small plants in the house all winter is exciting to me. Fresh tomatoes all winter, even if they're all cherry varieties, would just be awesome!

[@forgottenheirlooms779]

I grow 60ish varieties of micro dwarfs every year over the winter. Gives me something to do over winter. Love them.🥰

[@katherinebelk8398]

Where are you located and what conditions are you able to grow in? Thanks!

[@unnamed2737]

@@katherinebelk8398 you can grow them indoors with the right setup. They are like little tomato houseplants.

[@Denile94]

I've tried that and had aphid issues

[@forgottenheirlooms779]

@@katherinebelk8398 I am in Northeast Ohio. All they need at most is a 1 gallon container, but I have grown them in smaller containers. They need warmth and supplemental lighting.

[@forgottenheirlooms779]

@Rita S. I have occasionally had aphids. I grow them in a hoop house so I release lady bugs.

[@Junkinsally]

Seeing people glaze over when talking about tomato varieties reminds me of when I first got chickens and was so into it. I remember talking to our local postmaster who had retired and she mentioned she noticed my chickens. I went into which breeds I had and what color eggs they laid.....she was checking out. I knew she had chickens so I asked "What kind of chickens do you have?" Her reply...."Red ones.". I never mentioned chickens again. You have to know your audience and we definitely want to know the varieties of everything!

[@lj2miller]

That's too funny. I totally understand

[@KristinaBakerSmith]

My niece and I totally dominate the conversation when someone brings up chickens😂😎

[@jbeargrr]

OMG, I am so familiar with the eyes glazing over...not only with chickens and other poultry, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, and other garden plants, but cooking, baking, and auto mechanics. Yes, the eyes glaze. So I try to stay in a lane they can relate to, but it's not easy sometimes. It's so nice to get together with other people who share your same depth of interest.

[@StudsAndCrossbones]

I've grown both Baker Creek's Micro Toms and their Orange Hats. The way I grew them was in an Aerogarden and they fit in it very well and produced way more tomatoes than I thought they would. I actually got several flushes from each plant. Growing them this way doesn't give you the depth of flavor that you would get in a summer tomato that's been ripened outside, however, I live in Canada and these micro-dwarf tomato plants beat the pants off of the taste of grocery store tomatoes.

[@Raisesheeplovepeace]

My friend who can’t grow outdoors loves her Aerogarden so I will certainly make that suggestion!

[@amyreesor8128]

same here! THIS

[@DappleWoodFarm]

Yes! I agree! They are great in Aerogardens!!

[@TeffieTrahan]

Me too!! Exactly! 🧡🧡🧡

[@darlenebass5130]

Kate Crossbones. I’m in Canada too. Where have you found seed

[@jeremiahthelion]

P.s., anyone interested in Craig LeHoullier and how much he used to grow in his driveway in a neighborhood can look up a Joe Gardener episode called Epic Tomatoes (Craig's book). Craig is the one who originally got me into heirlooms before I found Jess!

[@ERAforALL]

Your dwarf tomato experiment is spot on with so many who lack the space for traditional gardens! I love your idea of growing a variety in a couple of GreenStalks. Another idea might be to grow a “salad” Greenstalk, with these tomatoes, various greens, maybe peppers, green onions, basils, and whatever works. Micro and dwarf tomatoes may not have that big heirloom flavor, but when the other option is store bought, it is a wonderful alternative.

[@ct3298]

I did a whole Greenstalk with the orange hat and micro tom tomatoes from Baker Creek Seeds last year. I am a fairly new gardener and they did great! We liked the Orange Hat best, they were sweeter, and I will do a tower of just them this year. I got my Grandpa a Greenstalk for Christmas and am starting some Orange Hats from seed for him too! He laughed at first and said " here I am trying to grow the biggest tomatoes and you're growing the smallest!" But he thought they were really cool in the tower and tasty! I'm excited to grow some micros alongside Jess and Grandpa this year! 💖🌱

[@dlsdyer9071]

Got orange hat for my green stalks this year. So glad to hear a good review!

[@karenbruggeman8412]

I just got mine in the mail today to for trying to get my daughter to start growing in the greens talk I gave her for Christmas 👍 Thanks for covering this type of growing food💗

[@nataliyavolkodav320]

I did the same last year and didn't have a good experience. But I had a terrible tomato season in general last year :(

[@dlsdyer9071]

@@nataliyavolkodav320 sorry to hear that. It’s always a struggle for us as we don’t get a lot of sun.

[@meghannichols529]

We grew Orange Hat over the summer and got a great yield! The flavor was awesome and they were perfect for the kids to snack on. I'm also a crazy houseplant lady who bought one of those ikea glass cabinets and turned it into a greenhouse. Houseplants just don't pay you back like garden plants do! So I've been removing houseplants from the greenhouse cabinet and adding herbs and those little Orange Hat tomatoes😊

[@blackrock5749]

The first time I ever ordered seeds I got them from Tomato Fest. I was very gung-ho about ordering but very slow in actually planting them. Last year I finally tried and the germination rate was amazing. I’m pretty sure they were 3-4 years old. I was going crazy trying to pick out which varieties I wanted and then found out they had a special collection just for short season gardeners like myself in northern Nevada. I loved that because it solved my problem with deciding which ones to buy! I’m looking on their website right now and they also have a patio gardener collection. Here we go! 😊

[@8thcelisabeth]

Have fun! I garden in USDA Zone 4-5. There are so many tomatoes we can do, thankfully, right?

[@emmaschauer5409]

As a "space challenged" gardener, this makes me so happy. Thank you, Jess!

[@asnarkygirl]

Since 2018 I’ve loved listening to you gush over tomatoes ❤

[@triciarosamilia8632]

My favorite micro dwarf tomato varieties are Aztek, Lil Peeps, Orange Hat, Fuzzy Wuzzy, Kibit’s Ukranian and Tumbling Tiger. My favorite source for micro dwarf tomatoes is Bunny Hop Seeds at Heritage Seed Market. Ellie has a lot of great varieties and she has bred a few of them. My favorite dwarf varieties is Dwarf Wild Spudleaf, Dwarf Purple Heart, Dwarf Chocolate Lightning, Coastal Pride Orange, Shadow Boxing, Aftershock and Dwarf Rainbow. 5 gallon buckets with a tomato cage work well for dwarf varieties.

[@euncieives5738]

Fuzzy wuzzy are wonderful! Mine just started producing when our freezes began so I took 3 cuttings from the one plant and they're doing great. Mine was about 2 foot tall though

[@triciarosamilia8632]

Fuzzy Wuzzy and Kibit’s Ukranian grow about 18-24 inches tall. They can be grown in small containers.

[@CopperIslandHomestead]

I'm excited to follow this project! I did Orange Hat for the first time last year and was so impressed!! The flavor and the fact that the one I brought inside after frost kept right on producing for months indoors! This is an unheard of joy up here on the Canadian border 🥰🥰🥰 I am definitely trying several more this year 🌱🌱💚

[@ERAforALL]

I started Orange Hat last year, and it was a big hit with everyone! I have some started now.

[@NothingHere818]

I grew Orang Hat tomatoes last year... My family got a kick out of how excited I was. I may have brought one of my plants camping with us because it was so close to having it's first ripe tomato and I didn't want to miss it! I'll be honest though, I always take a plant or two camping anyway lol. Now I have about 15 different seed packets of Micro Dwarf Tomatoes, I am HOOKED! They make great gifts when trying to get friends and family hyped up about gardening like I am!

[@RKmarie2011]

I am currently growing Baker Creek’s Orange Hat tomato on my kitchen counter under a grow light. It is doing SO WELL. It grew very fast and had set flowers by 3-4 weeks after sewing the seed and now has many green little tomatoes on it and new flowers constantly. I am very excited for it to mature some. This has been my way to keep me sane during my long cold winters in Zone 4! Just keep in mind that they do better if you tap the flowers to help with pollination, electric toothbrushes can help too.

[@marytymoshuk7176]

I'm in zone 4. Will have to try this!

[@cgabby98]

I'm in 6b and I grew Orange Hat using Kratky hydroponics in my hallway under a growlight over the winter... Just pulled them a week ago even though they were still trying to put out new flowers. Really enjoyed them!

[@dianaanderson6448]

My dwarf tomato plant has lasted through the Winter here in 9b. Normally I have to rip them out end of October. Since it's small and in a pot it is easy to move inside during 30 degree evenings. It has 2 tomatoes on it right now and shows no signs of stress. Everyone should try to grow!!

[@Nikki-mx5my]

As a small space gardener, I really appreciate you thinking about folks growing with limited space. I am really excited to see how this experiment pans out! It may just be mid February but I can feel the sun getting stronger and Spring will be here before we know it.

[@kmarshall53]

Well here I thought I had my garden all planned out and all my seeds in, and now I want to try some of these little tomatoes! 😂🍅

[@dlsdyer9071]

I know, right?! I was outside today looking to see where I can get more growing space. I thought I was done and ordered more two nights ago and now here we go again!

[@bridgettmcbride2923]

I do ground cherries in all the pockets of my green stalk thanks to this show and had great success. So this year I am putting micro-toms on the bottom pockets

[@marygrott8095]

This is exciting! My son lives in an apartment and grows 1vpeppwr plant, 1 tomato plant, and 1 basil plant - all in containers. So, he's definitely turning his waiting room into a classroom! If you have good results with these tomatoes, I'll get some seeds for him to grow next year. Thanks so much for doing this experiment, Jess! Very much appreciated.

[@hannahrosefl]

I've grown tomatoes exclusively in 7 gallon pots for over 10 years. The circle junk tomato cages work best for the pots. One thing to keep in mind, the nutrients flow right out of the pot quickly. Fertilizer or amendments are needed often! I found a great organic Fertilizer and I literally apply it every 7 - 10 days. Also know that the ground it's sitting on is going to become extremely fertile so plan on using that ground in the future for in ground gardening

[@Junzar56]

Micro dwarf tomatoes are SO FUN! Dwarf tomatoes are awesome , too.

[@GardeningWithLauren]

I live in SW Florida and they’re only a select few varieties that grow here during the summer. I grow these indoors so I can have homegrown tomatoes year round.

[@margomiller1988]

I’ve been growing Tasmanian Chocolates fora few years. They are delicious, not too big, and perfect for our small family. Did well in the So Cal summer heat. Can highly recommend! They are considered an heirloom and I seed save from them.

[@claireskinner9077]

That doesn’t surprise me since where they originated in Tasmania is a cool temperate climate that does experience high temps, and SoCal is a warm temperate climate so they’re pretty similar!

[@zumbamommy5036]

I have these seeds. Can't wait to try them😁

[@kayseabarlass9422]

@@claireskinner9077 'Tasmanian Chocolate' originated from a cross between 'New Big Dwarf' (an historic large fruited pink dwarf) and 'Paul Robeson', made in 2006 by Patrina Nuske Small in Australia. The variety was further selected and named by Linda Reid of Tasmania

[@jadedarkrose]

I am so happy to hear you are branching out to a new experience in tomato growing. Talking about seeds and varieties always makes me happy. Today, we had a very springlike day, so I went out, cleared off some dirt, and set up my winter sowing. I sow in 1020 flats with 6 cells or 4 inch pots. I did things like poppies, cerinthe, alyssum, coreopsis, onions, mustards, cabbages ect and put clear totes over them. It will be a while before I see sprouts. We are headed to a below freezing temperature as a high week next week. I'm happily anticipating spring.

[@ejrashaw]

I sold the orange hat variety as seed starts in 2022 and people loved them! Easy to care for and sets a good amount of fruit!

[@dottiewelch6964]

Jess I have to say… you are looking so radiant, your skin is beautiful 😍

[@jeremiahthelion]

I saw the title and immediately thought "awwww yeah, Craig LeHoullier on the R and R podcast"! I've gotten some of his varieties when we lived in the same city.

[@gloriaenciso2917]

Thank you for this. I was recommending to a friend who has stopped planting tomatoes because rats we’re always taking them. She had tried different ways to protect them, but the plants got too big and more complicated to protect. I figured with a micro dwarf she could make a rat proof cage much easier. I just haven’t grown them myself so had no variety recommendations. I’ll share this and the website so she can find out more information and start enjoying some homegrown tomatoes again.

[@map3575]

I grew the one from baker creek, and gave plants as gifts. My sister loved them, I didn't care for them.

[@colleenbellscanadiangarden9180]

When you mentioned the varieties,I just realized I was writing down them and in awww of them that some people don't think about this, and it blew my mind

[@dreamstarfarm]

I've been growing the Orange Hat tomatoes in my GreenStalk all winter! They are doing great and the tomatoes are delicious! They do need a little support, I cut a thin bamboo stick to about 8 inches to help them stay standing. They produce really well but the fruit can make the plant top heavy.

[@cbjones2212]

Hi Jess. Uluru is pronounced 'oolooROO' . It's actually the indigenous name for Ayer's Rock here in Australia. I'm guessing the tomato variety is called that because the fruit colour resembles the ochre reds of Central Australia.

[@lj2miller]

I'm pretty sure you're correct about the name and colour.

[@lorraineesposito1017]

I grow the orange hats in my house on a windowsill in the winter. They produce great in a little ~8 or so inch pot.

[@MissEricaAnn]

This is such a cool idea!

[@courtneycullen6289]

I have gone off the deep end into the Dwarf tomatoes. A lot of them come out of crosses with Wild Boar Farms tomatoes (which I grow in my "normal" tomato rows). They are so easy in raised beds or containers and it makes it easier for me to have 80 or more tomato plants. Like you, my Grandpa and then Mom both grew Brandywines (third generation tomato gardnere) and I am planting BrandyFred and WildFred this year and cannot wait. Thank you so much for making my therapeutic waiting room so bright.

[@jagoosw6368]

A lovely Jess video, thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Rebecca.Robbins]

I e been savoring your podcasts and saving them for “the perfect time”. I listened to the third one last night and felt really impacted. I’ve asked my partner to sit down with me this weekend to figure out our five year plan! I also shared the podcast with my daughter and her husband and encouraged them to listen. I’m certain that they will feel the same way I do! Thanks so much!!!❤

[@chelseagrimsley6689]

I LOOOOOOOVE talking about the tomatoes varieties!!! I didn't even know there were tomatoes that weren't red before you!! The only not red (started tomato) plant at my store that year was a Cherokee purple and after that, I dove head first into heirlooms!! Before listening to you I only ever grew tomatoes to make salsa and sauces and a couple other recipes that I used crushed tomatoes. Now I crave a good tomato sandwich with a slice of a Paul Robeson (or Dr. Whyche's), flaky sea salt, and fresh basil!! 😋 and you are my go-to if I have a gardening question! Jeremiah, I know she doesn't read the comments, but please tell her we still love listening to the varieties! They help me explore the vast world of gardening!

[@lauramcconney9367]

Years ago I stuck a rotting cherry tomato in a bed I had been mulching in. Well it was the best tomato I've ever eaten. It was indeterminate, got 12ft and produced tons from may thru December 8th in SD,CA. PS, I've Gardened for 50 years, but I really enjoy learning new ways, you make it so easy. I don't believe I would have kept my sanity thru the Pandemic if I hadn't had your videos to keep me encouraged!!! God bless you and your happy family!!! You are blessed to have a can do anything, happy Miah at your side!!!

[@bethpotts-mee8730]

Hi Jess! I have just received (new to me) seed catalog. Seed's 'N Such in Augusta GA . I have never seen so many tomatoe varieties. Several you mentioned. Over 16 packed pages out of 88. I have food, flower and fowl catalogs that are sparking my little yard & container imagination. Dirt Therapy to the rescue! Thank you for doing what you do. Your influence is growing in a beautiful natural organic way. I am a fan! Bright Blessings

[@pattiripley7599]

All those colors of micro dwarfs will look pretty in a salad or pasta. Sure hope they have some excellent flavors

[@rhodi-anne]

Dear Jess, I love hearing you blubber on about tomatoes, it feels like I am listening to a voice note from a dear friend, except I cant reply! You are wonderful❤

[@anne-9374]

Determinate tomatoes are smaller but that is because they produce all their fruits within a few weeks, whereas indeterminates continually produce until frost and production is spread over the season. I was told that Red Robin was one plant which can be grown in the house over Winter. Bought the seeds so now will wait until Fall to sow some and see if it holds true.

[@fredacheek2554]

Been watching you since 2018 and I can say you have inspired me in so many ways and 1 being growing unique tomatoes thank you for sharing love,kindness, and joy in this world ❤

[@amber726]

Last year I grew a few micro dwarf tomatoes; Little Red Riding Hood, Hahms Gelbe, Monetka, Rejina Yellow, Hardin's Mini, Moment, and Rosy Finch. The only one that stood out enough to grow again this year was Rosy Finch...such a pretty pink color, and really delicious, more intense flavor than the others with balanced sweetness/acid. This year I'm growing Rosy Finch, Rosy Falls, Fat Frog, Spunky Bird, Minibel, Jochalos, Pinocchio Orange, and Chibbiko. I'm also mostly doing dwarfs this year in my bigger garden area; Sweet Scarlet, Peppermint Stripes (so pretty!😍), Bendigo Rose, Velvet Night, Metallica and Purple Reign. I'm very excited to see which ones make the cut this year! My main dissatisfaction with growing tomatoes has been how unruly they can get, so growing dwarfs is perfect for me as long as the flavor is there.🙏🏼🍅😍 I just stumbled across this video so now I'm going to go find out how the experiment went last season for you. And I must agree..."variety people" are my kind of people!😂

[@justuskirwa6857]

Hi Jess. Thanks for sharing the knowledge.

[@hellokimmy68]

I grew Uluru Ochre (ooh - LOO - roo oker) last year and it was amazing. The texture was so interesting, very smooth and creamy. The color is so strange and you definitely have to do the "feel test" to check when it's ready to harvest. I am definitely growing it again this season. Victory Seeds has all the tomatoes from the Dwarf Tomato Project. I have been ordering from them for years and have found them to be very reputable with excellent germination.

[@ERAforALL]

Thank you! I’m looking into Victory Seeds now.

[@jazzbeaux6154]

@@ERAforALL I ordered the uluru ochre recently after watching the lucky garden KZbin interviewing an Australian woman about dwarf varieties.

[@mattandbarbhartt2860]

I’m trying the Uluru for the first time this year too. Great to hear this!

[@lindaborn2336]

Heritage Seed also carries a lot of tomatoes from the Dwarf Tomato Project.

[@hellokimmy68]

@@mattandbarbhartt2860 I thought it was really delicious. I didn't get many off of it, but the ones I did get were great. I'm normally not a fan of heavily acidic tomatoes, but this one was like a salty acidic, for lack of a better description. with a nice complexity of flavor. Just enough sweetness to cut through the bite. I only grew one plant last year, but this year I think I'll likely have about three of them.

[@Sanosarah]

This is super exciting! I have very limited space and a short season (and sadly no room for a greenhouse), so dwarf toms are great for me. I grew eight Geranium Kiss plants from MIgardener last year and had fantastic success with them. Loads of fresh tomatoes for salad, and they made great salsa as well. I saved a few hundred seeds from those and bought a bunch of different dwarf and micro-dwarf varieties at the end of the season last year. So so grateful for the Dwarf Tomato Project.

[@silver_threads]

Last summer I fell in love with my golden cherry tomatoes that I grew in my regular garden. I harvested so, so many and wound up dehydrating hundreds, and I use them now any time I'm cooking to add extra veggie flavor. Listening to your descriptions of these dwarf and micro-dwarf tomatoes got me excited to try some in containers on my patio. I'm thinking about purchasing a green stalk, and this would be just perfect for some micro-dwarves. Thank you so much for sharing your contagious joy as we all plan for our 2023 gardens!

[@hannahrosefl]

Hoss tools has a line of micro dwarf tomatoes and I ordered every single color they had. They were so good and produced so much! I'll forever grow them

[@wendymarcum6382]

Two years ago I grew Mandarang Moon and loved it! Then last winter I grew Micro Hat and Tiny Tim inside. Once it got warm out and they seemed at the end of the road, I put them in the ground just to see and they both gave me another round of fruit. The taste was much improved by being in the sun. So last summer as I sat and watched my garden get decimated by squirrels, I decided that this year I would grow everything under small hoop/green houses (my backyard/garden is only about 400sf. With that, I went down the dwarf and micro tomato rabbit hole as well and got many of the same varieties you did. Well fast forward to garden planning time and a work opportunity will have me moving in April. Not knowing if I will even have a garden, I still plan on starting all of my dwarf/micro seeds. At the very least I will plant out my green stalk, so we will be experimenting together. The Mandarang Moon I got was from Hudson Valley, I got a few varieties from Tomato Fest, my local garden center had a bunch of seeds from Sandia Seed for a $1 and they had a variety called Mexico Midget that I’m going to try. I still have some micro seeds from Baker Creek, and I ordered some from Totally Tomatoes. Other dwarf things I’m going to try are Tamarillos from Baker Creek, some dwarf cucumbers and also zucchini. It will be interesting to be able to compare notes and follow along as we both embark on this journey at the same time.

[@reaganchoat6607]

Those orange hat tomatoes are supper cool. I manage my high schools green house and we have one hydroponic tower filled with them and it’s awesome. We get fresh tomatoes in January and in Nebraska that is unheard of

[@SageandStoneHomestead]

We grew determinate Heatmaster tomatoes last year and those suckers flowered all season. And our season is 185ish days. Determinate my foot lol

[@NewPioneerFarm]

THANK YOU JESS! About the time I want to order 1 or 2 more seed packages... you post a video where you shop out like this... I MAKE SURE my hubby is here when I watch those!!! Saves my boots everytime! Lol

[@dwarftomatoproject]

Sneaky Sauce is a prolific variety from the Dwarf Tomato Project that is great for canning! I harvested about 40 fruits from one plant that was the only plant that didn’t seem to care about a very wet humid season last year 😃

[@adigmon]

I bought 7 dwarf varieties from Victory Seeds. I’ve decided to grow them in 5 gallon grow bags only. In southeast Texas, tomatoes start dying off when it gets hot and it gets really hot and humid fast. Every year, I seem to get diseases that end up staying in my raised beds and affecting the next years crop even earlier. I started my seeds on Monday. So far, most are germinating. However, Perth’s Pride, was the first to pop up with 100% germination. It’s a cross of Paul Robeson and New Big Dwarf. Second to come up with 100% germination is the Tasmanian Chocolate. The others are slowly coming up with lower germination rates but I’m excited to see what happens! My best friend ordered different varieties so we can share them all. We’re looking forward to seeing which do best in our area and of course…planning a tasting night! We dream of eating fresh tomatoes all year! 😂 Good luck to all in your gardening ventures! Thanks Jess!

[@timdavis6088]

Some of us, like me, have multiple obstacles to growing from bad soil to bugs to birds. After growing some really nice Beefsteaks last year, 6 plants 6 ft tall, and failing to get one single tomato, I had all but given up on growing tomatoes. DONE! Sometime later I walked into my local feed store and passed by a small potted tomato plant outside. I stopped as it had lots of almost ripe fruit on a plant that was only 2 ft tall. "Sicily Slicer"...I took a chance and bought one of the only 2 plants left. That plant unfortunately didn't survive my local soil but it's offspring did. I've since moved the growing indoors and as long as you grow this variety in peet it produces a short plant with lots of good foliage and fruit. If you plant it in sandy loamy soil it starts to get tall and continues to grow. But the flavor of these Sicily Slicers and the dark red color are outstanding! I highly recommend this eager germinator to anyone's collection. PS. You mentioned skin thickness. One thing we agree on is that the variables for growing a tomato plant are wide and varied. Those same factors determine the skin of the tomato. I've had some that were almost like electrical tape and some that were perfectly edible from the same plant. I look back at the ones that were tough and realized the plant was deficient in water and over heated.

[@EmpathBonz]

Thanks for turning me on to these varieties!! I like in a bottom floor apartment with a decent sized enclosed yard. I've been growing vegetables back there for years but my tomato plants bare always so crash that they trellis up trees, etc. Even with the best prolific pruning my yard becomes a jungle!! Hopefully I can contain it a bit with some smaller varieties. I and my trees thank you!🐱

[@Amy-ul8fj]

Ahhhhh girl!!!! I just learned about these and here in MN it will be a GAME CHANGER!!!!! So excited for tomato sandwiches earlier than usual!

[@patricacompton9603]

I grew orange hat micro tomatoes this year in 2023 and they've made lots of tomatoes and they are still producing now in early October.😊

[@tessaholtegaard3045]

I have Orange Top Hat tomatoes growing in my AeroGarden right now. I grew them the past 2 summers outside and loved them. This sounds like a fun project.

[@rainbowe6738]

I grew them in 2021 but found the skin on them was so so thick. Did you find that? Wondering if it was something i did wrong lol.

[@tessaholtegaard3045]

@@rainbowe6738 it was a little thick but I didn’t mind. I really liked the flavor and pop of color. I grew something last winter that came with my AeroGarden and really didn’t like them. They were flavorless and had a really tough skin. I’m hoping for a small taste of summer in a couple more weeks.

[@paulkline9122]

This is the second year I'm using TomatoFest seeds. Last year I had 100% germination out of 84 planted, and a 98% germination rate for the same number this year. Quite pleased!

[@PinkTigger33]

Thank you Jess. I am excited to try my first tomato plants on the patio. I feel more confident now that I can do it and can have delicious home-grown tomatoes right outside my door.

[@daralynnhale1565]

I just got a boatload of dwarf micro tomato seeds today in the mail!!!!! So excited to try these :)

[@lemonadewithniecey]

I love to watch this stuff even though tomatoes probably a few years out. I tried tomatoes in 2020 and had limited space I felt they took up so much space for so much time and they never turned red I will absolutely have to do a compact verity I am encouraged to think other people are breading and refining these verities for me and I know it might feel on the humble side but the work in the dwarf tomato breeding for home gardeners is a really big valuable step for food security. It reminds me of "what's in your hand" from the other day buying a few packets of seeds or a few starts and seed saving over and over is a very beautiful goal to be growing seed to share with apartment gardeners

[@darlenesgardenandhome]

I have a few tiny tim tomatoes I my back bedrrom/ plant room. I'm getting cute little tomatoes ripening currently.

[@sharonmclaughlin2258]

Downsized to an apartment and am excited to learn about micro-dwarves!

[@kelliecarson5954]

I grew the Red Robin from Hoss tools. It had a good flavor and great germination; in fact I had to give away plants because so many lived. I am growing more this year in my green stalk. ❤❤❤❤

[@kerrivincent85]

Orange hat is perfect to stave off the winter tomato withdrawal! I started two at the end of the growing season last year & am still getting tomatoes off mine🧡

[@mlee7037]

We have a tomato grower at the NC State Farmers Market in Raleigh, NC, who shows up in the spring who has many dwarf plant starts and is part of the project. He is so knowledgeable about tomatoes in general. Jess, you have inspired me to try the dwarfs. I live in a small town in central NC. I have a 10x10 box and two 6x6 boxes. I try to grow all of our tomatoes for the year for all our tomato-based dishes because store bought sauces cause my husband and son to have heartburn. I am in this experiment with you. I am a teacher so I love this kind of thing. I might actually get a green stalk for this. I love watching your videos. You have helped me in so many ways! I am definitely a tomato geek! I found you while looking videos about growing tomatoes years ago. ❤

[@thebuddinghomemaker]

Also in central NC!! Check out Craig LeHoullier, he is now in Hendersonville but used to be in the Raleigh area. He was one who sort of spear headed the Dwarf Tomato Project. He is an amazing resource for these treasures!

[@leahtrammell3153]

Also in central NC (Browns Summit north Guilford County). Planning to try out some dwarf varieties this year.

[@kabodick]

I saved some micro red bell pepper seeds, the ones where the pepper is the size of a quarter, from Baker Creek. They don’t sell them any more. I almost didn’t get any because all but one of my plants died. I saved the seeds from every little pepper that grew on that plant 😅. I now have quite a few seeds so I can keep growing more of the cute little pepper plants.

[@Momofthree4458]

Last spring I planted a whole green stock with micro dwarf tomatoes it was so cool.

[@MyNaturesArt]

I've grown the Orange Hat from Baker Creek and the tiniest tomato of all, the Spoon Tomato. My Orange hat is 3 years old and still happily producing. The Spoon Tomato is super sweet and you can literally fit 3-6 in a teaspoon but are super sweet! It also grew 12 feet high..lol

[@chelseyzaffke6570]

I actually bought Orange Top Hat with the plan of putting it in my greenstalk. 😊

[@michelletabish7125]

I have had a ton of success growing indeterminate tomatos in large containers. I grew black beauties on my patio! The hardest part is making sure they have enough water, in my opinion. But its totaly doable! I was thinking it might have been slightly easier if the tomatos werent such veracious growers, but as always, TRY EVERYTHING!

[@lindawoody8501]

I am going to plant a few Dwarf and Micro-dwarf determinate and semi-determinate tomatoes. I have raised beds, and big containers in my garden areas. Have a short tomato season here due to excessive heat and early cold.

[@TheAADempsey]

Heritage Seed Market is Awesome! No need to worry about them.

[@kelleymuise1139]

Hi Jess, I’ve been watching your blogs for years. I was so excited to see this blog about dwarf tomatoes. I grow mostly from pots and grow bags.. so last year I grew dwarf varieties and had my best tomato year ever!! Not only volume but taste! I have pictures of most of the plants.. you can’t believe the yields on each plant. To name a few.. Brandy Fred Crimson Sprinter Rosella Purple Delicious tomato Orange Cream Laura’s Bounty Silez Wapsipincon Peach Purple Rein Gold Finch Tom Thumb Orange Hat They all amazed me. I was hoping I could share a few pictures with you .. but can’t see an option to do that here. I did have a few favorites.. rosella purple, Silez, brandy Fred .. all for different reasons. My most favorite was the Delicious tomato. Consistently large red delicious tomatoes that don’t crack. I could go on.. and on.. and would love to share some pictures with you! I look forward to the upcoming year for my garden .. as well as watching yours. Take care

[@erin2535]

Thanks so much for the info!! ❤️❤️❤️ So nice to see another die-hard fan 😂💪

[@lj2miller]

I have a variety called Tatura dwarf. Named after the town near to where I grew up in Australia, the only reason I grew it really. It's a bush variety meant for canning or sauce which I only just realised 😅 I'm expecting to pick the first one any day. It looks perfect, not a blemish. I was taking out the suckers not realising it was determinate. I assume I probably shouldn't have, but it's a beautiful strong stemmed plant. I just saw Tasmanian chocolate and Uluru ochre the other day. I'm considering putting in another order to get them for next season. Hello to all the other Aussies I've seen in the comments here.

[@lindaglenn6129]

💕 Love hearing from you about tomatoes and any other vegetables.

[@meadowsweetstories]

I love when you share the different varieties you are growing. It's funny to think that growing up I didn't like tomatoes, but now I love them. This will be my first year planting from seeds and I ordered 5 different varieties of tomatoes, one of which is the Thornburns Terra-Cotta.

[@tristinlovett3815]

I'm growing about 10 varieties of micro dwarfs hydroponically in the basement right now. They're ridiculously cute

[@yennyjen5742]

Would you share some seeds? 😅I been wanting to try but don’t want to buy whole packages for just 1-2 seeds of each 😂😅 I can send a asap envelope if you do ✉️

[@borrowedthymegardens4025]

I have been growing Orange Hat tomatoes for the past 3 years now. The first year growing it, I started it in my Aerogarden indoors, then transferred it into an indoor regular pot to see how it would do in potting soil. It did really well, and so after 3 weeks indoors in the potting soil...it was time to move it out into the garden. It did really well and while I only grew 2 plants at first...both grew a good 20 + cute orange tomatoes ranging in size between a grape tomato to a cherry tomato. The taste was nice and sweet and low on the acid level. I actually was looking for the Micro Tom from Baker Creek and it seems they stopped carrying it this year anyhow.

[@melissamusick5864]

We ordered seeds a few times from a place called Papaw's Garden and they always send a bonus pack of seeds with our orders. We love them and their customer service. Germination rates were exceptional and prices reasonable.

[@savannahmolina3725]

Good morning Jess! Yesterday I was driving through suburbia, and couldn’t help but notice everyone’s perfectly groomed green yard. Can you imagine if every yard was a garden? Can you imagine that impact? Impact on food bills, smog from less trucking of food, impact on stress levels and high blood pressure / diabetes. Impact on relationships. It would be so huge. Do you think that you guys could do a series of how to turn a portion of your yard into something so abundant as a garden? I know you essentially do that all the time on a larger scale, but people need the dumbed down version. Or even just transform someone’s yard and show the after. Everyone’s all about a good transformation and inspiration now a days. Anyway, just a thought. If just one suburban home turned part of their front yard into a garden space, it would start a ripple effect id like to hope.

[@pink071602]

This is my plan for my tiny backyard garden. I’m changing out some of my flowers that didn’t survive the heat last summer to veggies. It’s my summer project. I’m also getting a Greenstalk planter for doing lettuce and some dwarf tomatoes. I don’t have much room but plan to maximize the space I have.

[@savannahmolina3725]

@@pink071602 that’s awesome!!! And hopefully you’ll inspire some neighbors too! If people spent the same amount of time and money on front yard gardens as they do with holiday lights and decorations, there would be a lot of money saved instead of spent on high energy and food bills. Maybe you can do “you pick” cherry tomatoes for your trick or treaters this year 😂

[@nicolecampbell9766]

I grew the Orange High Hats last year and they are absolutely incredible. I had 4 really good plants and I wish I had started more, they were DELICIOUS. We had tons of the fresh and they’re also great fermented. They’re tart and sweet. And they all did great in little 6in pots. Because I knew they had such a small pot, I was a bit heavy handed on the fertilizers for them. They produced all summer. 10/10 highly recommend

[@NettieScraps]

Hi Jess. I live in Tasmania and just yesterday picked my first Tasmanian Chocolate tomato of this summer. I grew it last year and saved the seeds, I've found it to be a really hardy seedling and plant. The fruit has a very chocolately brown tone when ripe and the flavour is really good. Looking forward to seeing how you go with it!

[@OMGitsaClaire]

I grew two “patio sized” varieties last year to compare. Both were Cherokee Purple derivatives, and both touted similar characteristics. I grew the Roselle Purple from SESE and Purple Reign from Baker Creek. In my opinion, the one I will keep growing is the Roselle Purple. The fruit were more uniformly round with less faceated blossoms and the plants themselves were sturdier and needed less staking. I also had less problems with blossom end rot on that variety. Both had good purple tomato flavor and both produced all summer. I just preferred the Roselle a little better. (All of my plants were grown in 15 gallon grow bags on my driveway in a mix of organic potting soil and compost and were fed throughout the summer once a month with GardenTone fertilizer. All seeds started inside under a grow light and hardened off in a cold frame shelf from the feed store.)

[@yukonsmomma3562]

Thanks for sharing with us Jess. I get inspired by your enthusiasm.

[@debbieduggan6796]

I always check Tomato Fest first when I'm looking for heirlooms. They have the best selection & I have always gotten the best germination from their seeds.

[@SageandStoneHomestead]

We are growing "Orange Hat" micro Dwarf tomatoes inside right now!!

[@d.c.1851]

Thanking you from my appartment balcony can't wait to grow some tomatos this year

[@DragonflyenAmber]

It's funny you started talking about this, I actually bought a few varieties of dwarf tomatoes to try this year. I found a local company that has seeds for us northern growers with shorter seasons and they have probably 20+ tomatoe types. I tried to get as many colours as I could too, so we can have some cheerful salads this year. :D

[@AKMamaBear]

I’m interested in the company you mentioned. I’m in zone 2 and looking for exactly what you’ve described.

[@annanitschke6727]

Zone 4a here and also interested

[@DragonflyenAmber]

@@AKMamaBear If you are in the USA then their website is called Creation Seeds

[@AKMamaBear]

@@DragonflyenAmber Thank you!

[@thepadillafamilyhomestead]

Orange Hat tomatoes are my favorite!!! I grow them inside and am trying them outside in my greenstalk this year.

[@lindathorpe-stanger1856]

I am groaning the orange hats right now ! Love them!

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

I grow many many types of tomatos, tommy toms are just works of art! I just loves them so much! There are so many fantastic tomato varieties! My daughter wanted to grow and eat all the types of toms..... there are over 2000! wow

[@ourhomesteadclassroom]

Oh, this gets me so excited!! I was just messaging Chelsea at Little Mountain Ranch about how excited I was for the dwarf and micro-dwarf tomatoes she was starting because of my interest in trying to grow them in my GreenStalk. Now I get to watch both of your experiments, and in such different climates, too. Yay! 🤗 I'm going to have the opportunity to glean so much good info from each of you this season!! 🍅 Thank you!

[@melsolomon8256]

I might have to look into micro dwarfs. I can see them being a good option for people with mobility problems.

[@cheriebrinker3301]

Thank you Jess for sharing your thoughts and knowledge on a level all can understand and can't help getting excited with you.

[@shannaking5176]

Yay. I absolutely love my dwarf, determinate, and bush tomato’s and they out do my indeterminates every time. I’m in arkansas and it’s hot and humid.