Thread for posting assessment of the new Dwarf Project varieties - Page 15

meadowyck · May 30, 2012

Craig, thanks for pointing me to this great mater place.

I'm a willing grower, thats for sure. I just wish I didn't have to wait till later this year.
8 ~ (

Jan

**nctomatoman** · May 30, 2012

Well, if you want to join as a southern hemisphere grower, we will have tons of options for you! Time to join the project!

MikeInCypress · June 2, 2012

For 2012 I planted a number of the released Dwarf Varieties. My favs are Dwarf Mr. Snow - Excellent taste & good yield. Summertime Gold - excellent taste and a strong plant. Dwarf Emerald Green - best GWR I have experienced. Downer was Dwarf Wild Fred. It died a sudden death at about 18"h- either bacterial wilt or too much fertilizer.

I'll be starting some fall plants soon and all will be from the project except SunGold and some of its sisters. Hope there are some large red dwarfs soon.

MikeInCypress

**nctomatoman** · June 4, 2012

Hey Mike - from the existing lines, Brawny and Grizzly should lead to large reds - and the new Dwarf Stone X german Red strawberry cross should as well - I am growing the F1 this year. You might want to jump in and try out some of the F2s next year?

meadowyck · June 20, 2012

deleted my question. I'm going to purchase the dwarf seeds that are available so I can start my seeds now, as our growing season here is about to start. Thanks anyway.

**nctomatoman** · June 20, 2012

Hey Jan - here's the scoop - we have so much being grown out right now that I think if yocu can start some seeds later on the fall where you are, you can help us further the wonderful things (see I am an optimist!) that will soon ripen.....hence it seemed as though your geography better suited the SH timing. What do you think? You can be a kid in a candy shop and check out all of the results that will soon come in - in a way, you can "practice" on the ones released (become familiar with the growth habit, see how they do where you are), and then be all ready to take on something great in the next round of selection and stabilization. Thoughts?

kelmund · August 4, 2012

Hi all,
may i ask which dwarf cultivar(s) will suit Singapore's tropical climate?
I tried growing beefsteak varietals with no success. Thanks for any help

Kel

RobinB · August 9, 2012

I have one Tasmanian Chocolate plant that is pumping out lots of small mini beefsteak-sized tomatoes! They are averaging between 1.5-2.0 oz. Here's a photo. They are wonderfully sweet and I'm giving them an 8.0 to 8.5/10. Yum! The plant is 33" tall and just covered in tomatoes. It doesn't seem to mind the heat, and once it started ripening fruit, it seems that there is always something ripening out there.

This is my third dwarf (the others being Chocolate Lightning F4 and Tidy F4) that are producing fruit that is much smaller than expected. Could it be environmental? All three plants are in the same bed, and were started out in Walls O'Water in mid-April.

Robin

dice · August 10, 2012

Were any of the dwarf project varieties grown out in the northernmost
parts of Australia? I would think that would be fairly close to the
climate of Singapore.

tnpeppers · August 17, 2012

All thirteen varieties doing well, but my wife and I have become BIG fans of Iditarod Red. These are not being shared with anyone...

kenny_j · August 23, 2012

I grew 6 plants this year, all at my son's house, saving my space for project plants. In doing so I did not have daily access to the plants. I got one or 2 early ones and saved seed a few weeks ago. I was there today and they are almost done, the heat did not allow for much new fruit set. The first ones I ate and saved seed from (possibly not fully ripe in my haste) did not really seem that special, good, very good? I picked 3 today to save more seed from and was FRICKIN BLOWN AWAY BY THE FLAVOR !!!!!!!! Congrats to all involved with this one. A lesson re-learned, the 1st tomato off a plant may not measure up to those later on.

koshki · August 23, 2012

A corollary to your lesson is that the first fruits might be best suited for making seeds!

kenny_j · August 23, 2012

Katherine, yes that is the case, as I have learned from Craig and others here, save seed from the early ones, less insect cross pollination, but not from the big fused tomatoes, cause they have mega yellow blooms that have a stronger attraction for insects. I had saved from a couple rosellas already, and if these had not tasted sooo good I probably would not have saved more. Even after scraping out the gel and seeds, the flesh that was left had incredible flavor. That is the true test of a really fine tomato.

Father'sDaughter · August 23, 2012

Tasted the first Iditarod Red and Perth Prides tonight. Really liked the IR, but the PP was less impressive. I have a few more ripening so I'll give it another chance. I have two Yukon Quest almost ready to go under the knife.

kenny_j · August 28, 2012

Got 2 more fruit off the Rosella P. , one was so-so, the other sour with no sweetness at all. I saved seed from the last one that I thought was superb, and have them drying. About 30 seeds or so. I did not keep track of which fruit came from which plant on these, they are in a garden a half hour away, and I just grab a few when I happen out that way. Is it just me? Or is R.P. not quite stable in the flavor department? Or is it environmental? At a loss here. Fortunately I always taste before saving seed, and never save from a tomato that does not taste to par. The good ones are a delight, save seeds and the meat that is left is still scrumptious!!

May 30, 2012	#212
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Well, if you want to join as a southern hemisphere grower, we will have tons of options for you! Time to join the project! __________________ Craig

June 2, 2012	#213
MikeInCypress Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Cypress, TX Posts: 963	For 2012 I planted a number of the released Dwarf Varieties. My favs are Dwarf Mr. Snow - Excellent taste & good yield. Summertime Gold - excellent taste and a strong plant. Dwarf Emerald Green - best GWR I have experienced. Downer was Dwarf Wild Fred. It died a sudden death at about 18"h- either bacterial wilt or too much fertilizer. I'll be starting some fall plants soon and all will be from the project except SunGold and some of its sisters. Hope there are some large red dwarfs soon. MikeInCypress __________________ "Growing older, not up"

June 4, 2012	#214
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Hey Mike - from the existing lines, Brawny and Grizzly should lead to large reds - and the new Dwarf Stone X german Red strawberry cross should as well - I am growing the F1 this year. You might want to jump in and try out some of the F2s next year? __________________ Craig

June 20, 2012	#215
meadowyck Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: Brooksville, FL Posts: 1,001	deleted my question. I'm going to purchase the dwarf seeds that are available so I can start my seeds now, as our growing season here is about to start. Thanks anyway. __________________ Jan “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” -Theodore Roosevelt Last edited by meadowyck; June 20, 2012 at 12:07 PM. Reason: to delete my message

June 20, 2012	#216
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Hey Jan - here's the scoop - we have so much being grown out right now that I think if yocu can start some seeds later on the fall where you are, you can help us further the wonderful things (see I am an optimist!) that will soon ripen.....hence it seemed as though your geography better suited the SH timing. What do you think? You can be a kid in a candy shop and check out all of the results that will soon come in - in a way, you can "practice" on the ones released (become familiar with the growth habit, see how they do where you are), and then be all ready to take on something great in the next round of selection and stabilization. Thoughts? __________________ Craig

May 30, 2012	#211
meadowyck Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: Brooksville, FL Posts: 1,001	Craig, thanks for pointing me to this great mater place. I'm a willing grower, thats for sure. I just wish I didn't have to wait till later this year. 8 ~ ( Jan

August 4, 2012	#217
kelmund Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: singapore Posts: 14	Hi all, may i ask which dwarf cultivar(s) will suit Singapore's tropical climate? I tried growing beefsteak varietals with no success. Thanks for any help Kel

August 10, 2012	#219
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	Were any of the dwarf project varieties grown out in the northernmost parts of Australia? I would think that would be fairly close to the climate of Singapore. __________________ -- alias

August 17, 2012	#220
tnpeppers Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Zone 6 Posts: 365	All thirteen varieties doing well, but my wife and I have become BIG fans of Iditarod Red. These are not being shared with anyone...

August 23, 2012	#221
kenny_j Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: holly michigan Posts: 380	Rosella Purple I grew 6 plants this year, all at my son's house, saving my space for project plants. In doing so I did not have daily access to the plants. I got one or 2 early ones and saved seed a few weeks ago. I was there today and they are almost done, the heat did not allow for much new fruit set. The first ones I ate and saved seed from (possibly not fully ripe in my haste) did not really seem that special, good, very good? I picked 3 today to save more seed from and was FRICKIN BLOWN AWAY BY THE FLAVOR !!!!!!!! Congrats to all involved with this one. A lesson re-learned, the 1st tomato off a plant may not measure up to those later on.

August 23, 2012	#222
koshki Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Grosse Pointe Shores, MI Posts: 127	A corollary to your lesson is that the first fruits might be best suited for making seeds! __________________ Katherine

August 23, 2012	#223
kenny_j Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: holly michigan Posts: 380	Katherine, yes that is the case, as I have learned from Craig and others here, save seed from the early ones, less insect cross pollination, but not from the big fused tomatoes, cause they have mega yellow blooms that have a stronger attraction for insects. I had saved from a couple rosellas already, and if these had not tasted sooo good I probably would not have saved more. Even after scraping out the gel and seeds, the flesh that was left had incredible flavor. That is the true test of a really fine tomato. Last edited by kenny_j; August 23, 2012 at 09:35 PM. Reason: add

August 23, 2012	#224
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,917	Tasted the first Iditarod Red and Perth Prides tonight. Really liked the IR, but the PP was less impressive. I have a few more ripening so I'll give it another chance. I have two Yukon Quest almost ready to go under the knife.

August 28, 2012	#225
kenny_j Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: holly michigan Posts: 380	Now I don't know what to think!!! Got 2 more fruit off the Rosella P. , one was so-so, the other sour with no sweetness at all. I saved seed from the last one that I thought was superb, and have them drying. About 30 seeds or so. I did not keep track of which fruit came from which plant on these, they are in a garden a half hour away, and I just grab a few when I happen out that way. Is it just me? Or is R.P. not quite stable in the flavor department? Or is it environmental? At a loss here. Fortunately I always taste before saving seed, and never save from a tomato that does not taste to par. The good ones are a delight, save seeds and the meat that is left is still scrumptious!!