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Old June 19, 2018   #16
oakley
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DPP and DAR were both early last year but total spitters. But that is environmental here.
I've not had any luck with any early varieties. Especially indeterminates. I did try many over
the years. Not worth the real estate.

Great luck with most all early cherries and saladettes. The exception is GGWT. The past two years it has been my first slicer and delicious and a few weeks before most others. 6 plants
this year. (though not a dwarf)

My climate consistently has a hot wet early Spring, then a very cold week or two,
(June-uary)...and now a heat wave. Hit 90+ yesterday. Hot and no rain all week. No rain last
week.

I never mentioned the spitters last year as it does no justice to those climates where earlies
do so well.
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Old June 20, 2018   #17
Greatgardens
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Dwarf Pink Passion has a fruit almost ready -- probably today or tomorrow. A lot bigger plant than DAR with lots of tomatoes developing. As soon as the other plants are producing well, I'll pull DAR and put in the Orange Roussolini that I'm trying this year. Not a dwarf, but it is about 8" tall now so I need to get it planted somewhere.
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Old June 22, 2018   #18
Greatgardens
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Dwarf Pink Passion has yielded one ripe fruit. Quite good -- juicy, sweet overtones with adequate zing (for me). So it was less than one week later than Dwarf Arctic Rose. DPP is a better tomato, overall. But I have also gotten a couple more of DAR, and they are certainly better than the first one. Good flavor, juicy -- just not sure if it is worth growing since I've had ripe Linda since the end of May. It is some larger than Linda, but tastes no better to me.


I also got the first completely ripe Dwarf Velvet Night. Most of these are about the size of Campari. It did not taste like a cherry tomato -- more like a regular dark tomato. Grown in an EarthBox, this one split about 450 degrees (more than all the way around). Not sweet at all. We'll see if any of this changes, but right now, this guy is in the penalty box! Had high hopes for this one...

Last edited by Greatgardens; June 22, 2018 at 09:47 PM.
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Old June 27, 2018   #19
Greatgardens
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I was able to pick one Dwarf Velvet Night that had not split yet. It is still largely green, but at least not split. I also got one Coastal Pride Orange. This variety is a true tree-type dwarf, maybe a little less bushy than many of the Project Dwarfs. This plant has a lot of tomatoes on it. This one weighed 8.1 oz, "tall round" in shape. Looks like it has good protection against sun scald. Also picked two more Dwarf Arctic Rose that weighed 7.0 and 7.3 oz. I'm getting more attached to DAR! Pictures in the next day or so...


BTW, when this is all over, I'll make a good summary that will be a lot easier to draw conclusions about the various dwarfs I've grown.


-GG
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Old June 27, 2018   #20
Hensaplenty
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I will look forward to your conclusions with the varieties you are growing. Thanks!
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Old July 12, 2018   #21
Greatgardens
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Well, a bit longer than "a day or so," but here are some pictures of the dwarfs as of July 11. These were all planted around the second week of May, so about 2 months into the season. All the plants look quite good, with very little disease. I've sprayed 3 times thus far, which is already more than I usually do in a season. But I think most of the good fortune with Septoria is the relatively dry summer this year. I have ripe fruit off all the plants except Dwarf Purple Heart and Perth Pride (which was started much later than the others).

A few comments:
1. Dwarf Velvet Night quit splitting after the the first several fruit. It is going to be a good producer of 2-oz. fruit with very good flavor. They are a nice medium-dark, purple-pink color -- very attractive, I think.

2. Dwarf Pink Passion continues to out-perform. It is early, quite disease free, a big-time producer, and has a nice mild taste. The early ones were 3 oz, and the later ones are 4 oz+.

3. Dwarf Purple Heart has the most disease of the bunch. it is on the north side of the EarthBox, and in general, the north side plants have a bit more leaf issues.

4. Perth Pride has BER on several of the first-set green tomatoes. Later ones seem OK, so perhaps it has outgrown that issue.

5. Coastal Pride Orange is a very good dwarf. It is among the tallest of the group, but still at around 4 ft. currently, and reasonably narrow.

6. I just picked the first Chocolate Lightning. Really interesting color with the olive-green/gold stripes. It is going to be a big producer also, as others have indicated.

7. Husky Cherry Red is loaded with 1" cherries. Good, sweet flavor. Definitely better than any red micro-dwarf I've grown. It is still a slow, steady grower. It's easy to see why a lot of these plants are sold commercially.

Coastal Pride Orange, Dwarf Pink Passion, Chocolate Lightning, Dwarf Golden Heart, and Perth Pride (#1-5) are on the south side of the row.
Dwarf Arctic Rose, Better Bush, Dwarf Velvet Night, Dwarf Purple Heart, and Husky Cherry Red (6-10) are on the north side.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Coastal Pride Orange 7-11-18.jpg (175.8 KB, 200 views)
File Type: jpg Dwarf Pink Passion 7-11-18.jpg (160.0 KB, 195 views)
File Type: jpg Chocolate Lightning 7-11-18.jpg (173.5 KB, 194 views)
File Type: jpg Dwarf Golden Heart 7-11-18.jpg (159.2 KB, 194 views)
File Type: jpg Perth Pride 7-11-18.jpg (146.1 KB, 196 views)
File Type: jpg Dwarf Arctic Rose 7-11-18.jpg (203.7 KB, 196 views)
File Type: jpg Better Bush 7-11-18.jpg (195.5 KB, 199 views)
File Type: jpg Dwarf Velvet Night 7-11-18.jpg (161.7 KB, 197 views)
File Type: jpg Husky Cherry Red 7-11-18.jpg (198.0 KB, 195 views)
File Type: jpg Dwarf Purple Heart 7-11-18.jpg (207.3 KB, 197 views)

Last edited by Greatgardens; July 13, 2018 at 03:59 AM.
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Old July 13, 2018   #22
ddsack
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Those are big, beautiful looking plants! They are loving your container growing culture.
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Old July 13, 2018   #23
Greatgardens
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Thanks! This must be about 10 years with EarthBoxes. I really do like them, and they make it much easier on my knees!
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Old July 17, 2018   #24
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A brief update. First casualty today -- my pruners accidentally cut Chocolate Lightning through the main stem about 1" up from the soil line... Actually, I have an abundance of great tomatoes, and I really didn't like CL. I didn't care at all for the flavor or the relatively thick skin, and it had about 100% radial stem cracking. (I really have a "thing" about cracking.) Apologies to fans of CL.

In its place, I moved Orange Roussollini to the vacant spot. That will also give Dwarf Velvet Night and a couple of neighbors more sun. Dwarf Velvet Night continues to impress. Call it by any name, it's a 2 oz saladette with a delicious taste with more than a hint of sweetness. Not sweet like a good cherry tomato, but definitely sweet for a regular tom. This one is a keeper!

My remaining Dwarf Arctic Rose is doing much better than the one I had culled. This one should make 3 ft and has lots of small tomatoes on it. The other one wasn't even 2 ft.

Still no ripe fruit from Dwarf Purple Heart. Picked the first Kumato OP yesterday, which is also in an EarthBox along with Perth Pride. PP has its first fruit blushing.

-GG

Last edited by Greatgardens; July 17, 2018 at 01:17 PM.
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Old July 17, 2018   #25
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Old August 1, 2018   #26
Greatgardens
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It is probably a good time to start my summary of the dwarfs I grew, and how they did (including my subjective taste evaluations). I'm going to rank these from best to worst and provide as much info as I can. All grown in EarthBoxes, 2 to a box. And of course, "in my opinion."


1. Dwarf Pink Passion.
This is a several-years favorite of mine, so I'm probably prejudiced toward it. It is quite early. Four feet tall, and well-foliaged. Seldom any sun scald. Planted the seeds on 3-10. Set out in an EarthBox about 5-12. First ripe tomato 6-20. This is not a “one-off;” this is typical performance. Lots of tomatoes! They are not large – typically 3-5 oz. Good tomato flavor. Still producing well, although the plant is definitely going downhill at this point (end of July). I think that next year, I'll start a second plant about a month or so later and set it out at least a month later for continued production.


2. Dwarf Velvet Night. This is the “Rookie of the Year,” and an incredible introduction from The Dwarf Project. Small, mostly 2 oz very flavorful, purple tomatoes. Green shoulders, so you can tell when they are getting really ripe. I almost gave up on this one since it initially split 100%. But after the first group, it quit and then rarely split. These taste almost like a good cherry tomato – sweet and tangy. Excellent for snacking and salads. Maybe for drying in sections? More subject to disease than some of the dwarfs. Early Blight took its toll, but still produced well, and still is producing some (but definitely slowed down quite a bit). First (split) tomatoes about a week after DPP. Next year, I need to plant a second plant as with DPP. This really is a good one!


3. Dwarf Husky Cherry F1. Producing a lot of cherry tomatoes, although not like a big IND plant. Not quite as tasty as Dwarf Velvet Night, but very close. Mostly large 1-inch bright red cherries. These are excellent, and it's obvious why they sell so many plants of this variety commercially.


4. Coastal Pride Orange. (Really a tie with #3.) This is a really good dwarf. Not from the Project, but I'd say ranks in the top ten of the dwarfs I've grown. It is tall and narrow and more than 4 ft. tall. It is a tomato “machine” producing lots of flavorful gold/orange tomatoes. They need to darken or they will not taste good. It is not a “Yellow” tomato. It is not quite as mild as some other gold/orange tomatoes such as Golden Girl Hybrid. But milder than most reds, I think. This is a very healthy plant and is still nice and green and producing well. This is probably the healthiest plants I grew. I've had these seeds for several years, but just had not got around to growing them – glad I did!


5. Dwarf Arctic Rose. Early, but not really much earlier than DPP, even though the seeds were planted several weeks earlier. Good flavor, in fact after “winter tomatoes” it's a real treat to have these. Small plants at 3 ft or less, and could easily put 3 or 4 in a regular EB. But not as tasty (but larger) than “Linda” – an almost micro that I grow in hanging baskets and have 2-3 oz tomatoes starting in May. Probably won't grow DAR again.


6. Dwarf Purple Heart. This is IMO a so-so tomato. Late (compared to the others) and was the last of the dwarfs to produce. Lots of core in this one. First ripe around July 25th. from a March 10 sowing and setting out about May 15th. Low production, but large tomatoes of typically 10-15 oz. Wimpy taste for me, but my wife liked it. One of the more heavily diseased plants. Probably will not grow it again. May try Dwarf Rosella Purple, since many folks seem to like it.


7. Dwarf Golden Heart. (Really a tie with #6.) A mild tomato, but just didn't seem to have much flavor. Not bad, but not that great. Lots of disease (mostly Early Blight, I think). Not great production. Smallish 4-6 oz fruit. Pretty early – probably a week or ten days after DPP.


8. Perth Pride. A smallish plant with flavorful, pink tomatoes on it. Not much over 3 ft. tall for me. Somewhat prone to BER and definitely prone to splitting. Splitting can be mitigated by picking shortly after blushing and letting it ripen inside. This one is a bit hard to judge as goes earliness since it was planted later than all the others. I'd say early mid-season – certainly not at all late. One of the early Project releases, I think.


9. Better Bush F1. Fairly large (7-9 oz) red fruit. I've grown this quite a few times over the years, but this time they split badly (stem cracks). I don't know what changed. In the past I've bought my seed for it from Park, but this time I got it elsewhere. I don't know if somehow it was different or not. Pretty late compared to others. Just a bit before Dwarf Purple Heart. A good-flavored red, and if it hadn't been prone to stem cracking, it would have ranked higher. Some fruit had 4 large stem cracks. I may get some new seed from Park at a “free shipping” special and give it another try. I just don't recall this cracking issue.


10. Chocolate Lightning. Well, I've already beat this one up enough, so no sense re-hashing it. I didn't even save any seed, and this one will never get grown again here.


11. Dwarf Bendigo Pink. Pulled due to it appearing to be an off-type plant. Really big like a true IND.


12. Dwarf Mary's Cherry. Don't know what happened with this one. It got thrown out by accident. I thought I'd planted it in an EB, but it was gone! Will try it again next year.

Last edited by Greatgardens; August 1, 2018 at 03:10 PM.
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Old August 2, 2018   #27
lexxluthor
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Beautiful maters and do you put a max of two maters per box?
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Old August 4, 2018   #28
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Thanks! Yes, two per box, except this year for the very first time I grew Dwarf Arctic Rose and put three in that box because the plants are very compact. But that is a rare exception. Next year, I'm going to try some IND cherry tomatoes in my EarthBoxes. At least for the first time, I'll only put one of those per box. I still have some Sweet Baby Girl seeds, so it will be one of the varieties I put in the EB. Most all of the dwarfs are about 4 ft and "narrow" although there is a fair variation in the foliage density.


I tried to answer this last evening, but the TV server wasn't feeling well -- kept telling me that "the token has expired."
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Old August 4, 2018   #29
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A couple of brief additions. I had a couple of Better Bush tomatoes last night. Stem cracks or not, it was one of the best-tasting tomatoes I've had all season! I'm going to investigate the stem cracking further, but I can see (again) why I've grown Better Bush so many times over the years.

Also, Better Bush and Coastal Pride Orange are true ISI -- indeterminate short internode plants. All the other dwarfs are behaving as they usually do for me -- basically as DET tomatoes. These guys are now nearing 5 ft tall and still going strong with good green foliage and good production.

Last, this year I grew a Brandy Boy in an EB along with Dwarf Purple Heart. The Brandy Boy "down-sized" to about half its normal size or less as it grows in dirt. The tomatoes are nearly full-sized, and I have 4 BB tomatoes blushing right now with another group starting to size up above them. OTOH, I've grown some IND plants that were full-sized (and nearly unmanageable) in an EB. Perhaps some varieties are affected more by container size?

Last edited by Greatgardens; August 4, 2018 at 08:44 AM.
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