I found a started micro tomato called Siam two years ago, loved it, saved the seeds, and then did nothing. This year, I started 19 plants, and they all seem to be true-to-parent! None is over a foot tall yet, all have compact growing habits, all have flowers already! It's my new favorite because it's so cute and tasty.
As a fellow NC gardener, it changed my life when it clicked for me a few years back that I can grow multiple successions of certain summer crops like cukes, squash and tomatoes. I still am trying out new indeterminate varieties, but there's no longer that pressure to plant so many of them (or my favorite determinates). I can try one or two, and if they're performing well, I can root cuttings or sow new seeds and grow a second round. Such a game changer.
When do you start your 2nd succession? I am in northwest Louisiana and last year we had over 100 degree temps from late July to almost the end of September!! It was brutal. I am thinking of starting seeds indoors in August to put out in Sept. Now wondering if that will be too late?
@reneauyoungblood3733 I try to time it so they're doing the vegetative growth during the super hot weather, so they're big enough to flower and fruit when it does start to cool off some. Mid-late July, I'll start rooting suckers or starting new seeds.
I discovered Dwarf tomatoes about 3 years ago, and I have loved growing them! Just a simple stake near the main stem and that's all you need, also they are so much sturdier because the main stem is much thicker than a normal tomato. So far I have loved Rosella Purple, Summertime Green, Uluru Ochre, and Chocolate Lightning. Every year I try a couple new varieties, but always keep a Rosella Purple in my garden.
I’m growing the Rosella Purple too. It’s the first dwarf tomato I have ever grown. I’m hooked. I don’t think I want to grow any other type but dwarf varieties. I have it growing in a 20 gallon fabric pot. It works really well.
Ditto on the Purple Reign tomato--I grew it two years ago and I've been hooked ever since. It's like a much more well behaved Paul Robeson :) I didn't know it was a dwarf tomato; I just assumed it was a regular determinate. I actually get a consistent harvest off of it all summer, which for me is July through Oct.
@@meggrowsplants I love Eric's (EDIT: Kevin's) contraptions! They're so cool, but they're so not my speed lmao I bought a big pack of stakes and I'm calling it good.EDIT: Jesus Christ I just realized I called him Eric 🤣🤣
My hubby gets 2x4s from work for free. They have a couple of nails in them and he removes the nails and cuts the 2x4s into 6 pcs, 8 ft long garden steaks!
I love the indeterminates that I already grow - I grow them both in cages and up trellises BUT this is the first I've heard of the dwarf indeterminates and I love this idea and I think I can get more in my garden that way. I love that you only need to use stakes because even though trellising is not difficult, the cages are just a pain. I am going to check these out - thank you!!!
I'm from Maui so we also have a long growing season and I think you expressed exactly my frustration with indeterminate tomatoes, I just want a simple staking method.... Florida weave takes so much patience and you have to go back over and over to continue the process before powdery mildew takes over (in my case). One big stake and twine is perfect for me. Thanks so much for this, now to find the seeds!!!
I had never thought about trying out dwarf varities since I do have the room for the big indeterminates but you're right- they're a total pain!! I grow in a much shorter season (Nova Scotia, Canada) so we need the whole dang summer to get our tomatoes. By the end of the summer they're at risk for being blown over by an early hurricane- just another point in favour of dwarf!
I just became aware of determinate and indeterminate and I planted 6 indeterminate tomatoes 12 inches apart and they’re already getting unruly and I’m only 5 ft tall so it should be fun. I’m happy about it because I grew them all from seeds. We’ll see how it goes.
I'm a new member of Team Dwarf. This is the first year I've grown them and today I ate my first Purple Reign and Boronia tomatoes. Delicious! I love these small plants! I have some indeterminates also which are all ranging from about 7 to 8 feet tall already in mid-July! I am growing 5 varieties of dwarf tomatoes this year, but I am pretty sure I will grow more of them next year. I will grow a few determinants and maybe a few indeterminant favorites, too, but the dwarf tomatoes will probably be the lion's share. I'm new to your channel as well...really awesome videos!
Hey Meg! Love your videos ❤. I’m in a building year for my garden this year so I can have more space to grow food next year. Dwarf tomatoes just make so much sense for those of us who are done with crazy huge plants. I’d love an update on which types you tried this year and how they went. Thank you for being real and awesome 🤩
I’m right there with ya! It’s only my second season growing tomatoes but I’ve been researching determinates and want to grow more of them instead of indeterminates. I also grow Orange Hat micro dwarfs and they are a powerhouse for being such a small plant.
Dwarf and micro tomatoes are the best! I just have a large balcony so I’m very limited and I can’t believe how amazing they do in pots. We eat a ton of cherry tomatoes and the dwarfs surprisingly produce a lot without the craziness of an indeterminate variety that needs to be trellised. I loooove Orange Hat from Baker Creek. Super compact and the tomatoes are yummy
Last year I grew a few beauty king dwarf tomato for the first time it was productive and very tasty, and beautiful. Very good for the patio or container gardening. I bought them off the tomato fest website.
I live in 7b here in North Carolina too. I have some black cherry tomatos i grew from a cutting of my mother-in-laws plant and keep them alive in my bathroom all winter ( took cuttings again of the cuttings ) i only had them in a small plastic cup because it would fit in my window sill so they got stressed and had diseases so come spring I cut the tops again and now they are 2 feet tall already and i have a lot of flowers and 3 tomatos set on two plants. I recently heard about Everglades tomatoes and want to try them at some point as well. Thanks for the squash pumpkin variety suggestion that was so helpful.
I don’t have a team. I’m struggling with blossom end rot. However I must say that we are growing a new variety called better bush. It has worked very well thus far and as you say does not need the staking the other varieties need.
I like to do determinate in early spring then succession plant some indeterminate. That way they aren’t so big and unmanageable by the end of the season. Those dwarf varieties are interesting though, I’ll have to look in to them for next year.
Meg!!!! Super, super great video. I'm definitely focusing on dwarfs next year. I'm right there with you on trying to tame the wild jungle of regular tomato vines. I'm over it, lol. Happy growing💚🌻
I am growing tiny Tim for the first time this year. Great video. I grow mostly in bags to manage, but dwarf varieties are in my future. Being single trellis contraptions are too much for me. This is ideal!
I grow Tiny Tim tomatoes indoors in the winter and plant outdoors in mid May. This ensures I have fresh tomatoes year round. This year I am growing 30 different varieties of determinate and inderminate tomatoes to find my favorites in each category (cherry, paste, slicer, & beefsteak). I love Early Treat tomato from Burpee. It's a large cherry that has amaxing flavor and is prolific. I hope you try it. 😊
I respect the philosophy of not building, clipping, stringing and flopping around huge plants for ease of gardening and chaos sowing is so fun and the results are so beautiful to me. Hey, is that I nasturtium plant with variegated leaves?! What kind was that please?? Love from KS
I'm here in Maryland zone 7b and I just realized that indeterminate tomatoes are a pain in the butt for me too! I love the way you garden and thank you for this video!!!
Love purple reign! Got it from Baker Creek last year,and tripled the amount growing this year. Still doing indeterminates from Wild Boar Farms on my cattle panels. Thanks for the info on other varieties ❤️
Purple reign is amazing. I love the way that one grows! I do love trying indeterminates from wild boar, and I have some favs like “sweet cream” from them. But I’m just done dealing with them 😂
I feel ya, I've been growing dwarf tomatoes for two years. Funnily enough, my most successful tomato this year was Botanical Interests Roma. It maxed out at 3 feet and was covered in fat tomatoes. It also had very little pest problems, the stink bugs and hornworms really hit my dwarfs, but they didn"t touch the romas. I'm in SE Texas, so our tomato season is coming to a close until fall.
This year I am growing tons of dwarf and micro dwarf tomatoes! I am still growing my heirlooms, but I sort of collect seeds, so I need to grow out some that are over five years old...
Through the first part of the video I was thinking, "I love my Cherokee Purples, no way she's going to get me to replace them", and now I have to try something new.
I also discovered the dwarf tomato project and Victory seeds! One semi-determinate type I just LOVE is Chocolate Tasmanian- short (2.5 foot) but delicious smaller slicer). Growing Orange Hat and Geraniums kiss this year. Hope I'll love them too!
I agree and also the varieties/cultivars used for breeding of dwarf and micro tomato varieties come from Indeterminate varieties. I started growing some dwarfs this year - Sleeping Lady, sweet scarlet, and others I want to try. However, I will never stop growing indeterminate varieties. I enjoy seed saving and many of these old indeterminate varieties are so rare now.
I have tried that and they still just grow too crazy and wild for me. Before you know it the suckers are over 6ft again 😂 I just enjoy the compact growing patterns!
Indeterminate tomatoes are worth the work. Taste, Taste and Taste. Also, for canning, you can grow delicious, larger indeterminate tomatoes than Romas: Amish Paste, Pink Oxheart, San Marzano Redorta, Russian Orange 117 and Italian Heirloom and Polish Linguisa. All are larger and in my opinion, taste so much better. Oh, and because they are larger, they are less work but over all, with indeterminates, you gotta do the work. Blessings!
i have a Tiny Tim tomato, 3 years old and still producing, in my window in a ceramic pot, great for a window I am in Canada and get tomatoes all year, right now it is about 18inches, just planted my first dwarf tomatoes and will see.
I have been looking for more Determinate tomatoes too. So tire of trying to keep up with massive vines that always get away from me. I will be checking out some of these. Thanks for this very informative video.
I have been growing Determinates for a couple of years and I really have loved them, I've also grown Tiny Tim's the past two years really like them also.
Lots of food for thought, Meg! I'm growing a lot of indeterminate tomatoes, but I am trying Bobcat, Red Snapper, and Roadster determinates this year. Bobcat is about two feet tall, very bushy, and very productive so far. Too early to tell for Red Snapper and Roadster, which were last in the ground this year. Travis from Lazy Dog Farm love them, though. Love your podcasts Meg! John McHatton
My tiny tomatoes just went in the ground but they’ll bulk up fast. The plan this year is determinate in raised beds, indeterminate in the ground, along the perimeter of a metal fence. I’m hoping I can manage them easier by tying them off on the fence. Espalier tomatoes if you will 😅 I’m hoping I can eventually remove the determinates from the raised beds and replace with a fall crop … we’ll see how this goes 🫠 I’m totally interested in trying the dwarfs…I’ve grown Orange Hat indoors over winter and they were great!
I have determinate and indeterminate but I’m trying dwarf geranium kiss this year. I love how hardy yet compact the plants are. Next year I’m going to try a lot more dwarf varieties
I love dwarf tomatoes, and also micros! Also glad to hear that someone else knows of burpee’s veranda red variety. I grow them indoors in AeroGardens and love them! Probably the best tasting micro that I’ve had yet.
Team both. I learned of Meg from Epic too and Im glad I found her. Love the vibe! I wasnr a fan of tomatoes before I grew my own but will be branching out to try new dwarf versions and will be adopting the new tomato strategy. Thanks Meg! ❤
Meg - this is my first year growing dwarf tomatoes (Victory Seeds) - they are very full and bushy but not putting out the fruit. To be fair, I over planted (again) and the hail damage was significant and temps will be triple digits tomorrow here in TX. BUT, I do grow those indeterminates in the tall (30in) birdies and I need a ladder to harvest, maintain, etc. I have very limited space. I am having similar thoughts.....just grow the dwarf plants. The few dwarfs I have in the greenstalks are doing well and I would like to try the micros next year. The Glacier Bush I purchased from Botanical is a strange one---very few stalks/leaves. But it was the first plants to set fruit. I have 2 in the greenstalk and 2 in bags.
I love this ❤ The explanation at the beginning really helped me understand what are the characteristics I am looking for. I only have a balcony and I stumbled across a variety of dwarf cherry tomatoes called sweet n’ neat at a local nursery and it was perfect. Gave me cherry tomatoes, all summer long, but stayed very small. I think it’s a hybrid, though cause I was never able to find seeds. But I came across a type called glacier tomatoes this year that I am going to try it my moms backyard. It produces regular size tomatoes but apparently is also good for balconies. I’m going to look into the types you mentioned and all the resources I’m excited to see if I can come across different types of tomatoes
I am also trying dwarf and micro tomatoes this year :). Also ordered seeds from Tomato Fest and Victoria Seeds. I am in Canada and Victoria seeds shipping is super expensive for me, unfortunately. I loved also Dwarf Mocha cherry. I was growing them during winter, they are still setting tomatoes now outside. Very large cherry tomatoes 1oz on average. The only problem that they are turning black in the sun and very difficult to determine when they are ripe.
Oh and I just learned of dwarfs this year and will definitely be trying them next year and maybe even this fall. I do have a couple minis. Orange Hat, Yellow Patio & Cherry Falls. The last 2 I’m not sure qualify for mini but they’re small for sure.
I grow them all for different reasons. I grow indeterminates because that's what most of the tasty heirloom varieties are but I don't get as much production from them even with the hybrid varieties since they quit producing or just die in the heat of summer. I grow determinates for large volumes for preserving. Determinates are much more productive since they finish producing before it gets too hot for successful pollination. When I need some in containers (like in the fall when it's still hot but we have an occasional freeze), I grow dwarf and microdwarf.
I usually grow a mixture of pretty much all types .. determinate, indeterminate, dwarf and micro dwarf. One of the best tasting tomatoes I grew last year was a dwarf variety called Uluru Ochre, they are a yellowish color with green shoulders when they are ripe and very tasty.
my 'Sweet Scarlet' is now 4 ft tall. Unfortunately with our heat (9b), and the fact that I transplanted late, my harvest is going to be quite small before it's done for the season. The 'Rosella' pink variety is in a similar boat. Can't wait to try them if they turn before the bugs get them. This is my first year growing dwarfs from the Dwarf Tomato Project. Lesson learned to get them planted much sooner next spring (planting other more heat tolerant varieties this fall). Please provide an update on yours since I'd love to know how they do for you.
I’ll definitely be updating! I can imagine gardening in 9b with the heat is frustrating! Tomatoes are so finicky in heat. I hope everything goes well for you!
Hi Meg, New sub here! I'm in 9b first year growing dwarfs from Victory Seed but they are setting no fruit. I bought Click n Grow Tomatoe outside & no flowers on it. But I do have a couple regular determinates producing. Tfs...Enjoyed your channel.
Oh girl, I play hard for team dwarf tomato project. I think I grew10-12 different varieties of dwarf tomatoes last year and its closer to 20 this year. They also have the virtue of being excellent container plants. 10 gallon grow back worked great for me, which is a huge soil savings. I have them everywhere! I think dwarf beauty king is my favorite.
Iowa Zone 5a. Full sun. Last year from Victory Seed Co I tried Hannah's Prize, Arctic Rose, Barossa Moon, Wherokowhai, and a cherry variety, Eagle Smiley. Overall the Eagle Smiley did best. Full production deep into fall. Comparable in taste to Sun Golds. Production from the others, not so much. Taste was okay, I guess, but nothing stood out. I got the impression that they would have preferred a shade cloth or partial sun. This year I didn't feel like fooling with seed starts, so I went with hybrids from the big box store. No problem with vine spread. Single pole + tomato cage discretely tied to neighbor's chain link fence, & garden twine to hold errant vines in place. Allowed 2 main branches & trimmed suckers to the top rung on the tomato cage, then let it go. A Bowline around vine stalks and a Clove Hitch or 2 Half Hitches tying the twine to the pole, and everything held in place. Easy knots to undo & use twine next year. Only 5 plants, so this method might not be manageable for larger gardens. At the end of August I'll trim the growth points, cut the flowers, and cut the small guys that don't have a chance of making anything before 1st frost in mid October. I'll haven't given up on the dwarfs. I'd like to learn to grow them for the day when I can no longer garden in the back yard and am reduced to growing in containers on a deck.
I tried the dwarf tomatoes the last couple of years and they just did not do well here in GA. May have been the varieties I tried so I will try again. I don't care for how the indeterminates sprawl all over the place. I love Dr. Wyche though so will continue to grow at least one until I find a good replacement. This year I plan to trim it back hard and try to keep it in bounds. I did grow a determinate I liked called Red Snapper. It was very productive just like Dr. Wyche is for me. It too got very big and it kept producing until it just got too hot.
Last year I grew Stony Brook, Jasmine Yellow, Hannah's Prize and Sneaky Sauce from Victory Seeds (I got the idea from The Impatient Gardener) They were great and I'm growing even more this year
I’m team whatever! This year I have some of all of the above. I will be drowning in a sea of indeterminate vines later this season but I’m going to try topping off the vines when they get too tall and see if that helps any? Probably not but one can hope 😂 Determinates have been tricky in my experience. I had Marglobes last year that said determinate on the seed pack, and they were not determinate. Maybe semi-indeterminate? The vines got over 10 feet and they put out huge flushes of fruit all season. It was wonderful but it was a lot. My Ace 55s were similar. They never stopped growing but didn’t get as big as the Marglobe. The Ace 55s Kept giving me bumper crops of fruit. I’d think they were done and then they’d put on more flowers. It almost seemed that if you have happy plants they will just keep going, didn’t matter what the seed pack said… last year was my 2nd year gardening so I don’t have much experience. I would like to see how a “real” determinate behaves. I have a few new varieties this year so we will see. This year in my greenstalk I’m growing orange hat and micro Tom tomatoes. They are super cute and already producing tomatoes. I also have Patio F tomatoes and one other kind of dwarf. Can’t remember the name of the other one. Def excited to compare all these varieties throughout the season! I’m in Maryland so I my growing season is similar to yours.
I’m team Indeterminate. However, I also am trying several dwarf and micro dwarf varieties. So far, I have 16 dwarfs and 2-3 micro dwarfs planted out with another round of maybe 10 more to transplant. I really want to see how these perform. I still love my indeterminate, but these dwarfs look promising.
![My 8 Most PRODUCTIVE Tomatoes [Full Tomato Garden Tour]](/img/n.gif)
"I'm a simple garden girl" ...continues to chaos garden. Love it!
Hahahha chaos gardening is simple to me!! 😂
I found a started micro tomato called Siam two years ago, loved it, saved the seeds, and then did nothing. This year, I started 19 plants, and they all seem to be true-to-parent! None is over a foot tall yet, all have compact growing habits, all have flowers already! It's my new favorite because it's so cute and tasty.
As a fellow NC gardener, it changed my life when it clicked for me a few years back that I can grow multiple successions of certain summer crops like cukes, squash and tomatoes. I still am trying out new indeterminate varieties, but there's no longer that pressure to plant so many of them (or my favorite determinates). I can try one or two, and if they're performing well, I can root cuttings or sow new seeds and grow a second round. Such a game changer.
When do you start your 2nd succession? I am in northwest Louisiana and last year we had over 100 degree temps from late July to almost the end of September!! It was brutal. I am thinking of starting seeds indoors in August to put out in Sept. Now wondering if that will be too late?
@reneauyoungblood3733 I try to time it so they're doing the vegetative growth during the super hot weather, so they're big enough to flower and fruit when it does start to cool off some. Mid-late July, I'll start rooting suckers or starting new seeds.
I discovered Dwarf tomatoes about 3 years ago, and I have loved growing them! Just a simple stake near the main stem and that's all you need, also they are so much sturdier because the main stem is much thicker than a normal tomato.
So far I have loved Rosella Purple, Summertime Green, Uluru Ochre, and Chocolate Lightning. Every year I try a couple new varieties, but always keep a Rosella Purple in my garden.
Rosella purple is a must for me too. Thanks for the other recommendations!
I’m growing the Rosella Purple too. It’s the first dwarf tomato I have ever grown. I’m hooked. I don’t think I want to grow any other type but dwarf varieties. I have it growing in a 20 gallon fabric pot. It works really well.
My trusty cattle panel has been my best friend for my large indeterminate tomato types. I call it my tomato tunnel lol
I’ve always wanted to try that but I always reserve my cattle panels for squash! Maybe I need to build a new one lol
@@meggrowsplants Do it sis!
Ditto on the Purple Reign tomato--I grew it two years ago and I've been hooked ever since. It's like a much more well behaved Paul Robeson :) I didn't know it was a dwarf tomato; I just assumed it was a regular determinate. I actually get a consistent harvest off of it all summer, which for me is July through Oct.
Yep it’s an indeterminate! That’s why it fruits all season long. It’s one of the best for sure. So glad other people love it as much as me!
“A simple wooden stake girl” I feel you, I really do.
You’ll never catch me building huge contraptions to grow tomatoes 😂
Me too!!!
@@meggrowsplants I love Eric's (EDIT: Kevin's) contraptions! They're so cool, but they're so not my speed lmao I bought a big pack of stakes and I'm calling it good.EDIT: Jesus Christ I just realized I called him Eric 🤣🤣
My hubby gets 2x4s from work for free. They have a couple of nails in them and he removes the nails and cuts the 2x4s into 6 pcs, 8 ft long garden steaks!
@@cristagalli96 ahahahahahaa!
I love the indeterminates that I already grow - I grow them both in cages and up trellises BUT this is the first I've heard of the dwarf indeterminates and I love this idea and I think I can get more in my garden that way. I love that you only need to use stakes because even though trellising is not difficult, the cages are just a pain. I am going to check these out - thank you!!!
I'm from Maui so we also have a long growing season and I think you expressed exactly my frustration with indeterminate tomatoes, I just want a simple staking method.... Florida weave takes so much patience and you have to go back over and over to continue the process before powdery mildew takes over (in my case). One big stake and twine is perfect for me. Thanks so much for this, now to find the seeds!!!
I grew up on Maui 🙌
Team Indeterminate ✋🏻 I love being surrounded by green towers laden with huge trusses of fruit 🍅🍅🍅
I am the same way and do not mind having g to climb up to the clouds to grab a beefsteak 😅
I had never thought about trying out dwarf varities since I do have the room for the big indeterminates but you're right- they're a total pain!! I grow in a much shorter season (Nova Scotia, Canada) so we need the whole dang summer to get our tomatoes. By the end of the summer they're at risk for being blown over by an early hurricane- just another point in favour of dwarf!
I just became aware of determinate and indeterminate and I planted 6 indeterminate tomatoes 12 inches apart and they’re already getting unruly and I’m only 5 ft tall so it should be fun. I’m happy about it because I grew them all from seeds. We’ll see how it goes.
I'm a new member of Team Dwarf. This is the first year I've grown them and today I ate my first Purple Reign and Boronia tomatoes. Delicious! I love these small plants! I have some indeterminates also which are all ranging from about 7 to 8 feet tall already in mid-July! I am growing 5 varieties of dwarf tomatoes this year, but I am pretty sure I will grow more of them next year. I will grow a few determinants and maybe a few indeterminant favorites, too, but the dwarf tomatoes will probably be the lion's share. I'm new to your channel as well...really awesome videos!
Just subbed. I'm an old gma gardener 😆👵🏻 but I love watching younger folks grow their own food. TFS God bless ~Lisa
Thank you and welcome to my channel! I’m an old gma at heart haha
I’m growing a yellow canary micro in my aero garden, it’s 9 inches tall and has about 45 cherry tomato’s on it! It’s been so fun and easy to grow
I love that! I miss my AeroGarden
Such a mellow vibe, mellow voice. Both the garden and the gardener are gorgeous ❤️ hope you have a great growing season. 🌱🌿
Thanks so much!!
Hey Meg! Love your videos ❤. I’m in a building year for my garden this year so I can have more space to grow food next year. Dwarf tomatoes just make so much sense for those of us who are done with crazy huge plants. I’d love an update on which types you tried this year and how they went.
Thank you for being real and awesome 🤩
I agree with the simple stake. I tie a string on at each end before I push it into the ground, then I use the tomato clips.
I’m right there with ya! It’s only my second season growing tomatoes but I’ve been researching determinates and want to grow more of them instead of indeterminates.
I also grow Orange Hat micro dwarfs and they are a powerhouse for being such a small plant.
❤her garden and calming voice
Thank you ❤
Dwarf and micro tomatoes are the best! I just have a large balcony so I’m very limited and I can’t believe how amazing they do in pots. We eat a ton of cherry tomatoes and the dwarfs surprisingly produce a lot without the craziness of an indeterminate variety that needs to be trellised. I loooove Orange Hat from Baker Creek. Super compact and the tomatoes are yummy
We were able to grow the tiny orange hat tomatoes over winter under our grow lights. Great for indoors
I love them! So practical for everyone
Last year I grew a few beauty king dwarf tomato for the first time it was productive and very tasty, and beautiful. Very good for the patio or container gardening. I bought them off the tomato fest website.
I live in 7b here in North Carolina too. I have some black cherry tomatos i grew from a cutting of my mother-in-laws plant and keep them alive in my bathroom all winter ( took cuttings again of the cuttings ) i only had them in a small plastic cup because it would fit in my window sill so they got stressed and had diseases so come spring I cut the tops again and now they are 2 feet tall already and i have a lot of flowers and 3 tomatos set on two plants. I recently heard about Everglades tomatoes and want to try them at some point as well. Thanks for the squash pumpkin variety suggestion that was so helpful.
"A simple wooden stake. That is my vibe" - Yup... subscribed.
I don’t have a team. I’m struggling with blossom end rot. However I must say that we are growing a new variety called better bush. It has worked very well thus far and as you say does not need the staking the other varieties need.
I like to do determinate in early spring then succession plant some indeterminate. That way they aren’t so big and unmanageable by the end of the season. Those dwarf varieties are interesting though, I’ll have to look in to them for next year.
Meg!!!! Super, super great video. I'm definitely focusing on dwarfs next year. I'm right there with you on trying to tame the wild jungle of regular tomato vines. I'm over it, lol. Happy growing💚🌻
Thank you so much!! I figured I couldn’t be alone in feeling over it haha. Happy growing!
I am growing tiny Tim for the first time this year. Great video. I grow mostly in bags to manage, but dwarf varieties are in my future. Being single trellis contraptions are too much for me. This is ideal!
Next year I’m def going all determinates and thes new dwarf tomato’s thanks to you and this video 😊.
I have completely fallen in love with your channel and your amazing vibes! 🧡
Today I learned there's such a thing as a seed binder!! Say whaaaaa!! Must have!!
VALUABLE info! Ty 😊
Great idea! I’m checking them out!
I grow Tiny Tim tomatoes indoors in the winter and plant outdoors in mid May. This ensures I have fresh tomatoes year round.
This year I am growing 30 different varieties of determinate and inderminate tomatoes to find my favorites in each category (cherry, paste, slicer, & beefsteak).
I love Early Treat tomato from Burpee. It's a large cherry that has amaxing flavor and is prolific. I hope you try it. 😊
I’ll look into that! I love burpees seeds and their varieties. Thank you!!
I respect the philosophy of not building, clipping, stringing and flopping around huge plants for ease of gardening and chaos sowing is so fun and the results are so beautiful to me.
Hey, is that I nasturtium plant with variegated leaves?! What kind was that please?? Love from KS
Oh. I’m a “any tomato is invited” volunteer keeping, chaos sowing jungle growing Kansan!
…until November 😢
Right at the end...Ive been trying to figure out a seed storage method and I think I just found it!
Thanks from Australia!
I'm on the compact tomato team ☝ Loved the seed paste! 👋
I'm here in Maryland zone 7b and I just realized that indeterminate tomatoes are a pain in the butt for me too! I love the way you garden and thank you for this video!!!
Love purple reign! Got it from Baker Creek last year,and tripled the amount growing this year. Still doing indeterminates from Wild Boar Farms on my cattle panels. Thanks for the info on other varieties ❤️
Purple reign is amazing. I love the way that one grows! I do love trying indeterminates from wild boar, and I have some favs like “sweet cream” from them. But I’m just done dealing with them 😂
I feel ya, I've been growing dwarf tomatoes for two years. Funnily enough, my most successful tomato this year was Botanical Interests Roma. It maxed out at 3 feet and was covered in fat tomatoes. It also had very little pest problems, the stink bugs and hornworms really hit my dwarfs, but they didn"t touch the romas. I'm in SE Texas, so our tomato season is coming to a close until fall.
This year I am growing tons of dwarf and micro dwarf tomatoes! I am still growing my heirlooms, but I sort of collect seeds, so I need to grow out some that are over five years old...
I’m in the same boat. I’m tempted to grow some indetermjnates just bc I still have seeds. But not sure if I want to deal 😂
Through the first part of the video I was thinking, "I love my Cherokee Purples, no way she's going to get me to replace them", and now I have to try something new.
I also discovered the dwarf tomato project and Victory seeds! One semi-determinate type I just LOVE is Chocolate Tasmanian- short (2.5 foot) but delicious smaller slicer). Growing Orange Hat and Geraniums kiss this year. Hope I'll love them too!
Thanks for the info!! I'm tired of struggling with tall tomatoe plants too!!
They’re just too much!
Thnx for the seed sourcing info.
Of course!
Have you tried topping your indeterminate tomatoes at like 6 foot high? It will grow suckers lower on the stalk.
You beat me to it! I’m tryi by that this year on some of my tomato plant. I planted too many
I agree and also the varieties/cultivars used for breeding of dwarf and micro tomato varieties come from Indeterminate varieties. I started growing some dwarfs this year - Sleeping Lady, sweet scarlet, and others I want to try. However, I will never stop growing indeterminate varieties. I enjoy seed saving and many of these old indeterminate varieties are so rare now.
I have tried that and they still just grow too crazy and wild for me. Before you know it the suckers are over 6ft again 😂 I just enjoy the compact growing patterns!
I just did that with mine. It was supposed to be a Tiny Tim, I topped it at about 2 meters when it reached the ceiling...
Indeterminate tomatoes are worth the work. Taste, Taste and Taste. Also, for canning, you can grow delicious, larger indeterminate tomatoes than Romas: Amish Paste, Pink Oxheart, San Marzano Redorta, Russian Orange 117 and Italian Heirloom and Polish Linguisa. All are larger and in my opinion, taste so much better. Oh, and because they are larger, they are less work but over all, with indeterminates, you gotta do the work. Blessings!
I’m so with you on this!! Dwarf tomatoes are it for me!! Purple reign is my new favorite!!
Can you do a video on your seed book? Ie how you put it together & organized it? Where you bought the dividers etc
i have a Tiny Tim tomato, 3 years old and still producing, in my window in a ceramic pot, great for a window I am in Canada and get tomatoes all year, right now it is about 18inches, just planted my first dwarf tomatoes and will see.
Hmmm, this gives me food for thought. I might try growing some of these next year!
I am from Algeria. I love those who have a garden, so start taking care of it. I love you, my sister
Ok wait I really love that binder for storing the seeds packets though!
I have been looking for more Determinate tomatoes too. So tire of trying to keep up with massive vines that always get away from me. I will be checking out some of these. Thanks for this very informative video.
Thank you for watching (:
I have been growing Determinates for a couple of years and I really have loved them, I've also grown Tiny Tim's the past two years really like them also.
Aww that name is so cute lol
Lots of food for thought, Meg! I'm growing a lot of indeterminate tomatoes, but I am trying Bobcat, Red Snapper, and Roadster determinates this year. Bobcat is about two feet tall, very bushy, and very productive so far. Too early to tell for Red Snapper and Roadster, which were last in the ground this year. Travis from Lazy Dog Farm love them, though. Love your podcasts Meg!
John McHatton
That sounds like a good lineup you have there, John! Thank you so much for watching and for your comment!
Great video! I was just wondering which variety would work in my towers. Thanks for sharing 😊
My tiny tomatoes just went in the ground but they’ll bulk up fast. The plan this year is determinate in raised beds, indeterminate in the ground, along the perimeter of a metal fence. I’m hoping I can manage them easier by tying them off on the fence. Espalier tomatoes if you will 😅 I’m hoping I can eventually remove the determinates from the raised beds and replace with a fall crop … we’ll see how this goes 🫠 I’m totally interested in trying the dwarfs…I’ve grown Orange Hat indoors over winter and they were great!
Love growing Roma tomatoes! You're looking stunning girlie! 😍🙌🏻💚
Aww thank you so much!! And yes romas are always a must for sauce and salsa! ❤
You got me on simple and lazy. The kind of gardening I look for . Suscribed
Starting micros and regular Dwarf varieties only basement now! Sept 30.. hoping for amazing fresh tomatoes by Christmas!
Had amazing results last year with a micro dwarf called red velvet. Grew it all winter in my grow room
I have determinate and indeterminate but I’m trying dwarf geranium kiss this year. I love how hardy yet compact the plants are. Next year I’m going to try a lot more dwarf varieties
I love dwarf tomatoes, and also micros! Also glad to hear that someone else knows of burpee’s veranda red variety. I grow them indoors in AeroGardens and love them! Probably the best tasting micro that I’ve had yet.
Veranda Red is completely wonderful and will grow in a window box. GREAT for balconies.
I can tell I’m really going to like it!
Team both. I learned of Meg from Epic too and Im glad I found her. Love the vibe! I wasnr a fan of tomatoes before I grew my own but will be branching out to try new dwarf versions and will be adopting the new tomato strategy. Thanks Meg! ❤
I really like that seed book organizer! Do you have a link?
I’d like to know that too.
Meg - this is my first year growing dwarf tomatoes (Victory Seeds) - they are very full and bushy but not putting out the fruit. To be fair, I over planted (again) and the hail damage was significant and temps will be triple digits tomorrow here in TX. BUT, I do grow those indeterminates in the tall (30in) birdies and I need a ladder to harvest, maintain, etc. I have very limited space. I am having similar thoughts.....just grow the dwarf plants. The few dwarfs I have in the greenstalks are doing well and I would like to try the micros next year. The Glacier Bush I purchased from Botanical is a strange one---very few stalks/leaves. But it was the first plants to set fruit. I have 2 in the greenstalk and 2 in bags.
I love this ❤ The explanation at the beginning really helped me understand what are the characteristics I am looking for.
I only have a balcony and I stumbled across a variety of dwarf cherry tomatoes called sweet n’ neat at a local nursery and it was perfect. Gave me cherry tomatoes, all summer long, but stayed very small. I think it’s a hybrid, though cause I was never able to find seeds. But I came across a type called glacier tomatoes this year that I am going to try it my moms backyard. It produces regular size tomatoes but apparently is also good for balconies.
I’m going to look into the types you mentioned and all the resources I’m excited to see if I can come across different types of tomatoes
I am also trying dwarf and micro tomatoes this year :). Also ordered seeds from Tomato Fest and Victoria Seeds. I am in Canada and Victoria seeds shipping is super expensive for me, unfortunately. I loved also Dwarf Mocha cherry. I was growing them during winter, they are still setting tomatoes now outside. Very large cherry tomatoes 1oz on average. The only problem that they are turning black in the sun and very difficult to determine when they are ripe.
I always learn from your videos! Thank you for the names of everything , so helpful .
Of course! (:
I am so with you on the simple gardening. I’m a single person doing all this and it is HOTTTT in FL.
Btw, new subscriber. Here from Epic. 😁
Oh and I just learned of dwarfs this year and will definitely be trying them next year and maybe even this fall. I do have a couple minis. Orange Hat, Yellow Patio & Cherry Falls. The last 2 I’m not sure qualify for mini but they’re small for sure.
Now I’m second guessing the tomatoes I started! 😂 this was really helpful info, thank you!
Which varieties are you planting??? 💚
I grow them all for different reasons. I grow indeterminates because that's what most of the tasty heirloom varieties are but I don't get as much production from them even with the hybrid varieties since they quit producing or just die in the heat of summer. I grow determinates for large volumes for preserving. Determinates are much more productive since they finish producing before it gets too hot for successful pollination. When I need some in containers (like in the fall when it's still hot but we have an occasional freeze), I grow dwarf and microdwarf.
That sounds like a smart plan!
I usually grow a mixture of pretty much all types .. determinate, indeterminate, dwarf and micro dwarf. One of the best tasting tomatoes I grew last year was a dwarf variety called Uluru Ochre, they are a yellowish color with green shoulders when they are ripe and very tasty.
I've got one of these Uluru Ochre ripening right now...can't wait to taste it!
Yes!!!! Trialing Dwarf Tasmanian Chocolate this year... cannot wait for my first toasted tomato sandwich of the season!
Oooo that sounds amazing! I’ll have to look that one up. I’m also foaming at the mouth for a mater sammich lol
my 'Sweet Scarlet' is now 4 ft tall. Unfortunately with our heat (9b), and the fact that I transplanted late, my harvest is going to be quite small before it's done for the season. The 'Rosella' pink variety is in a similar boat. Can't wait to try them if they turn before the bugs get them. This is my first year growing dwarfs from the Dwarf Tomato Project. Lesson learned to get them planted much sooner next spring (planting other more heat tolerant varieties this fall). Please provide an update on yours since I'd love to know how they do for you.
I’ll definitely be updating!
I can imagine gardening in 9b with the heat is frustrating! Tomatoes are so finicky in heat. I hope everything goes well for you!
Thank you for your video enjoy it very much
Hi Meg, New sub here! I'm in 9b first year growing dwarfs from Victory Seed but they are setting no fruit. I bought Click n Grow Tomatoe outside & no flowers on it. But I do have a couple regular determinates producing. Tfs...Enjoyed your channel.
Oh girl, I play hard for team dwarf tomato project. I think I grew10-12 different varieties of dwarf tomatoes last year and its closer to 20 this year. They also have the virtue of being excellent container plants. 10 gallon grow back worked great for me, which is a huge soil savings. I have them everywhere! I think dwarf beauty king is my favorite.
This is what I like to hear!! Can’t wait to try beauty king this year
Thank you! Question..can you make sauce and harvest all year with beefsteak or cherry tomatos ? I’m growing everything from seed this year..
Iowa Zone 5a. Full sun. Last year from Victory Seed Co I tried Hannah's Prize, Arctic Rose, Barossa Moon, Wherokowhai, and a cherry variety, Eagle Smiley. Overall the Eagle Smiley did best. Full production deep into fall. Comparable in taste to Sun Golds. Production from the others, not so much. Taste was okay, I guess, but nothing stood out. I got the impression that they would have preferred a shade cloth or partial sun. This year I didn't feel like fooling with seed starts, so I went with hybrids from the big box store. No problem with vine spread. Single pole + tomato cage discretely tied to neighbor's chain link fence, & garden twine to hold errant vines in place. Allowed 2 main branches & trimmed suckers to the top rung on the tomato cage, then let it go. A Bowline around vine stalks and a Clove Hitch or 2 Half Hitches tying the twine to the pole, and everything held in place. Easy knots to undo & use twine next year. Only 5 plants, so this method might not be manageable for larger gardens. At the end of August I'll trim the growth points, cut the flowers, and cut the small guys that don't have a chance of making anything before 1st frost in mid October. I'll haven't given up on the dwarfs. I'd like to learn to grow them for the day when I can no longer garden in the back yard and am reduced to growing in containers on a deck.
I tried the dwarf tomatoes the last couple of years and they just did not do well here in GA. May have been the varieties I tried so I will try again. I don't care for how the indeterminates sprawl all over the place. I love Dr. Wyche though so will continue to grow at least one until I find a good replacement. This year I plan to trim it back hard and try to keep it in bounds. I did grow a determinate I liked called Red Snapper. It was very productive just like Dr. Wyche is for me. It too got very big and it kept producing until it just got too hot.
Feel the same..I also grow dwarf and micro tomato this year
I’m trying dwarf tomatoes this year. Looking forward to seeing how they grow! (Orange hat)
Hey Meg, for the dwarf tomato project seeds... can I harvest seeds and regrow for next season?
Mashallah, I liked it very much. Planting a garden is very good. A person fills a void in his life
Doing the same this year. Growing celebrity plus, red rocket, totem, principle borghese , patio choice, Tasmanian chocolate , red snapper, and 42 day.
Sounds like a great lineup!
If my tomato plant is small but trying to produce, should i pick them off to encourage more plant growth?
My philosophy is if the plant is setting fruit, just let it!
I grew some determinates in my greenstalk last year and they did amazing! Planted some of the same variety this year + some romas :D
Hmm not sure what team but I like this. Thanks for making
At this point I am just Team Tomato, lol. I havent had good luck with tomatoes, but I am also a lazy gardener. I'll figure it out eventually. 😛
Last year I grew Stony Brook, Jasmine Yellow, Hannah's Prize and Sneaky Sauce from Victory Seeds (I got the idea from The Impatient Gardener) They were great and I'm growing even more this year
Thanks for the great idea.. just ordered some purple reign and orange hat seeds!
Can you do a video on tomato flavors? I love acid forward tomatoes, but it's not described in the seed catalogs often.
I’m team whatever! This year I have some of all of the above. I will be drowning in a sea of indeterminate vines later this season but I’m going to try topping off the vines when they get too tall and see if that helps any? Probably not but one can hope 😂
Determinates have been tricky in my experience. I had Marglobes last year that said determinate on the seed pack, and they were not determinate. Maybe semi-indeterminate? The vines got over 10 feet and they put out huge flushes of fruit all season. It was wonderful but it was a lot. My Ace 55s were similar. They never stopped growing but didn’t get as big as the Marglobe. The Ace 55s
Kept giving me bumper crops of fruit. I’d think they were done and then they’d put on more flowers. It almost seemed that if you have happy plants they will just keep going, didn’t matter what the seed pack said… last year was my 2nd year gardening so I don’t have much experience. I would like to see how a “real” determinate behaves. I have a few new varieties this year so we will see.
This year in my greenstalk I’m growing orange hat and micro Tom tomatoes. They are super cute and already producing tomatoes.
I also have Patio F tomatoes and one other kind of dwarf. Can’t remember the name of the other one.
Def excited to compare all these varieties throughout the season! I’m in Maryland so I my growing season is similar to yours.
I love growing tomatoes, but struggle with wrangling the indeterminate varieties! I’m def adding the dwarf and micros to my garden asap
I’m in the same boat! Def try them out. I hope you like them!
I’m team Indeterminate. However, I also am trying several dwarf and micro dwarf varieties. So far, I have 16 dwarfs and 2-3 micro dwarfs planted out with another round of maybe 10 more to transplant. I really want to see how these perform. I still love my indeterminate, but these dwarfs look promising.