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  • Mother Earth Gardener

    The Big Idea Behind Dwarf Tomatoes

    Nov 30, 2018 7 minutes
    By Craig LeHoullier

    IN 2005, THE DWARF TOMATO PROJECT was catalyzed by a long-distance friendship, curiosity, a gaping need, and an idea from an old seed catalog. Now, 90 newly created, stable, open-pollinated tomatoes are available from an ever-increasing array of forward-thinking seed companies, and the Dwarf Tomato Project — representing hundreds of volunteer gardeners the world over — can take a deep breath and be satisfied with its accomplishments.

    DEFINING A DWARF TOMATO

    Prior to 2010, when the first cultivars from our project were released, dwarf tomatoes were the most obscure members of the tomato family. Representing a third major growth habit, they combine the most useful qualities of their better-known relatives: indeterminate and determinate types. It’s important to realize that the term “dwarf” describes the relative height of the mature plant, not the size of the tomatoes on the plants.

    are the unruly characters in the tomato world that grow up and out (if unpruned), requiring a strategy of caging and staking to keep them under control. The vast majority of tomatoes are indeterminate in growth habit, and virtually all of the popular, colorful, flavorful heirlooms reside in this category. The main

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