A selection of uninspiring new Dwarf Tomato Project selections

Well, you can’t win ‘em all! As impressive as the F2 selections from my indeterminate X indeterminate crosses were (as reported in my last blog), the F2 dwarf selections from a set of indeterminate X dwarf hybrids (to form new dwarf families) didn’t particularly impress. For one thing, they seemed to be much more prone to disease than expected (particularly Septoria leaf spot, but also Fusarium wilt). Despite that, yield was fine - but having plenty of tomatoes that don’t light up the taste buds, even if unique and impressive looking, represent likely dead ends.

Blue’s Bling X Dwarf Mocha’s Cherry - Blingy family. I grew one dwarf, regular leaf, variegated foliage. The tomatoes were uniform, round, 3 ounces, purple in color with antho on the shoulder. The flavor was not great - I rated it 6.5. My hopes for this cross were to find a variegated leaf purple dwarf with antho on the shoulders with decent size and an excellent flavor. I got the color and the variegation, but not the size or flavor. It may be considered a dead end, but also may be worth a look to see if something better emerges in the next generation. In the above picture, it is the variety at the bottom of the pic.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom X Dwarf Speckled Heart - Lilly family. I have such high hopes for this family, as both components are great tomatoes. I grew out two F2 dwarf selections, both regular leaf. I didn’t spot a potato leaf dwarf in my seedlings, but my garden friend Denise has some growing. Neither of these are represented in the above picture. There was one really good result, and one so-so. The first Lilly F2 to ripen produced a nice yield of very pretty round pink tomatoes with gold stripes. The flavor was actually quite good - not earth shattering, but sweet, balanced, quite lovely, 7.5 rated. I think it is well worth seeing what appears in the next generation. The second plant was pretty ordinary, yielding 4 ounce slightly oblate scarlet tomatoes, very meaty, with a mild, non-offensive flavor that I rated 6.5. I have high hopes that others will find some real stunners in this family.

Lucky Cross X Dwarf Mocha’s Plum - Crossy family. I did a number of crosses onto Dwarf Mocha’s Plum, mostly out of curiosity - what the small plum shape and size, purple fruit color with antho shoulders would do combined with large fruited tasty indeterminate varieties. I planted one regular leaf dwarf and one potato leaf dwarf. The regular leaf plant produced lots of 2 ounce purple plum shaped fruit with antho shoulders of no outstanding flavor - rated 6. The potato leaf plant looked very promising, with variable size near hearts up to 5 ounces, red/yellow bicolors. Alas, they were quite bland, also rating a 6. I hoped for more. Rather than growing out each of these, I would likely return to the F2 seed to grow out a few additional selections to see what else there is to find. Already, I am thinking that the size and fairly weak flavor of Dwarf Mocha’s Plum is dominating in the resulting selections.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom X Dwarf Mocha’s Plum - Plummy family. I planted one regular leaf and one potato leaf selection. The regular leaf plant produced 3 ounce plum shaped pink fruit with antho shoulders of a slightly better flavor, rating a 7. The potato leaf plant was pink with antho, round, smaller at 2 ounces, and less flavorful, coming in at 6. I don’t see either of these as being worth pursuing further, and would return to dwarf hunt with the F2 seeds to see what else may be found. I am now really thinking that Dwarf Mocha’s Plum was a poor choice as a crossing partner.

Don’s Double Delight X Dwarf Mocha’s Plum - Donny family. I grew only one plant, and it has potato leaf foliage. It was really prolific, providing chocolate colored plum shaped fruit averaging 2 ounces, with prominent antho and faint stripes. Alas, I found them lacking in flavor, rating them a 6. They are colorful, and it may be worth growing out a plant from saved seed, but it may be better to go back to dwarf hunting with F2 seeds.

Lucky Cross X Dwarf Buddy’s Heart - Lucky family. I grew but one of these as well, choosing a potato leaf dwarf. The tomatoes were pretty, bright yellow with red swirls in and out, and in the 3 ounce range, oblate in shape. Flavor was lacking, and they were too tart - another 6. The color was fine, the flavor was not - back to the F2 dwarf hunting drawing board.

Blazey F4 dwarf selections (Dwarf Blazing Beauty X Honor Bright) - I grew two plants, one regular and one potato leaf. This is a lead sent to me by Susan from Idaho. The plants were as expected - green foliage tending to yellow with age, showing their genetic legacy from Honor Bright. In both plants, the 2-3 ounce slightly oblate tomatoes started pale green, then went to white, ripening to bright orange. Flavor was lacking, ranking in the 5-5.5 range for both. Swing and miss for these. You can see them in the pics as the two groupings of orange tomatoes, above the pink or purple ones.

So, that’s it - a fun season trying some new dwarfs from new families, with only one really worthy of progressing - the round pink with gold striped selection from the Lilly family. As to what’s next - we shall see.