Dwarf Tomatoes: Rethinking Tomatoes in the Fog Belt (Again)
You may have read a couple of my most popular blog posts Growing Tomatoes in the Fog Belt or Rethinking Tomatoes in the Fog Belt. Perhaps you too garden in a cool climate.
I’ve chronicled my attempts to grow tomatoes over the past four years during dank, overcast summers. Many grow enviable tomatoes in coastal San Diego, but my urban garden gets more shade due to trees and buildings.
For 25 years however, I grew tomatoes successfully, though the plants looked terrible as the crop waned. Then, in recent years, our summers a few blocks from the ocean became cooler.
This year it was Graypril, Gray and Gloom (April, May and June). The data from our solar panels confirm my suspicions, with the production the lowest for those months in the last three years. With the cool spring, I delayed planting my tomatoes until the first week in June. The lettuce, spinach and chard were still thriving.
This spring I decided it was time for new measures in growing tomatoes. My friend, Brijette, owner of San Diego Seed Company suggested I grow a few of her dwarf tomatoes. SDSC has done extensive trials and testing at their Ramona farm and San Diego site. She agreed, it would be useful to see how they performed in my problematic location.
Chocolate Lightning
Brijette convinced me, placarding their virtues: “Dwarf tomato seeds are a fabulous solution for growers with small spaces. The plants they produce have all the great features of regular tomatoes but on smaller plants that are easier to manage. With dwarf varieties, you can still grow tomatoes with the results you crave, like large, juicy harvests of slicing tomatoes. By growing these dwarf tomato plants from seeds, you can ensure that your plant will remain much smaller than other tomatoes and with little to no staking. Your plant will reward you with a large harvest of tomatoes.”
Rosella Purple (pictured in thumbnail photo) and Chocolate Lightning were my choices. I also started saved seed of two other favorites—a black cherry tomato (seed shared with SDSC) and Cherokee Purple. Both were planted at the same time the dwarfs went in.
As the June Gloom persisted, I decided to go all in on dwarf tomatoes. Their days to maturity are less than my favorites—Cherokee Purple and Black Krim. I still had two dwarf tomato seedlings and decided to remove my Cherokee Purple plant though it was thriving at 18 inches early in the season. I knew its fate. In its place I planted another early season Rosella Purple which is similar in color, size, shape and flavor but on a dwarf plant.
The Dwarf Tomato Project shares the virtues of dwarf tomatoes:
Benefits of dwarf tomatoes—sturdy, attractive, productive
Plants vary in height from 60-140cm (2 to 4.5 feet) depending on which variety is selected.
Dark and dense crinkly (rugose) foliage, thick central stem.
Tomatoes of all sizes and shapes, including some large fruits up to around 500 grams (18 ounces).
A broad range of flavours – sweet, tangy, fruity, and even a hint of saltiness – something to please everyone.
Fruit colours include green-when-ripes, bi-colours, stripes, blacks (purple or brown), pink, red, yellow, orange, white/ivory.
Easy to grow in pots, on balconies, or wherever space is limited.
Be sure to read more about growing dwarf tomatoes and check the varieties offered by San Diego Seed Company. And if you are a small space or container gardener, check the Dwarf Tomato Project for more information. Their goal is to “to create delicious tomatoes of all flavour and size variations on compact, easy-to-maintain dwarf tomato plants.” The Bountiful Gardener blog also gives detailed information on growing dwarf tomatoes.
Though this Master Gardeners piece does not include an evaluation of dwarf tomatoes, it provides guidance for growing tomatoes in less than ideal conditions. You Can Grow Tomatoes in a Shady or Foggy Garden.
Though it’s too late to grow dwarf tomato plants from seed, there’s always next year in the garden.
