Hi Ralph

I am growing several dwarves this season. They are:

== Pink Passion
== Purple haert
== Polish Dwarf
== Rosella crimson
== Hahms Gelbe Topftomate
I have already germinated those ahead the rest of my choices for 2015. I am going to grow all of them in containers so my raised beds are free for the rest of my choices..

I have no previous experience about them, since this is the first season that I am going to try them. One of the reasons for picking them, as you have mentioned, is that they can be grown in smaller containers.

Seysonn

I grow a few dwarfs each year. Of the New Dwarfs that Craig is involved with I have about six of them growing this year. Last year I grew and really liked Dwarf Wild Fred. They are sturdy plants and I highly recommend you try a few.

I've grown many of the dwarfs over the past five years. They do beautifully in 5 gallon pots, are sturdy and healthy and you can use those cheap BBS tomato cages for support! That's all they need. I get my plants from Craig, but last summer saved the seeds and growing my own this year. Flavor is one of the top priorities in their development. They are worth trying, especially if you have limited space.

Jenniedhs, will you have seed or plants of dwarfs that you would like to trade? I live in southwest Raleigh near the intersection of I-40, US-1 and the Beltline. If so, I can give you a list of seed I have and the plants I expect to have. What potting soil do you use? Any chance you will be coming to the Raleigh spring swap? (see the Carolina Gardening Forum for details.)

Ralph, in years past I would have had tons to swap. I grew for a friends church plant sale in addition to my friends and family. But this year I cut back to just friends and family and myself. It was just too much work to grow that many (and the promised help never seemed to materialize) so I am making my life easier this year! I used Al's 5-1-1 recipe for potting soil in the past. Last year I was in a crunch for time so I used Miracle Gro (not moisture control) on Craig's recommendation. He uses that in his containers. I had an outstanding year for tomatoes!!! It might also have been I found a great liquid fertilizer other than MG? Or it could have been the great summer we had? But I won't argue with success! I will have to look at the Carolina Gardening Forum. Won't be able to make the swap this year. I'm in Greensboro, and have a new Grandson so not so much time on my hands.

I wish there was more description of height and spread of the different dwarves. It makes a big difference with limited space if I'm dealing with one that can reach 4' compared to one that tops out at 2'.

Since all of the Dwarf Project tomatoes are either brand new or relatively new there is just not as much information available.

I think the largest is Summertime Gold, which for me was about 4 foot. Rosella Crimson was much shorter for me, around 2 foot. The rest that I have grown are somewhere in between. But they are all very compact and do not have a wide spread at all. I space my 5 gallon pots about a foot apart. Don't know if that helps any.

Sorry, it may have been Rosella Purple that was so short. I just remember the Rosella part.

A SAMPLE:

I have planted a few dwarves early, as an experiment.
Shown in the picture is a "DWF Purple Heat" potted after germination on 1/15/15. Presently it is in a 1/2 gallon pot.

Seysonn

Hi Ralph. I've grown Sleeping Lady, Rosella Purple and Dwarf Artic Rose. All three were grown in A 5 gallon bucket self watering system I built. I used Pro Mix HP for the growing media and fertilized with Texas Tomato Food and Neptunes Fish & Seaweed. I had very good results with all three varieties. Sleeping Lady was the first to produce for me with the other two not far behind. In the pics below, 2 Sleeping Lady on the left,2 Rosella Purple in the middle and Artic Rose on the right. Good luck if you decide to grow any...

Thanks David. Very nice plants and tasty looking tomatoes. It is amazing that those dwarves produced good size fruits.

Yeah. Like Linda said, there are very little info on most of these dwarves, as they are recent introductions. So I guess people like you guys are the best source of info.

Seysonn

Thank you all for your helpful comments. We have stared a demonstration vegetable garden in support of the Children's Program at the J C Raulston Arboretum here in Raleigh, NC. Last summer we planted a number of heirlooms tomatoes with mixed results. (Cherokee Purple, Black Cherry, Pork Chop and Mortgage Lifter did the best.) This coming summer I would like to add a number of these dwarf varieties to demonstrate what people with limited growing space might do to still have home grown vegetables.