📌 Quick Summary: Karlik Nos (Dwarf Nose)
- 🌍 Origin: A Russian commercial dwarf variety bred by L. Myazina. The name translates to “Dwarf Nose,” referencing the tiny pointed beak (nose) on the blossom end of the fruit.
- 🌿 Plant Habit: Determinate (dwarf). The seed packet notoriously claims it is the “brother of the Mongolian Dwarf” and has a sprawling, creeping habit. However, growers universally report that it grows upright as a standard, sturdy dwarf/tree-type plant, reaching about 20 to 39 inches (50-100 cm). No pruning or suckering is needed! Perfect for pots and open ground.
- 🍅 Fruit Characteristics: Small, slightly oval, bright red tomatoes weighing 1 to 2.8 oz (30-80 g). They have a distinct little point (nose) on the bottom. The walls are thick, but the interior remains juicy.
- 👅 Flavor & Use: Very sweet and pleasant, far better than store-bought. Because it produces heavily and early, it’s great for early fresh eating, but its thick walls make it an absolute champion for canning in small jars.
Karlik Nos (Dwarf Nose). I bought the seeds for a high price, 100 rubles for 5 seeds, from L. Myazina, here is what the packet looked like: [link]
The description on the packet claims it is “the brother of Mongolian Dwarf, a sprawling/creeping type bush,” but as a seedling, it just looked like a standard, fairly tall plant. Otherwise, it matches the description; it’s early, you don’t need to prune the suckers, it forms a ton of flower trusses, and sets fruit well and quickly. I grew it in a pot, the bush reached about 20 to 24 inches (50-60 cm) and was completely showered in slightly oval red fruits weighing 1 to 1.8 oz (30-50 g). They were very tasty and sweet. Some fruits had a barely noticeable little nose.
It’s ideal for early fresh eating and for canning, especially in small jars. The texture reminds me of a mini version of the Slavyanka variety – thick walls, but the fruit itself is juicy and sweet. An excellent early variety! 👍
Karlik Nos.
Sveta, how adorable! This is my favorite size format 🙂
Karlik Nos (Dwarf Nose). I bought the seeds for a high price, 100 rubles for 5 seeds, from L. Myazina, here is what the packet looked like…
In Myazina’s own official shop, it only costs 20 rubles.
In Myazina’s own official shop, it only costs 20 rubles.
I was making a huge bulk order on that other website last fall, so I just tossed it in the cart while I was at it.
Mine wasn’t creeping/sprawling at all, and it categorically did not look like Mongolian Dwarf. I got my seeds from Myazina too. Here is what grew. Looks very similar to yours.
It’s a tomato for open ground. A tree-type (rugose) plant, not very tall, up to 3.2 feet (1 m). Requires no pruning/suckering. The tomatoes are small, up to 2.8 oz (80 g) max. They are dense, red with a little nose, and great for canning. In the open dirt, they were among the very first to ripen. The flavor is a pleasant tomato taste, much better than anything from the store.
The legendary Mongolian Dwarf tomato (which actually does creep like a groundcover) became so famous and highly sought-after in Russia that commercial seed breeders started trying to cash in on its fame. As seen in this thread, the breeder L. Myazina marketed Karlik Nos as the “Brother of the Mongolian Dwarf” with a creeping habit. Both growers here quickly called out the marketing bluff—the plant grows completely upright like a standard dwarf tomato! Despite the false advertising, it still turned out to be a fantastic and highly productive early variety.
