🍅 Quick take: Kangaroo Paw Brown is a heavy-yielding, mid-season dwarf from the Dwarf Tomato Project. It pumps out 3–3.5 oz (80–100 g) round, deep raspberry-brown salad tomatoes. Known for its compact tree-type habit and thick rugose foliage, it is an excellent container option, though it requires consistent feeding to avoid bland fruit during heatwaves. Full summary ↓
Growers’ Notes and Photos
An indeterminate but compact mid-season variety from the Dwarf Tomato Project with regular, rugose leaves. The fruits are round and oblate with a rich raspberry-brown exterior and raspberry-colored flesh.They are supposed to have a very well-balanced flavor. However, my flavor profile bounced around from totally bland to a pretty good, balanced tomato taste. This was most likely due to a potassium deficiency. The plants experienced nutrient lockout from the summer heat, and since they were growing outdoors in the dirt, I barely gave them any supplemental fertilizer. You can clearly see the potassium deficiency in the white, hard unripened tissue inside the sliced tomatoes.
Average fruit weight was 3–3.5 oz (80–100 g). Out of the entire “Kangaroo Paw” series, the brown one was easily the heaviest yielder. (I grew Brown, Yellow, and two Green vines).
That brown one looks so appetizing… Guess I have to completely redo my grow list again! 🫣
My Kangaroo Paw Brown actually had green flesh inside, but it was incredibly tender and delicious. My seeds came from Belgium. Maybe there is a second breeding line circulating that retained the green flesh? I actually saw a photo just like mine on a Facebook tomato group.
Full Summary: Plant, Yield, Taste and Appearance
- 🌿 Plant: A compact indeterminate dwarf with thick, dark green rugose foliage. It thrives both in containers and out in the dirt, requiring very little pruning compared to standard vines.
- 📈 Yield: Exceptionally high. Rated by growers as the most productive variety within the entire Kangaroo Paw series (which includes Green and Yellow versions).
- 👅 Taste: When properly fed, it offers a rich, balanced, earthy tomato flavor. However, growers note it is highly susceptible to potassium lockout during heatwaves, which can result in bland fruit with hard white internal cores. Consistent watering and feeding are necessary.
- 🎨 Appearance Quirks: Officially, it is supposed to be a dusky raspberry-brown tomato with red/raspberry flesh. However, some seed lines circulating in Europe (specifically from Belgium) are producing dark brown tomatoes that retain vibrant green flesh inside!
- 🌎 Who Reviewed It: Grown successfully outdoors in Zone 4 (Kostroma) and Zone 6 (Caucasus).
