This variety was my biggest disappointment in 2013 and my greatest joy in 2014:

It’s a short variety, about 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) tall, requiring absolutely no pruning or staking. The tomatoes are tasty and meaty. “The variety is interesting because it starts bearing fruit very early and continues until the frosts. The fruits are practically immune to disease and can comfortably lie on the cold ground. A very low-maintenance variety.” Highly recommend!!

I second every single word. This variety is a miracle. It is a true, extreme dwarf, reaching only about 12 inches (30 cm) total. The taste is good, classic tomato flavor 👍. I also want to add that mine didn’t crack at all.

By the way, this year I planted Mongolian Dwarf at the feet of my tall varieties. I pulled them out of the greenhouse in mid-July because better-tasting tomatoes started ripening, but I still got two full crates of tomatoes off of 13 bushes.

larina wrote: Mongolian Dwarf was my biggest disappointment in 2013 and my greatest joy in 2014…

Larisa, could you please tell me why you got such different results between ’13 and ’14? Share your experience so we don’t make the same mistakes.

I ordered it from Batatoviye Kuschi, and the seeds already arrived. I want to plant it in 2015, and your advice would be super helpful.

Just wanted to add: I always sow Mongolian Dwarf on February 1st. It grows very slowly and takes up very little space. Depending on the weather, in 2013 I had fruits by late May, and in 2014 by mid-June.

Lora_27 wrote: Larisa, could you please tell me why you got such different results between ’13 and ’14?

In 2013, I planted it in the greenhouse. The result: it got huge, but it went completely vegetative and pushed all foliage. In 2014, I planted it outdoors. The result was excellent. Short, compact, and highly productive. The conclusion is obvious: it does not belong in a greenhouse!

Larisa, I have to disagree with you. In 2014, I had 4 bushes growing in my greenhouse. I received the seeds as a gift at a grower meetup. Sowed on March 6th.

The bushes were no taller than 12-14 inches (30-35 cm). I harvested the first fruits in mid-June and the last ones when I was clearing out the greenhouse for winter. The late ones were much smaller, though. The yield and early fruiting were fantastic. For an early tomato, the taste is perfectly fine.

I don’t grow tomatoes outdoors, so Mongolian Dwarf will definitely be in my greenhouse again in 2015, planted as an understory crop on the south side.

I liked it as an early, trouble-free, low-maintenance, and productive variety. Fruit weight was 5.3-10.5 oz (150-300 g), and the taste was just standard, nothing fancy. Next year, it’s a candidate for planting at the feet of my indets in the high tunnel and in containers. I also sowed seeds in November in the tunnel just to see what happens.

larina wrote: In 2013, I planted it in the greenhouse. The result: it got huge, but it went completely vegetative…

Last year, Mongolian Dwarf totally disappointed me in the greenhouse too. Planted it as an understory crop in a checkerboard pattern. The first fruits were mediocre. By late June, they should have been ripening heavily, but it just stalled. The longer it grew, the smaller the fruits got. I threw them out. Feeding and watering were the same for everyone, and it wasn’t planted too densely.

A year earlier in the open ground, the yield and earliness were much better. Has anyone tried growing it in buckets? The flavor is definitely on the sour side, but for early tomatoes, I’d still plant it.

Grew it outdoors last year. Very happy with it. Productive and tasted really good-fragrant, sweet and sour, and juicy. In the greenhouse in 2013, it was a total dud. Barely set fruit, and they were tiny.

I grew the dwarf in the greenhouse last year. It got the leftover space–the absolute worst spot by the north wall, shaded for half the day by a 50-gallon (200 L) watering barrel. Despite that, it gave a good yield of medium fruits (about 3.5 oz / 100 g). They were sour at first, but after sitting on the counter for a week, they sweetened up.

I grew it during the rainy summer of 2013. Very interesting variety, the most compact seedling I’ve ever grown. Can be sown early in February. The leaves curl downward into a ring 😃 In the first photo, it’s the smallest one.

Grew it outdoors, unpruned. The bush stays short but sprawls out wide in every direction! Lots of blossoms, but late blight hit early due to constant rain, so I had to pull everything green in mid-July and counter-ripen indoors. Standard tomato flavor. Max weight was 7 oz (200 g), average 1.8-3.5 oz (50-100 g). Should have planted it in the greenhouse for an early harvest, but I misjudged the weather.

Sowing it for the first time. I can’t figure out how far apart to plant them outdoors if they sprawl so much?

Also, do I need to prune it in a long but cold summer climate?

Marina H wrote: how far apart to plant them outdoors… do I need to prune it?

Mine was about 20-24 inches (50-60 cm) in diameter! I didn’t prune, but I probably should have thinned it slightly–that summer was rainy, blight hit early, and there were so many walnut-sized fruits that didn’t have time to size up.

Mine grew like a solid carpet! I had 3 bushes planted 24 inches (60 cm) apart, and it was way too crowded for them. By the end of the summer, you couldn’t find the beginning or end of the plants. Tomatoes were up to 3.5-5.3 oz (100-150 g).

Grew it for the first time last year! Really liked it, going to plant it again. Compact bush, easy to tuck between tall plants. The tomatoes were a decent size, good flavor. The only issue is poor germination – you definitely need to sow extra seeds. Very happy with this early variety overall.

Dana2009 wrote: The only issue is poor germination…

Yeah, I had low germination last year too. We’ll see how they sprout from saved seeds.

They sent me a generous amount of seeds… but I have a question.

Once it puts out true leaves, you have to prick it out… and it will keep growing.

I plant outdoors in the extreme north around June 1st… If it’s only supposed to be 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) tall, isn’t it going to fall over at home before I even plant it out?

Andreevna wrote: If it’s only supposed to be 8-12 inches (20-30 cm) tall, isn’t it going to fall over at home?

Micro-dwarfs can easily be grown in pots, so just gradually pot them up until each plant has about 1 quart (1 L) of soil, and let them live in the greenhouse or on a balcony until it’s time for the garden. Just do it gradually to keep the roots and top growth balanced. They can easily live for 2 months in 3 to 16 oz (100-500 ml) cups.

My Dwarf seeds are still in the mail. Do you think it’s too late to sow? What’s the absolute latest sowing date for our summers?

(Replying to Alena about seed coats sticking) That happens when you sow the seeds too shallowly, it has nothing to do with the plant’s bush structure.

Marina 111 wrote: Do you think it’s too late to sow?

Marina, in 2014 I sowed Mongolian Dwarf on March 5th. It still ripened before everything else. Though that was in a greenhouse…

Alena Latviya wrote: gradually pot them up until each plant has about 1 quart…

Our greenhouse goes up late, not before May 20th. I prick my seedlings out into 1-quart milk cartons. I have a trick: I cut the top, fold the flaps outward, and gradually fold them up and add soil as it grows. Works perfectly and the roots are always great.

Thanks. I don’t have a greenhouse, I’ll be planting under row cover on hoops. So I guess I can wait until early March. I read it develops very slowly and needs to be sown super early, is that true?

Marina, I sowed it in early March last year and it didn’t develop slowly at all; it was totally normal for its size. By mid-May, it was a decent little bush.

I grew 2 of them in the greenhouse. The bushes get very wide, so you need a lot of horizontal space. It was early, lots of tomatoes on the bushes. I just sowed some more now to see what happens with an even earlier start.

Irina, thanks. Did you prick it out, and if so, how? Or is it a micro-dwarf that doesn’t need pricking out?

I sow all my tomatoes in peat pellets (1 per pellet), and once they grow a bit, I just plant the whole pellet straight into a 16 oz (500 ml) cup with soil. They stay there until planting out. Much easier for me.

Irina, I actually meant to ask about pruning (suckering)! I was just thinking about pricking out my other seedlings at the time and typed the wrong word. Do you need to remove the suckers? It looks like a micro-dwarf, and those usually aren’t pruned.

I didn’t prune it at all; it just grew completely overgrown and shaggy. Maybe I should have…

Thanks. Who knows, maybe with these tiny bushes all the yield is on the suckers, so maybe you aren’t supposed to remove them.

Can I just skip potting it up altogether? Just plant it straight from the community flat into the open ground? When is the best planting out date for central regions?

I highly advise potting them up. The earlier you sow, the more space you need to provide as the roots grow. In a small volume of soil, it will just stall out and freeze. Since I messed up my timing last year, I won’t give you exact dates! 🙈

As for pruning: outdoors you don’t need to prune if there’s enough space and light. But in a greenhouse, you probably should; there are just too many suckers.

Svet, I’m so upset now. The Dwarf was my dream for an early harvest, and I haven’t even sown it yet. What’s going to happen?

Do you think it’s better to pot it straight into a huge container, or gradually size up multiple times?

Why are you upset? A lot of people got early harvests from it! It only stalled for me because I kept it in a tiny 6 oz (0.2 L) cup for too long.

I recommend potting up gradually – first to 6 oz (0.2 L), then 16 oz (0.5 L), and if needed, up to 1 qt (1 L). I use clear cups; once the roots hit the sides, it’s time to size up. Otherwise, growth stops.

I repotted one of mine into a cut-off 2-liter bottle. It definitely sped up its growth, and once it hit the greenhouse bed, it absolutely took off!

I liked the variety too, except for one thing–it caught Late Blight horribly. Meanwhile, the cherry tomatoes planted right next to it were perfectly fine.

Everyone complains about it being a slow starter and hard to germinate, but I sowed mine on the 21st and it popped up on the 25th. So there!

Natashkinnn wrote: it caught Late Blight horribly…

That’s interesting, because it is advertised as blight-resistant. Mine didn’t get sick at all.

Yeah, I’m curious why that happened to mine. But despite that, I planted it again this year. I checked my notes from last year, and it took almost 2 weeks to germinate for me.

Mine has been sitting since the 26th and not a single loop has broken the soil yet. 🤷‍♀️

That’s too long. You should probably re-sow. Dig one up with a toothpick and check it. The easiest way is to soak 5 seeds in warm water, move them to a damp paper towel, and put them in a slightly vented box in a warm spot. Check daily. Once they sprout, put them in soil. They’ll be up in a week.

Alena, I only had 17 seeds total, and they are all in the paper towel right now. The tray is sitting on the radiator. I’ve had over 100 other seedlings sprout in these exact same conditions. My only hope is that it’s just a slow starter. Someone above said theirs took two weeks.

Mine popped up fast. I also read on the forum that it was a slow starter, so I planted it in mid-Feb (the rest were sown on Feb 22). But it just popped right up immediately. Both are slowly pushing out true leaves now.

My Dwarf took 2.5 weeks to sprout this year! I was sure I’d have to re-sow. Sowed on Feb 20 and it just barely came up. These were my own saved seeds. Last year, the exact same seed batch popped up fast.

I guess I’ll keep waiting then.

For me, it’s the opposite. This year my own saved seeds popped fast (in 3 days), but last year my purchased seeds took forever to sprout.

Is this variety finicky in general? I’m planning to plant it. What’s the deal with its germination rate?

It is incredibly low-maintenance. Not sure what’s up with the germination issues. My own saved seeds almost always sprout better. I leave the seed tomato on the vine as long as possible, and then counter-ripen it indoors for another week or two before extracting the seeds.

Thanks, I’ll try that. 👍

Ilya, can you buy Mongolian Dwarf in a regular store? I thought it was a folk-heirloom variety passed hand-to-hand.

I meant purchased from private collectors/breeders online.

Got it, I got my hopes up for a second. 😞

Mongolian Dwarf grew incredibly stocky for me this year. Sowed dry seeds on Feb 17. Started sprouting on the 20th. It’s in a 6 oz (200 ml) cup right now, but the roots have already filled it. Repotting to a 16 oz (0.5 L) cup soon. Planning to plant them in mid-April in the greenhouse under my tall indets for an early harvest.

Looking at my Dwarf, it is an exact twin of the Nezalezhnyi variety from Olya. She even warned me about this. It’s just as sprawling, short, and pushes suckers like crazy; a total dead ringer. I have 4 of them. They are cute, but they are crushing everything around them with their massive paws! 😆

Good afternoon. First year growing Mongolian Dwarf, and I have never seen such an abundance of suckers in the seedling stage. This photo is from a week ago, they are even bigger now. Usually, for micro-dwarfs outdoors, you remove suckers up to the first blossom cluster. Should I remove these too? Or is it a trait of the variety and I should leave them?

When did you plant yours?

Sprouted on Feb 15th.

Where are you going to grow it? If outdoors, you can just remove the very lowest suckers touching the soil. The rest will have blossom clusters. If in a greenhouse, you should probably thin them out more, or the bush will get way too dense. Unpruned in the open ground, it looks like this 😛 About 8 inches (20 cm) tall and 24 inches (60 cm) wide!

They will be outdoors, thanks! I’ll do that and see how it goes. I might even try rooting a couple of the suckers.

My Dwarf has no suckers at all. Sowed on March 1st.

Girls, how is this variety doing for you right now? Is it fruiting?

Svetik, mine in the open ground have set a few little fruits about the size of hazelnuts. Blooming heavily. Pushing suckers with terrifying force. Looks like a giant hedgehog! I pull the lower suckers when I have time, otherwise it’s just lying completely on the soil. Mulched it with dry grass yesterday. No idea when the fruit will actually be ready now.

Sveta, mine are in the greenhouse at the feet of my indets. The fruits are a bit larger than ping pong balls right now. Lots of tiny ones. I snapped off the first suckers, and now I’m just letting it do whatever it wants. Crawling all over the mulch. It’s definitely much wider than it is tall.

Mine outdoors aren’t doing much–just starting to bloom, though they look sturdy and green. Many other early varieties have already lapped it and are setting fruit, but I’m patiently waiting for the Dwarf.

It’s just too cold for it here, we’re having a terrible spring, and the Dwarf turned out to not be the most cold-tolerant. The main thing is to get some fruit so I can save seeds and keep the variety.

The bush structure is definitely remarkable. Sitting there like a little crab, begging for mulch (I just haven’t had time to get out there). At least it’s not turning purple from the cold like some of the others.

Here are my Dwarfs today:

Mongolian Dwarf actually isn’t an early variety. The reason people grow it for early harvests is because it never gets leggy, meaning you can pot up an almost fully grown bush indoors before planting it out.

That makes sense, and it’s also obvious how much it just “freezes” in place when it gets cold. Right now, it’s just important for me to save my own seeds and see how it performs next year – usually, I notice a huge difference (even in earliness) when I grow from my own acclimatized seeds. Often, mid-late varieties turn into early ones.

We are having an absolutely awful, vile summer this season. My greenhouse is empty… the blossom clusters open, turn black, and fall off. It rains almost every single day outside.

Under these conditions, Mongolian Dwarf has been an absolute lifesaver for me!

I sowed it on March 5th and just gloomily watched how incredibly slow it grew. It moved out to the open garden on May 22nd. I laid down black landscape fabric, cut holes in it, and let Mongolian Dwarf live there on top of the fabric.

Looking at it now, I am amazed, and all my neighbors are amazed too. I have already picked 2 full buckets of tomatoes from 15 bushes, and there are still so many left on the vines.

The largest one weighed 9.5 oz (270 g), which I saved for seeds. By the way, almost a quarter of the ones I’ve picked so far already had a red blush. Taste is totally fine, standard tomato flavor. I didn’t prune them, only removed yellowing leaves. It literally saved my season!

Irina, I absolutely agree and second every word!!! I’ve already harvested 2 buckets from 12 bushes and it is still setting fruit. I lay down hay underneath mine. Unlike the others outdoors, my Dwarf hasn’t caught Late Blight at all.

I don’t know if you guys just got lucky or if I have a different Dwarf line. I planted it once outdoors-and it was the very first thing to catch blight. Didn’t like it at all.

Did you put a barrier between it and the ground, or was it lying directly on the soil? Plus, our climates are very different.

It was on sawdust. The July fogs rolled in, and it croaked immediately.

Well, mine is just now starting to get slightly sick. I also have tall grass around the edges of my beds (we purposely don’t cut it). Maybe that offered some protection?

I sowed it in early February for an early crop. Grew it in the greenhouse. By early August, I had harvested exactly 7 tomatoes the size of jumbo eggs from 2 bushes.

I won’t be planting it again. 🙂

trofi wrote:
Planted in early February for an early harvest. Grew it in the greenhouse. By early August, I pulled 7 small egg-sized tomatoes from 2 plants. Not growing this one again. 🙂

Almost everyone says it’s way better to plant it outside!

Lisa wrote:
Almost everyone says it’s way better to plant it outside!

I actually plant MD in the greenhouse. A couple dozen fruits usually ripen without any issues. I think this dwarf just loves moisture, so the high temps and fast-drying soil in a greenhouse make it a bit uncomfortable for it.

My dwarfs outside started ripening on July 5th. It’s definitely later than the ‘June’ variety, but I’ll plant them again next year for early yields because they stay short, produce large fruits, and have a solid yield. They are just really convenient. Thanks for the watering tip, I’ll definitely keep that in mind and water them more often!

Grew MD in the greenhouse right by the door. I pruned the suckers up to the first cluster, then just left it alone. The leaves are really interesting on this one 🌿. Sowed on February 25th.

The first ones started blushing in late June. I liked the look and the taste (at least compared to other early varieties). I feel like if you leave the bottom suckers on, it blooms heavily all at once but takes longer to size up the fruit. For an early harvest, it’s better to prune up to the first cluster.

Pics from July 9th:

Grew MD outside last season and noted that it really loves daily watering (maybe it’s just my sandy soil) and nitrogen feeds. I didn’t prune any suckers and gave each plant its own support stake.

MD is absolutely not for the greenhouse, it just doesn’t perform well indoors. But outside it’s fantastic: large, ripens on the vine, tasty. It stays disease-free for a long time and gives up almost its entire yield without any row cover.

Honestly, I don’t think it’s a “creeping” variety; that seems like a marketing gimmick. If you stick some stakes in, it grows like a regular determinate. But… the fruits can lie directly on the ground without rotting! Though I do mulch my soil heavily with grass clippings.

I actually remember it specifically as a creeping variety, it’s the only one I didn’t bother staking. It has very short internodes and actively pushes horizontal suckers. The bush can spread 20-27.5 inches (50-70 cm) in diameter while only reaching 8-10 inches (20-25 cm) tall. With a structure like that, it’s really hard to tie it up anyway, but it produces great while lying down. You definitely want to put something under it like mulch or wooden boards.

Someone successfully grew it in a greenhouse for early yields, but there you should probably prune some suckers and tie it up. Great variety for those who don’t have much time for maintenance or a greenhouse 🙂. Just give it plenty of space when planting due to the wide spread.

My Mongolian Dwarf is definitely a creeper too. Even as a seedling on the windowsill without extra grow lights, it doesn’t stretch at all, just grows wider.

salix wrote:
My Mongolian Dwarf is definitely a creeper too. Even as a seedling on the windowsill without extra grow lights, it doesn’t stretch at all, just grows wider.

Yeah, its seedlings are super easy to spot. They grow incredibly stout and stocky.

Mongolian Dwarf creeps along the ground so aggressively that I struggled to lift its heavy branches (was terrified I’d snap them) just to slide some hay under the fruit. Sure, if space is tight you could tie it up, but you’d be fighting its nature. This variety is a massive find for me! I just tested the waters with it before, but this year I’m going all in!

By the way, MD was one of the very last varieties in my garden to get hit by late blight, and it wasn’t even hit that hard. Definitely planting it again. 🙂

Hey guys from the Central Zone, when are you planning to sow your Dwarfs this year? I’m in Ryazan. Last year I sowed on February 21st. Thinking maybe I should start earlier this year? What’s the forecast for spring looking like anyway?

Lisa wrote:
Hey guys from the Central Zone, when are you planning to sow your Dwarfs this year? I’m in Ryazan. Last year I sowed on February 21st. Thinking maybe I should start earlier this year?

Nataliya, I think February 20th is pretty close to optimal. If you track the lunar calendar, see what lines up around then.

I read in the early tomatoes thread that some people are sowing MD in early February. But they plan to pot up into huge containers. If you’re chasing that ultra-early harvest, you’ve got to put in the extra time and elbow grease.

We sow MD in mid-March, perfectly timed for planting outside. But our season starts way later than Moscow’s.

In my greenhouse, it gave me exactly 3 tomatoes and flat-out stopped growing. Outside, it pumped out 33!

Lisa wrote:
Hey guys from the Central Zone, when are you planning to sow your Dwarfs this year? I’m in Ryazan. Last year I sowed on February 21st. Thinking maybe I should start earlier this year?

I’m in the Moscow region. Last year I sowed the dwarf on February 17th. The seedlings were the perfect size by transplant day. Easter is late this year, so spring might drag its feet. I’ll probably stick to last year’s schedule and sow mid-February.

ilja wrote:
The seedlings were the perfect size by transplant day.

What container size do you pot them up to before planting out?

Lisa wrote:
What container size do you pot them up to before planting out?

A cut-off 1.3-gallon (5 L) water bottle.

ilja wrote:
A cut-off 1.3-gallon (5 L) water bottle.

Ilya, your Dwarfs are living the dream! 👏
Mine can only hope for 1-2 pints (0.5-1 L) pots.

ilja wrote:
A cut-off 1.3-gallon (5 L) water bottle.

And when do they go into the ground outside? Probably already loaded with little tomatoes by then?

Lavanda wrote:
Ilya, your Dwarfs are living the dream! Mine can only hope for 1-2 pints (0.5-1 L) pots.

Honestly, a quart would have been fine, but there was no point repotting from 1 pint to 1 quart. They didn’t even have time to fill out the whole 1.3-gallon bottles. I was just bumping up my other early varieties (Labrador, 0-33, Sanka) into big bottles, and the Dwarfs just got lucky and went along for the ride.

Lisa wrote:
And when do they go into the ground outside? Probably already loaded with little tomatoes by then?

Nope, just flowers. The first fruits ripened in mid-June.

ilja wrote:
I’m in the Moscow region. Last year I sowed the dwarf on February 17th.

Ilya, when exactly did you plant them outside last year?

Ludmila474 wrote:
Ilya, when exactly did you plant them outside last year?

May 10th.

ilja wrote:
May 10th.

I feel like if you actually live at your property full-time, May 10th is fine for planting outside. You can always run out and cover them if a frost hits.

But if you aren’t planning to use any row cover, remember that we can still get frosts in the Moscow region all the way until June 10th.

Lavanda wrote:
I feel like if you actually live at your property full-time, May 10th is fine for planting outside… remember that we can still get frosts in the Moscow region all the way until June 10th.

Oh yeah, absolutely. I threw row cover on them periodically until the end of May. As for waiting until June 10th… if we end up having a freezing August like we did last year, the main crop simply won’t have time to ripen.

ilja wrote:
As for waiting until June 10th… if we end up having a freezing August like we did last year, the main crop simply won’t have time to ripen.

I completely agree! The sweet spot is planting outside mid-May, but you *must* be ready to cover them. Frosts in the Moscow region usually stop by late May, but there have been crazy freak weather events recorded later.

Last year, scattering water jugs between the plants under the row cover totally saved my crop.

What is Mongolian Dwarf supposed to look like as a seedling? Do the leaves look kinda dry to anyone else? Here’s what mine looks like right now.

Olesya wrote:
What is Mongolian Dwarf supposed to look like as a seedling? Do the leaves look kinda dry to anyone else?

Honestly, it looks like it’s either freezing cold and locking out nutrients, or your soil is totally out of phosphorus. The purple tint on the leaves and the overall stunted look are dead giveaways. Could also be overwatering, which also causes nutrient lockout.

Thanks for the reply, Ilya! 🍅

It’s growing in a hydroponic setup. The other varieties right next to it have thick, juicy leaves. It might be a bit chilly: 66-68°F (19-20°C). I already bumped up the phosphorus in the nutrient solution.

So, those long, thin leaves aren’t just a quirky varietal trait?

Olesya wrote:
So, those long, thin leaves aren’t just a quirky varietal trait?

Olesya, I recall my Mongol having somewhat long leaves too. Here’s a photo, though the seedling is a bit older than yours.

Thanks, Lena!

Yeah, yours are a bit long, but they aren’t curled up like a scroll… Something is definitely off with mine. 😞

Olesya wrote:
So, those long, thin leaves aren’t just a quirky varietal trait?

Here’s a photo of my seedlings for comparison.

ilja wrote:
Here’s a photo of my seedlings for comparison.

How old are the ones in this picture?

Here are mine from last year at one month old.

Olesya wrote:
Yeah, yours are a bit long, but they aren’t curled up like a scroll… Something is definitely off with mine. 😞

Now that I think about it, I remember their leaves looking really weird to me too, curved backward like a little boat. Once they grew a bit more, the leaves completely normalized, but as babies, they definitely looked strange.

Lisa wrote:
How old are the ones in this picture?

Mine are about a month old in that pic. Sowed dry seeds on Jan 31st, they sprouted early Feb (3rd or 4th). The photo was taken March 3rd, so right at the one-month mark.

elena1984 wrote:
I remember their leaves looking really weird to me too, curved backward like a little boat.

Hooray!!!! 🎉 I was racking my brain trying to figure it out! All the other varieties look totally normal! And MD’s cotyledons are like three times longer than everything else! 😮

Lisa wrote:
How old are the ones in this picture?

About a month.

Ilya, am I right in assuming M. Dwarf doesn’t really need to be pricked out / potted up?

I heard its root system develops perfectly fine without the stress of pricking out? Someone asked me this yesterday and I honestly didn’t know what to tell them. I vaguely remember skipping it last time, but I’m not sure what the “right” way is.

Lavanda wrote:
Ilya, am I right in assuming M. Dwarf doesn’t really need to be pricked out / potted up?

Lyudmila, yeah, I don’t think it’s strictly necessary.

ilja wrote:
Lyudmila, yeah, I don’t think it’s strictly necessary.

Thanks, Ilya! I figured that was the case!

My MD only has two sets of true leaves, and it’s already pushing suckers out of the first leaf axils! 😳 Is that normal?!

Olesya wrote:
My MD only has two sets of true leaves, and it’s already pushing suckers out of the first leaf axils! 😳 Is that normal?!

As for suckers, I definitely remember MD being the very first to push them out. But maybe not *that* early. Did the growing tip dry up by chance?

Nope, the growing tip is totally fine. 🙂 Should I pinch the suckers off?

Olesya wrote:
Nope, the growing tip is totally fine. 🙂 Should I pinch the suckers off?

Hard to say. You’re growing in hydroponics. If it were in soil, I’d definitely pinch them.

Guys, I planted my Mongolian Dwarf into 1-pint (0.5 L) cups filled 50% with soil, and now my dwarfs are all growing sideways. What should I do? Should I pull the rootball out and backfill with more soil underneath, or leave it as is and hope they eventually grow upward?

Marina 111 wrote:
What should I do? Should I pull the rootball out and backfill with more soil underneath…

Pop the rootball out, add soil to the bottom, and let it build up more roots. Under good lighting, the Dwarf barely grows vertically at all, mostly just expanding outward.

Thanks, Sveta! Just did exactly that.

Olesya wrote:
What is Mongolian Dwarf supposed to look like as a seedling?

Olesya, here’s what my MD looks like. It’s about 20 days old here.

What a cutie! 👍 But mine is already flowering! 🤐

Olesya wrote:
What a cutie! 👍 But mine is already flowering! 🤐

Olesya, when did you sow it?

Sowed on Jan 17th. Started blooming on day 43 from sprouting.

I usually start them in tiny 3.5 oz (100 g) cups, they grow super fast and spread their “wings”. Once the roots fill the cup, I immediately bump them to 1 quart (0.9 L), then 1 quart (1 L), and finally 2 quarts (2 L). Doesn’t even flinch at repotting, and I’ve even transplanted some outside with blooming flower trusses.

BUT! I just checked my notes, and despite its speed early on, it really isn’t an “early” variety at all! 😞

Olga, you are probably right!

Looking back, its fruits definitely weren’t the first to ripen for me last year… Let’s see when Olesya’s start blushing. 📝

nimoff wrote:
Looking back, its fruits definitely weren’t the first to ripen for me last year…

Yeah, Vitaly, exactly. I need to dig it up, but our girl Polina (Borchanochka) wrote a super detailed breakdown on this, she’s so thorough with everything.

Olesya wrote:
Sowed on Jan 17th. Started blooming on day 43 from sprouting.

Hey sunshine! 🍅 Wow, yours are moving fast. Mine are still sitting in tiny 3.5 oz (100 g) cups. I totally tortured them last year, and got absolutely zero early harvest from it. 😞 Keep us posted, maybe you’ll pull it off! 🙂

o-lya-lya wrote:
I need to dig it up, but our girl Polina (Borchanochka) wrote a super detailed breakdown on this…

Yep, yep, I did write about it in the “Early Harvest Varieties” discussion thread. The Mongol is a MID-SEASON variety! There is absolutely no point in planting it for an early crop. Plus, both its taste and texture are exactly what you’d expect from a mid-season slicer; with a very distinct sweetness to it. 🙂

borchanochka wrote:
The Mongol is a MID-SEASON variety! There is absolutely no point in planting it for an early crop.

See, I tell everyone you’re right 1,000,000% of the time, but what can you do with me? (Insert unprintable expletives) 🤐🙈😂 Stepping on the same rake over and over! So yeah, I’ve got two of them growing again just to prove myself wrong!

o-lya-lya wrote:
Stepping on the same rake over and over! So yeah, I’ve got two of them growing again just to prove myself wrong!

Oh come on now! 😘 But you have to admit, it’s a really interesting and surprisingly tasty variety! 😉

o-lya-lya wrote:
Hey sunshine! 🍅 Wow, yours are moving fast.

Hey, hey! 🍅 I think mine is just moving so fast because it spent its first month on a hydroponic system under LEDs. It’s hanging out in a 1-pint pot right now because I haven’t gotten around to potting it up yet.

borchanochka wrote:
But you have to admit, it’s a really interesting and surprisingly tasty variety! 😉

100% tasty! And honestly, the sheer sight of it as a seedling just warms the soul, especially when all the other varieties sitting next to it look like scrawny runts (at least mine do). 😂👍👍👍

Here is a fun clipping about this variety:

Zero Hassle, Zero Worries: The Mongolian Dwarf Craze
“There is no tomato variety that has attracted as much hype as the Mongolian Dwarf. I’ve been growing it for over a decade, and the buzz still hasn’t died down.

Many sell seeds of this, but when I see a photo and the plant is tied up to a stake, I know with 100% certainty, it’s not the real deal. You physically cannot stake this variety. It consists entirely of short suckers, which in turn grow their own suckers, and so on.

People claim it has a massive taproot, but it doesn’t. Its roots are incredibly shallow. I also read that it ‘creeps.’ No, the heavy suckers just flop down, making it look like a thick green pancake on the ground. So why do I love it? Let me be clear upfront: the fruits aren’t pure sugar, and you won’t get a bucket off a single plant.

The main perk is its early ripening! If I start seeds in early March, we have ripe tomatoes by June 20th. You can plant it outside super early because covering it is a breeze. I just stick a few 8-inch pegs in the ground and throw whatever tarp/row cover I can find over it. One year we got a week of snow, my little guys were just covered with an old raincoat, and they survived perfectly.

No pruning suckers, no pinching, no trellising. Most importantly – the tomatoes aren’t tiny cherries. The first fruits clock in at a solid 5.3-6 oz (150-170 g).

If it rains heavily, I prop the branches up by sliding plastic water bottles underneath. Some years, they set so heavily that you can’t even shove your hand in to pick a tomato because they are packed so tight. The fruits hide completely under a dense canopy of leaves, making them practically invisible to garden thieves! And when growing seedlings, you never have to worry about them getting leggy unless you planted them way too close together. Weigh the pros and cons yourself – I think there are more than enough pros for every gardener to try it.”
– Lidia Ishimtseva, Chelyabinsk region (Ural Gardener No. 1, Jan 6, 2016)

Guys, it was literally the very first to ripen for me last year. That’s mainly because I threw it out in the open ground earlier than anything else. I wasn’t scared to risk it because it is virtually bulletproof and unpretentious.

Its biggest selling point is how low-maintenance it is. Plant it and forget it.

My Mongolian Dwarf just pushed out three suckers at once. Should I pinch them all off?

Marina 111 wrote:
My Mongolian Dwarf just pushed out three suckers at once. Should I pinch them all off?

I’d pluck them. It’s way too early for that. Let the main plant build some muscle first.

Thanks, Ilya suggested pulling them too. Off they go.

Mine started firing off suckers too. I potted these little guys up to 1.5 quarts (1.5 L). I honestly don’t want to pinch them off; I can already see microscopic little flower buds showing up! I planted seeds on Feb 18th.

Olesya wrote:
Sowed on Jan 17th. Started blooming on day 43 from sprouting.

Just did the math, mine will probably flower on the exact same timeline.

My MD seedlings weirdly split into three distinct groups this year:
– 4 plants are absolutely massive, incredibly wide, about to flower, and pushing suckers everywhere. I just repotted them into 2-quart (2 L) pots.
– 4 plants are slightly smaller, but still growing aggressively with flower buds. I’ll repot them soon.
– 4 plants are small, stout, and compact, perfectly happy chilling in the 1-pint (0.5 L) cups they started in.Sowed every single one on the same day, kept them side-by-side, used the exact same pot size, and soil from the same exact bag. Last year my seedlings were perfectly uniform, almost calibrated, with zero monsters!

Read through this whole thread with great interest. How do you guys think this variety handles a hot climate? I really need a tomato that sets a ton of fruit early (May-June) because once July hits, the heat kicks in and causes massive blossom drop. Because of this, indeterminate varieties perform terribly for me.

Also, does it truly have a prolonged fruiting period that stretches into the fall?

Zimnyaya romashka wrote:
How do you guys think this variety handles a hot climate? I really need a tomato that sets a ton of fruit early (May-June) because once July hits, the heat kicks in and causes massive blossom drop…

If you sow it early (like January) and pot it up multiple times until it hits a 3-quart (3 L) pot, then transplant early into the open ground under a film/cover, you’ll absolutely get an early harvest before the blossom drop window hits. MD handles low temperatures incredibly well, which makes it a prime candidate for ultra-early planting.

Fruiting is indeed stretched out over a long period. HOWEVER, it is usually one of the first varieties to get hit by Late Blight. So, if you stay on top of a preventative fungicide schedule, you can easily extend its harvest right into the fall.

Zimnyaya romashka wrote:
How do you guys think this variety handles a hot climate?

Svetlana, MD is practically built for hot, dry climates! It sets fruit way better outside in the blazing heat than it ever would inside a greenhouse with stagnant air. V. Tumanov here in Ufa has them still setting and ripening in his greenhouse after a prolonged, freak heatwave of 86-95°F (30-35°C)! Check out his thread in the Market section for photos. The tomatoes don’t bake in the sun or crack because they are naturally shaded by the dense leaf canopy.

Just a heads-up: because the fruits lay so close to the dirt, they are usually the first to get demolished by cutworms/armyworms in August (at least in our area). You absolutely must do a preventative spray with a Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) product like Lepidocide.

For your tall indeterminates, you might need to look into heat-tolerant hybrids.

Thank you! I’m definitely planting the Dwarf next year! 🙂

Grew four bushes of Mongolian Dwarf. Absolutely loved it at the beginning of the season, but then it completely overwhelmed me with tomatoes to the point where I got sick of it 🤷‍♀️. It’s an outrageously prolific variety. My plan for 2017 is strictly two bushes.

The taste of the tomatoes heavily depends on the weather and => your nutrient schedule. While I was manually watering them from a can mixed with fertilizer, the taste and meaty texture were phenomenal–I remember writing that they were the best tasting tomatoes I grew that year! But then the endless rains started, and I never had to water them again for the rest of the summer. Under those soggy conditions, MD’s flavor really tanked.

Disease resistance: In my opinion, it’s average. An unsprayed sucker started growing out of my pumpkin patch (lots of shade, terrible airflow) and it got sick in early August. But the main bushes in my raised beds were sprayed preventatively and stayed healthy for a long time.

The largest fruits clocked in around 7.7-8.1 oz (220-230 g), but the vast majority were right around 5.3 oz (150 g).