micro mini tomato grow guide

• Microdwarf tomatoes are a great way to get into growing your own food! These mini tomato plants are much more forgiving and produce fruits in less time than regular-sized tomatoes, making them very easy to grow!
• Start your indoor tomatoes in late summer or early fall for a Christmas harvest. Start indoors in December and January for a spring harvest. If you want to grow microdwarf tomatoes on your patio or in your garden in the summer, don't start them at the same time as your full-size tomatoes. Wait until 6 weeks before your last frost date to sow these.
• Sow seeds into good-draining potting soil. Keep moist and covered. Tomato seed germination happens best between 20C -  27C (65-85F)
• Seed germination mats greatly speed up germination. If you do not have a mat, no worries... keep your seed trays at room temperature, a warm sunny window with afternoon light helps.
•  Little seedlings will pop up within 3-14 days. Once you see germination, it is safe to remove the tray cover if using one
• If it's been more than 2 weeks and still no seedlings, we found that sometimes some varieties are happier with less moisture, and will pop up shortly after adjusting the humidity. We do this by removing the germinating dome or cover, making sure not to let the soil dry out
• Once the seedlings get their second set of true leaves is the ideal time to pot up into something a little bigger... a 4" or 6" pot. Once the plant shows an established root system in that pot or that it's gearing up to put out flower buds, its time to pot up into the final 3/4 to 1-Gallon pot. I find this happens around 5-6 weeks post-germination
• Snip the bottom leaves off the microdwarf plants closest to the soil as they grow. This prevents diseases and pathogens from spreading to your plant's leaves from the soil by allowing more airflow. This can be challenging for very small varieties like Nina Neutron or Baby as the plants are so small and low to the soil... in these cases I make sure to water from the bottom of the pots and place in the best ventilated area in the grow space  
• Check your plant regularly for pests. Inspect the stem, branches, tops of leaves, and most importantly, the bottoms of the leaves. Indoor conditions make the best home for those pesky plant bugs as it's warm and cozy and there are generally no predators for them inside. They can get out of hand pretty quickly if they aren't caught early! I like to thoroughly inspect each plant when I fertilize, which is usually bi-weekly
• Aside from keeping the stem foliage cleared for airflow at the base of the plant, microdwarf tomatoes don't really need to be pruned or have suckers removed. Because the plants aren't really growing up, they don't need to direct all their energy to a long main stem. I think the only micro tomato I've had to prune because it's just too unruly is 'Hardin's Mini'     
• Tomato flowers are self-pollinating so no need for bees or other pollinator friends. To ensure each bloom is self-pollinated you will need to help the flower release its pollen. This can be done very easily by tapping or moving the blooms with your fingers. I find the best results come from using an old electronic toothbrush with the brush removed to briefly touch the branches of the tomato plant with. The tomato blooms think that a bee is visiting, and release the pollen, which in turn pollinates the flower and ensures that the fruit will set. I do this daily or maybe even every two days when the tomato is actively blooming
• Use pots no bigger than 1 gallon unless growing bigger varieties like Christmas Tree or Dark Stripe. Most micro tomatoes truly do not benefit from a bigger pot, and will just put out more foliage and not necessarily more fruit
• Be sure to place your tomato plant in a bright sunny room if you aren't using grow lights full-time. If you can't provide 14+ hours of sunlight per day, it would be very beneficial to give the tomato plants some supplemental indoor lighting in the early mornings and late evenings. Be sure to use full spectrum lighting.       
• When the tomatoes appear the be at their breaking point (when they start turning from green to red/orange/yellow/etc) scale down on large waterings. Saturating the soil can make a tomato taste bland when watered too much in their ripening stage. For the best flavor I like to give smaller amounts of water at this time and go as long between watering as possible without placing too much stress on the plants. While the tomatoes won't be as lovely as the sun-kissed tomatoes of summer, they are better than your generic imported winter grocery store tomato       
• Keep up on organic fertilizer. I mostly stick to a bi-weekly feed schedule. As the tomato plants are growing in smaller containers, they will use up available nutrients much faster. I will link below to some of my favorite products or websites I use to keep them fed. I use Frugal Bush Bunny's foliar spray (see link below) on the plants when they are smaller, and as they get bigger I stop using as a foliar spray and instead I use it as a soil drench every 3 weeks or so for an extra boost. It's full of good stuff like calcium (prevent blossom end rot), mycorrhizae, humic acid, kelp, magnesium, +more

Our Favorite Ferts

Gaia Green All Purpose Fertilizer

Gaia Green Power Bloom 

Homemade Organic Plant-Based Fertilizer 

Alaska Fish Fertilizer 

Alaska Morbloom 

Frugal Bush Bunny's Foliar Feed 

Homemade Worm Castings Resource