Isn’t It Adorable: Micro Tom Tomatoes
Published by Hanna | Filed Under: Plant Encyclopedia
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Yesterday, I decided that I needed to go plant shopping to lift my spirits a bit.
It’s funny, but I am not a shopper in the way that women are stereotypically thought to be shoppers. I only own 3 pairs of shoes. Clothes shopping is something that I despise. I seem to lack the latent gathering instinct that makes shopping enjoyable for many women. That is until I go plant shopping.
Then it’s “get outta my way, I have a credit card and I am not afraid to use it.” The endorphins run high when I get within a 100 feet of a nursery.
So, in my plant induced funk, I went plant shopping.
While I was shopping, I found the most amazing little plant. It is called a Micro-Tom Tomato and it is a super dwarf tomato plant.
The tomatoes you see on the plant in the picture are full sized, they only need to turn red. (Sorry I do not have a picture of a red tomato on the plant but the overwhelming need to eat a garden grown tomato, no matter how small, overtook me.) This plant grows only to a strapping 7 inches tall.
Really, this tomato is only a novelty. I am not really sure what you can do with a pea size tomato. But, since I have never seen a Micro Tom Tomato and since I love anything that is a novelty, I bought three.
I put them in a planter with some basil and a few marigolds. The planter is on my front porch and will make a fun conversation piece for anyone who visits.
I did a quick look-up of some information about the Micro Tom plant and learned that they do well in lower light conditions. So maybe if you have an apartment or an office with a decent light source but not enough to grow normal vegetables, this plant might work for you.
It is also a genetic freak. It has 3 genetic mutations that make it so small. It carries the self-pruning gene, a defective dwarf gene and a mutated internode length gene. I don’t know what an internode length is either but apparently it helps to make the plant smaller. I’ll let scientists worry about the fine details on such matters.
I feel better now. I have a tomato plant with tomatoes on it now. Tiny tomatoes, but tomatoes all the same.
Published by
Hanna
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July 3rd, 2006
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December 30th, 2007 at 12:10 am
I want one will you send me one I’ll pay ya hehe.
Have you gotten into the aerogarden check it out I got one for xmas and i love it and I was looking for small fuiting plants that is how i found the micro tom. your s is very nice keep it up
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July 2nd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
i just bought one today….i can swear it looks like a cutting from a larger plant…..i will grow it to see.
i wonder what would happen if i cross pollinated this little guy?
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March 23rd, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Hi Hanna!! I read what you wrote and I was reading about myself… from not being a typical woman shopper to feeling all the adrenaline when investing (note it is investing, not spending) on plants. I am growing tomatoes that are like grapes, I have never seen such lovely and cute little ones like the ones you bought. I live in Mexico so I do not expect to find them either… congrats!!!
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May 6th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Would you tell me where you bought the micro tom? Thanks
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September 4th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
[...] the tiny little tomatoes that are forming and wondering if someone has invented micro tomatoes yet (they have). Tomatoes the size of peas. Which led me to think of micro greens and sprouts. Which in turn made [...]
July 24th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
[...] have talked about Micro Tom Tomatoes before, way, way, way back when this blog was relatively new. I grow them on and off as purely decorative [...]