nctomatoman pisze: deltoro pisze: nctomatoman pisze: deltoro pisze: Does "dwarf" refer only to the variety you obtained as part of the project (defined features on your project's website), or is it simply a name taken from the fairy tale about Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs? The question may seem unusual, but the rule among seed sellers is that simply translating the names of each dwarf variety into English, they use the word "dwarf". The second regularity is calling dwarfs every dwarf variety that resembles the structure of the dwarfs from your project. In Poland, on gardening forums, there is a discussion whether a given variety is a dwarf or not. On the one hand, there is a belief that no, because it was not developed in your project. On the other hand, yes, because the variety has features defined by you. I use the name "dwarf from the project" every time I write about your varieties. Hello Tomek, It is nice to meet you - thanks for the message. You have some good questions. Dwarf is a distinct genetic tomato type - it first appeared in the mid 1800s as a mutation - the variety de Laye. Dwarf growth type is a gene that creates the thick central stem, the growth that is half of the vertical rate of indeterminate varieties, and the crinkly, dark bluish green foliage. Between 1850-1900 a very few dwarf varieties were in existence - probably selections from de Laye - such as Dwarf Champion, Golden Dwarf Champion and Dwarf Stone. The term "dwarf" was used very early on when that type of tomato was found - right from the 1850s. What is good about them is the compact growth form, but the gradual fruiting, as well as potential for large fruit and excellent flavor. When we started our project the goal was to cross the existent dwarfs with large, colorful heirlooms and, after years of selection, create our new varieties, which have been grown to become open pollinated (genetically stable). All of the varieties in our project are from our breeding and selection work. There are certainly others working on dwarf tomato varieties, but they are not part of our project. so - there were dwarf varieties prior to our project, but there were not that many and they were not particularly interesting (at least in the US) - our project greatly increased the number of them, in addition to expanding the colors, shapes and sizes. I hope that this helps! Craig Thank you for your answer. It follows that we can "legally" use the term "dwarf" for any variety of tomato that has the characteristics you specify. I am curious how some people on our gardening forums will react after reading this information. Can I paste your answer in our gardening forums? Sure. It amazes me how confused people become about the four main tomato growth/genetic identities - indeterminate, determinate, dwarf, and the emerging class, microdwarf. I guess you just have to grow a lot of tomatoes to get really clear on what is what! I am glad that our dwarf varieties are becoming spread about. The whole intent of this project was to create new varieties, get them introduced by a seed company, and see how word of mouth helps them spread! I am not much of a publicity guy! all the best Craig