Bright yellow tomatoes are a joy to see in the garden, and are usually more refreshing to eat with a light sweetness that red tomatoes lack. One yellow tomato variety every gardener needs to plant this year is Dwarf Mr. Snow. The flavor is crisp, sweet, and tangy, and the plants are productive.
Dwarf Mr. Snow is a popular variety introduced through the Dwarf Tomato Project, which is a project meant to support the breeding and sharings of dwarf tomato varieties. Despite being dwarf plants, many of these varieties produce full-sized tomatoes, including Dwarf Mr. Snow. Read more to learn about this unique and flavorful tomato variety, how to take care of it, and where you can get seeds.
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Profile: Dwarf Mr. Snow Tomato
A sturdy, prolific tomato that yields flushes of meaty, lemon-yellow fruits with pink blushes
Days to Maturity: 80 to 90 days
Type: Dwarf, potato leaves
Tomato Size and Shape: 5 to 12 oz (medium-large), oblate-shaped
Plant Height: 3+ feet
Open Pollinated? Yes
Get seeds: Victory Seeds (US), TomatoFest (US), Renaissance Farms (US), Restoration Seeds (US)
For international readers: Some of these vendors will ship overseas.
Dwarf Mr. Snow is a heavy-yielding dwarf tomato that produces loads of full-sized tomatoes on a sturdy, compact plant. This Dwarf Tomato Project variety is quickly becoming more popular and is a personal favorite at Bountiful Gardener. It was originally bred from a cross between the Golden Dwarf Champion and Green Giant tomato, and has been a stable open-pollinated variety since 2011.
Despite the name, these are not true “white” tomatoes, but they are pale lemon-yellow, sometimes almost ivory, and when fully ripe, they often (but not always) have very slight pinkish blushing on the bottom of the fruits which bleed into the center of the interior flesh. See the picture below.
The juicy flesh is surprisingly meaty with small seed cavities, almost beefsteak-like. Dwarf Mr. Snow punches above its weight in flavor, which is fairly intense for a yellow tomato, slightly tangy, and a bit sweet but overall balanced in flavor. Very refreshing on a sandwich, in a salad, or just eaten on its own.
Dwarf Mr. Snow tomato plants have characteristic crinkly dark green potato leaves like most dwarf tomatoes, and grow in a sturdy, bushy habit, tending to reach 3-5 feet. This makes Dwarf Mr. Snow a great choice for containers (ideally 5-7 gallon pots). If you are looking for a yellow dwarf tomato, this variety is highly recommended.
How to Start Growing Dwarf Mr. Snow Tomatoes from Seed
As a dwarf tomato, Dwarf Mr. Snow can be grown in the same way as determinate tomato plants. Dwarf tomatoes actually have an indeterminate growth habit but grow much more compact so they remain short and bushy through a normal growing season.
Sow Dwarf Mr. Snow tomato seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your average last frost date. After sprouts emerge, move under grow lights or a sunny south-facing window. You do not need strong grow lights to start tomato seedlings indoors, and a fluorescent shop light or cheap LED grow light is more than enough to give your seedlings a head start. Keep
Keep soil evenly moist but avoid overwatering, which can cause damping off and kill your seedlings. It can be hard to strike a balance since young sprouts have shallow roots, but one tip is to keep a humidity dome (or a clear plastic bag) over your seed-starting pots to avoid your seeds and sprouts drying out while they’re still vulnerable. If you use this method, you can remove the humidity dome after you see the first true leaves appear. Another tip, especially for larger seedlings, is to bottom water. This will keep the surface drier, helping to keep damping-off bacteria and fungi at bay.
If your seed-starting mix doesn’t have any fertilizer added, you can give your Dwarf Mr. Snow seedlings a very light application of fertilizer after the first true leaves appear (those are the leaves shaped like tomato leaves).
As with all tomatoes started indoors from seed, transplant your Dwarf Mr. Snow seedlings when nighttime temperatures stay above 50°F (10°C). Prolonged periods below 50°F, even if above freezing, can stunt tomato plants and cause poor fruit sets[1].
Dwarf tomatoes can be transplanted deep like other tomato varieties.
How to Care for Dwarf Mr. Snow Tomatoes
Dwarf Mr. Snow is a heavy feeder that requires rich soil to support large fruit sets. Additional fertilizing is also recommended. Either apply a liquid fertilizer every 7 to 14 days throughout the spring and summer, or use slow-release fertilizers that continuously release nutrients over 1 to 3 months.
The best fertilizers for dwarf tomatoes are ones with an NPK ratio with higher phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). Phosphorus and, to a lesser extent, potassium are important for flower and fruit development. Nitrogen is also important, but mainly for leafy green growth. If you fertilize tomatoes with a high-nitrogen fertilizer, you will get healthy, lush plants but with fewer actual tomatoes.
Because Dwarf Mr. Snow has a bushy growth habit, it doesn’t require much pruning, and you don’t need to remove suckers. You can get away with only pruning the lower leaves near the soil as with most tomato plants, to avoid soil-borne diseases splashing up to your plants.
Harvesting Dwarf Mr. Snow Tomatoes
Dwarf Mr. Snow is ready to harvest around 80 to 90 days after transplanting.
Although this doesn’t always happen with every Dwarf Mr. Snow tomato, the clearest sign they are at their peak ripeness is when you start seeing pink blushing on the fruit, mainly on the bottom. When you slice into one, it should be pale yellow except for some slight pink coloring in the center of the flesh.
Even if you don’t see any pink blushes, after they are about half pale yellow, they can still be picked and left to ripen fully on the kitchen counter.[2]
To avoid damaging the plant, you can use sharp garden scissors to harvest your tomatoes, but Dwarf Mr. Snow tomatoes come off the plant fairy easily and can be removed with the twist-and-pull method.
Sources
- The Effect of Extreme Temperatures on the Tomato and Pepper Crop. Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/info_tomtemp.htm
- Harvesting and Ripening Tomatoes. K-State Research and Extension.
https://www.johnson.k-state.edu/lawn-garden/agent-articles/vegetables/harvest-ripen-tomatoes.html