We love Tiny Tim. It’s a beautiful mini-tomato, with great tasting cherry tomatoes that is perfect for a tabletop or patio pot. A 1-gallon pot will do just fine. And despite its small size, Tiny Tim has great production. This is an easy and hardy plant to grow, traits it likely inherited from its wild tomato parent (Solanum pimpinellifolium x Window Box).
Tiny Tim was bred for the home gardener in 1945 by the Horticultural Department of the University of New Hampshire. In Bulletin No. 354 of ‘Agricultural Research in New Hampshire’, Tiny Tim is described as “a very small-fruited type, capable of being matured in a 5-inch pot for purposes of Christmas decorations, and not recommended for field growing.” In 1947, the Billy Hepler Co. Seed catalogue (a company started by 12 year old Billy Hepler, “America’s Youngest Seed Grower”–his dad was a plant breeder at the University of New Hampshire and helped develop Tiny Tim) recommends planting Tiny Tim in August for a winter harvest:
“It may be started in August, transplanted to a 5 inch pot filled with rich composted soil. When grown in a sunny window, it will ripen its fruit by Christmas.”
You can, of course, grow Tiny Tim in the spring for a summer harvest. Which is what we do.
Don’t underestimate Tiny Tim because of its small size and cuteness, Tiny Tim is more than just an ornamental. In his book, Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier Land, seed historian and author Gary Paul Nabhan recommends Tiny Tim as an “Early-Maturing, Heat-Tolerant, Drought-Evasive” tomato variety.
Check out this link to our Musing titled, Water Worries, Adaptation and ‘Go to Where the Puck is Going’ for more thoughts on the importance of Drought-Tolerant practices.
How to Plant: Start seeds indoors 6 weeks before the last frost. Plant seed 5mm (¼ inch) deep. Transplant after the danger of frost has passed/later spring.
