The first year of growing out my crosses, and having planted 60 tomato plants in my gardening clients’ various gardens, I had a small amount of space in an alley with brief morning and afternoon sun (5-6hrs) because of the northern exposure. Micro plants in pots grew there quite well and so I left them there and they flowered and fruited. I had Shimofuri, Rosy Finch, Orange Hat and Tiny Tim. I crossed them all with each other and was hoping to get a micro dwarf (6-10in tall in a one gallon pot and the result of three different recessive genes) that was variegated like Shimofuri, speckled with white, light green and dark green.

The next year (2025) I planted 160 seeds of the Orange hat x Shimofuri F1 Hybrid and two Orange Hat seeds for comparison. (I selected that as the cross to use because Orange Hat seemed to have the best form and flavor. Rosy Finch tomatoes were so watery and the plants also got powdery mildew real bad). They germinated after about a week, and based on the growth rates, I was able to cull about 3/4 of them within two weeks. Of the ones that continued to match the Orange Hat growth rate, I ended up with about 30. Once the third true leaves began to grow, I observed flecks of white on the leaves of a few- signs of variegation- and was able to narrow it down to seven and then four. Of those, one or two have leaves that seem to closely match Orange Hat in shape and spacing while the other two have more crenate margins on the leaves and wider internodes.