Dwarf Wild Fred Tomato
A purple dwarf named after a father's misspelled church bulletin, now sold under two maturity dates fifteen days apart.
Flavor & performance
The honest verdict
What's great
- Named for a real family story, a church bulletin misspelled Craig LeHoullier's father Wilfred as Wild Fred, and it stuck.
- Documented as container friendly by Victory Seed Company, doing well even in five gallon pots.
- Meaty, purple fruit with a rich flavor that Victory Seed Company calls excellent among dwarf varieties.
- Compact habit around three and a half feet fits raised beds and small yards without heavy staking.
- Released under the Open Source Seed Initiative pledge, keeping saved seed free to replant and share.
Watch out for
- Two official sources disagree sharply on days to maturity, 70 on the Dwarf Tomato Project's own page and 85 on Victory Seed Company's listing.
- Even the release year is disputed, 2010 by the Dwarf Tomato Project's account and 2011 by Victory Seed Company.
- As a line several generations removed from its original cross, Victory Seed Company notes it can still throw occasional off type plants.
- No specific disease resistance codes are documented for this variety.
- It remains a niche release carried mainly by heirloom seed specialists, not mainstream retailers.
Grow it in your zone
| Trait | Dwarf Wild Fred Tomato | Rosella Purple | Dwarf Sweet Sue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Dwarf, purple slicer | Dwarf, purple slicer | Dwarf, yellow slicer |
| Days to maturity | 70 to 85, reports vary | 65 to 75 | 80 from transplant |
| Fruit size | Up to 8 oz reported | Medium to large | 5 to 18 oz, reports vary |
| Plant height | About 3.5 ft | 3 to 4 ft | 4 to 5 ft |
| Flavor | Rich, well balanced | Balanced, intense | Sweet, well balanced |
| Breeding | Open pollinated | Open pollinated | Open pollinated |
| Best for | Containers, small yards | Containers, small yards | Containers, small yards |
The Dwarf Wild Fred tomato carries a name born from a typo, not a marketing meeting. Craig LeHoullier named this purple dwarf after his father, Wilfred. A church bulletin once misspelled the name as Wild Fred, and the accident stuck.
Look past the story and a real dispute shows up in the specs. One official source lists 70 days to maturity. Another lists 85.
That is a fifteen day gap between two documented sources, not a rounding error. This page states both numbers honestly instead of averaging them away.
What the Dwarf Wild Fred tomato actually is
Dwarf Wild Fred began as a 2005 cross between New Big Dwarf and Carbon. California breeder Bruce Bradshaw made the original cross. Craig LeHoullier and the Dwarf Tomato Project later selected and named the best plant from it.
The fruit is a dusky purple with pink tones, oblate and somewhat irregular in shape. Victory Seed Company sizes it at up to about eight ounces. The Dwarf Tomato Project describes it only as medium to medium large, without a specific weight.
Victory Seed Company goes further and compares the fruit directly to Cherokee Purple, in flavor, color, and size alike. That comparison lands with real weight here. Wilfred, the father the variety is named for, reportedly favored Cherokee Purple above every other tomato.
Victory Seed Company also notes a minimal cracking tendency on the fruit. That trait matters most after uneven rain, a common cause of split shoulders on thin skinned slicers.
The fifteen day gap nobody explains
The Dwarf Tomato Project’s own listing gives Dwarf Wild Fred just 70 days from transplant. Victory Seed Company, a separate official seed source, lists 85 days. Both numbers come from credible, documented pages, not casual guesses.
A fifteen day spread is large for a single named variety. It could reflect different growing conditions, different definitions of first ripe fruit, or ordinary seed drift across generations. Whatever the cause, this page will not split the difference and invent a middle number.
The release year confusion has a clearer explanation. The Dwarf Tomato Project credits Tomato Growers Supply Company with the first public release in 2010. Victory Seed Company separately dates its own commercial introduction to 2011, after trialing the variety since 2008.
Read that way, both dates can be true at once. Two different seed companies simply brought Dwarf Wild Fred to market a year apart.
The name behind the name
The Dwarf Tomato Project’s own page tells the real story. Craig LeHoullier’s father Wilfred introduced him to gardening as a child. Wilfred’s own favorite tomato was reportedly Cherokee Purple.
After Wilfred passed away, a church bulletin misspelled his name as Wild Fred. LeHoullier found the accidental name too fitting to waste on a purple dwarf tomato. He also notes elsewhere that even the release year is contested, 2010 or 2011 depending on the source.
Before it earned that name, the plant carried a working code name, Sleazy. The Dwarf Tomato Project groups it with a handful of other lines under that same working family name. Breeders often use throwaway code names during trials, long before a variety is stable enough to release.
Growing the Dwarf Wild Fred tomato
Starting and transplanting
Start seed 6 to 8 weeks before your last frost date. This follows the standard tomato seed starting timing. Move transplants outside once frost risk has passed.
Victory Seed Company recommends keeping seedlings on the cool side, around 60 to 70 degrees. Warmer indoor air tends to push dwarf seedlings tall and thin. Cooler conditions keep the stems short and sturdy before transplant.
Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart. The dwarf habit keeps the root zone and canopy compact. That makes it a strong fit for containers, a use Victory Seed Company specifically recommends.
Support, water, and feed
A light stake or small cage is usually enough support. Skip the heavy staking that bigger indeterminate vines require. Keep soil moisture even, following the same watering guidelines used across most slicing tomatoes.
Feed at planting with a balanced fertilizer and continue general tomato feeding through the season. Gardeners growing it in pots should follow a pot growing guide closely, since containers dry out faster than garden beds.
Grower's Picks for Dwarf Wild Fred
The gear that matters most for growing Dwarf Wild Fred well, so you can buy the right thing once.
Saving seed
Dwarf Wild Fred is open pollinated and released under the Open Source Seed Initiative pledge. Saved seed is meant to be shared freely.
Victory Seed Company notes the line is several generations removed from its original cross. It can still throw occasional off type plants. Save seed only from your best, most typical fruit each year.
Dwarf Wild Fred vs Rosella Purple vs Dwarf Sweet Sue
All three are Dwarf Tomato Project releases bred for small spaces. Rosella Purple shares the purple color and ripens fastest at 65 to 75 days. Dwarf Wild Fred’s own maturity date is disputed, anywhere from 70 to 85 days depending on the source.
Dwarf Sweet Sue is the outlier on color, a yellow fruited dwarf rather than purple. On flavor, Dwarf Wild Fred is described as rich and meaty. Rosella Purple is called more intense, and Sweet Sue reads as the mildest of the three.
The verdict
The Dwarf Wild Fred tomato earns its place through a genuinely sourced family story and a compact, container friendly habit. The flavor holds up too, described as rich and well balanced rather than watery or bland, with a fair comparison to Cherokee Purple.
The honest catch is the maturity date. Do not plan a harvest around either single number. Treat 70 to 85 days as the real range and let your own garden tell you where you land.
Fruit with only minimal cracking is a real bonus after a wet stretch. Combined with its compact size, that makes the Dwarf Wild Fred tomato a sound pick for a small bed or a large container.
Frequently asked questions
Why is it called Dwarf Wild Fred?
Craig LeHoullier named it for his father Wilfred. A church bulletin once misspelled the name as Wild Fred, and LeHoullier liked the accidental name enough to keep it.
Is Dwarf Wild Fred an heirloom tomato?
No. It is a modern open pollinated variety from a 2005 cross between New Big Dwarf and Carbon, made by breeder Bruce Bradshaw. The Dwarf Tomato Project selected and named it afterward.
How many days does Dwarf Wild Fred take to mature?
Sources disagree by a wide margin. The Dwarf Tomato Project’s own page lists 70 days from transplant, while Victory Seed Company lists 85 days.
Can I grow Dwarf Wild Fred in a container?
Yes. Victory Seed Company specifically notes it performs well in five gallon containers and raised beds thanks to its compact habit.
What does Dwarf Wild Fred taste like?
Victory Seed Company describes the flavor as rich and well balanced, calling it excellent among dwarf varieties. The purple, meaty fruit favors flavor intensity over high juice content.