Back Story
As I began to wade (no, actually I probably dove right off the deep end) deeper and deeper into the world of heirloom tomatoes I checked out the book “Epic Tomatoes” from the library. Through its pages, I became enchanted with the unique attributes of heirlooms and the wide variety of color choices, shapes, and sizes. I learned about historical varieties such as Mortgage Lifter, Livingston Tomatoes, and Brandywine. I also learned of a new project carried out across two hemispheres by a network of tomato-obsessed gardeners. The Dwarf Tomato project.
I found the dwarf Tomatoes fascinating, but since I wasn’t really growing in containers or a small space, didn’t see the need to try any of these so called dwarfs. Eventually, however, I stumbled across a listing in Seed Savers Exchange for some standard sized tomatoes I wanted. The listing was from none other than Craig LeHoullier, the author of Epic Tomatoes. I couldn’t resist requesting the seeds directly from the author of my new favorite gardening book. Along with the seeds I requested (which I think were for Cherokee Chocolate), he sent a few extra packets for me to try. A handwritten note on the seed envelope noted that they were called Dwarf Eagle Smiley Yellow and were “not yet released”.
Dwarf Eagle Smiley Yellow pictured in top right corner alongside Orange Banana
Our Experience Growing Dwarf Eagle Smiley Yellow
Of course, that was all it took. A little bit of intrigue and I had to grow them. Prior to growing Eagle Smiley I did not love cherry tomatoes. Just thinking about the sour gush from cherry tomatoes I had bitten into growing up makes my mouth want to pucker up. I had high hopes that these would be different.
I was not disappointed. Smiley Eagle is a bright yellow cheery colored cherry tomato. The plants are prolific and crank out sweet luscious cherry tomatoes all summer long. They do not leave you with a tart unpleasant gush of tomato juice when you bite into them and are a little meatier as cherry tomatoes go. Eagle Smiley Yellow was released to the public by Victory Seed company in 2022. Many have since noted that Eagle Smiley is comparable in flavor to the wildly popular hybrid Sungold.
As dwarf Tomatoes go, Eagle Smiley, is not a particularly compact plant. It definitely takes after one of its parent varieties (Mexico Midget) in it’s wild growth habit. However, it does just fine in a large pot and is happy on the patio or in the garden.
