Scoresby Dwarf Tomato (KY1)

Solanum lycopersicum

Also known as: KY1, Scoresby, Scoresby Dwarf Red


An Australian heirloom from Victoria, kept in continuous cultivation since the 1930s for its combination of solid Victorian-summer reliability and a compact growing habit. Fruit is medium-large, round, deep red, with dense meaty flesh and full old-fashioned tomato flavour. Plants stay short and stocky compared with most heirlooms — a genuine dwarf habit that fits smaller gardens and requires only modest support. Dwarf / bush habit — a light stake or short cage is all it needs.

Days to harvest 70–80 days from transplant
Fruit size Medium-large round to slightly flattened fruit
Sowing depth 5mm
Germination 5–14 days at soil temperature 16–35°C; best around 21–24°C
Spacing 50–60cm apart
Aspect Open, sunny position; light to heavy soil with good drainage
Frost tolerance Sensitive to frost; plant out only once frosts have finished

Growing notes

A warm, sheltered position in the garden or tunnel suits it best. Scoresby Dwarf is one of the more forgiving tomatoes for a smaller garden — compact enough to fit anywhere in full sun without demanding a serious trellis.

Soil preparation: Well-rotted compost worked in before planting, with a balanced feed high in phosphorus.

Support: A single sturdy stake or a short cage is enough — the plant carries its own weight far better than a full indeterminate vine.

Containers: Suits a large pot of 40L or more with a stake or short cage; keep water and feed consistent, as pots dry out faster than beds. The dwarf habit makes this variety a genuine container tomato rather than a barely-tolerated one.

Watering & feeding: Deep, consistent watering at the base. Overhead watering invites disease. Side-dress with a potassium-rich feed once flowering starts.

Harvest: Pick when fully coloured and slightly yielding to gentle pressure. The dwarf habit tends to concentrate fruit set into a shorter window than an indeterminate — plan for a heavier peak with regular checking rather than a long trickle.

Timing: First ripe fruit around 70–80 days from transplant.

Key features

  • Compact dwarf plant — well suited to small gardens and containers
  • Medium-large deep red fruit with meaty flesh
  • Rich, well-balanced old-fashioned tomato flavour
  • Strong, disease-resistant plant
  • Modest staking requirement — no need for a heavy trellis
  • Reliable cropper in cool-inland summers

Short season tips


Sow 6–8 weeks before your last frost. Grow on under cover until night temperatures sit reliably above 12–14°C. In Coonabarabran and similar inland zones, plant out from mid-October. A hoop tunnel or cloche buys earlier plantings. Bred for cool-summer Victorian conditions, Scoresby Dwarf is a solid pick for cooler inland gardens where later-maturing heat-loving heirlooms can run out of season.

  • Spring
  • Summer

Tender perennial — almost always grown as an annual in Australia

  • Basil, chives, parsley, marigold, carrots
  • Other nightshades (potatoes, eggplant, capsicum), brassicas, fennel, corn


An Australian heirloom traced back to Victoria in the 1930s and traded under two names ever since — Scoresby Dwarf, after the Melbourne market-garden suburb of Scoresby, and KY1, said to derive from Kyabram in northern Victoria. Whichever end of the state selected it first, both names refer to the same variety, kept in continuous cultivation as one of the small handful of genuinely Australian heirloom tomatoes still in wide circulation — bred not for supermarket uniformity but for a reliable crop off a compact plant in Victoria's cool, unreliable summers.