VegetableTomato
Dakota Sport Tomato
Dakota Sport Tomato is a bright red, medium slicing tomato developed in North Dakota that brings together superior flavor with practical resilience. This indeterminate variety grows 3 to 8 feet tall and produces 5- to 7-ounce fruits on thin skins that resist cracking, a valuable trait in unpredictable growing seasons. It reaches harvest in just 60 to 69 days from transplant, thriving across hardiness zones 2 through 11 in full sun. The variety carries an open-pollinated, heirloom pedigree and was bred from the Crimson Sprinter by David Podoll, a North Dakota gardener who recognized the potential of his starting variety and refined it into something genuinely special.
Photo © True Leaf Market
Growing Conditions
USDA Zone
2-11
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Soil
Well-drained, Fertile Loam With Organic Matter
Growth Stats
96 in
Height
TypeIndeterminate
Spacing
24
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
2-11
Size
96in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
High
Hover over chart points for details
Highlights
Born from David Podoll's patient work in North Dakota, Dakota Sport represents what happens when a gardener decides a good variety isn't good enough and breeds it into something remarkable. The thin-skinned, crack-resistant fruit grows to 5 to 7 ounces with exceptional flavor that justifies the effort of tending an indeterminate vine. It handles the demanding climate of northern growing zones (2 through 11) while resisting major diseases including Fusarium Wilt, Verticillium Wilt, Late Blight, and Tobacco Mosaic Virus. Plant it in a garden bed, raised bed, or greenhouse; space it 24 inches apart in rows 36 inches apart, and you'll be harvesting from an heirloom that proves North Dakota summers grow more than wheat.
Common Uses
Dakota Sport is a slicing tomato, ideal for fresh eating straight from the vine or sliced into salads where its thin skin and superior flavor shine. The medium 5- to 7-ounce size works well for individual portions or sandwich slicing. Its crack resistance makes it more forgiving than many heirloom slicers, so the fruit that reaches your kitchen is typically unmarred and ready to eat.
Growing Timeline
No timeline data available yet for this variety.
Care Instructions
Start Indoors
Start seeds indoors 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost. Dakota Sport requires 65 to 75 days from transplant to first harvest, so time your seed starting accordingly. Keep soil warm (70 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and moist until seedlings emerge in 5 to 10 days.
Transplant Outdoors
Transplant outdoors after the last frost date has passed and daytime temperatures consistently reach 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Harden off seedlings by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days. Space plants 24 inches apart in rows 36 inches apart, in soil warmed to at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
Harvesting
Harvest Dakota Sport tomatoes when they reach full bright red color and yield slightly to gentle pressure. Fruits typically weigh 5 to 7 ounces at peak ripeness. Harvest regularly as the plant produces throughout the season; picking ripe fruit encourages the plant to continue flowering and setting new tomatoes. In late season as frost approaches, pick green tomatoes and allow them to ripen indoors at room temperature.
Pruning
As an indeterminate variety, Dakota Sport will grow continuously throughout the season. Pruning suckers (shoots that develop in the crotch between the main stem and branches) directs energy toward fruit production rather than excessive foliage. Remove the bottom 6 to 12 inches of lower branches once plants are established to improve air circulation and reduce disease pressure. Beyond sucker removal, light pruning of dense foliage in mid-summer helps ripening fruit access sunlight.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Pests & Diseases
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Solanum lycopersicum
Family
Solanaceae
Genus
Solanum
Growth Habit
Indeterminate
Native Status
L48 (I)AK (I)HI (I)PR (I)VI (I)CAN (W)
History & Origin
“David Podoll, a North Dakota gardener, took the Crimson Sprinter variety and bred it into Dakota Sport Tomato through patient selection and crossing. Rather than accepting a good tomato, Podoll saw potential for improvement and created a variety that better suited the short, intense growing seasons and variable weather of the northern plains. His work produced an open-pollinated heirloom now preserved and distributed through organic seed catalogs, carrying forward both his breeding vision and the regional agricultural traditions of North Dakota.”