Which Orange Tomato Should I Grow?

[Mark_Thompson]

KBX
KBX KBX
KBX KBX KBX

[FarmerShawn]

Have trialed most of them at one time or another. None of them are really bad, but given your preference for something productive in a relatively short season, I would grow Nebraska Wedding. As others mentioned, KBX is a better tomato, however, it takes longer to mature. Also, you don't show Jaune Flamme, but it IMO is one you might like to trial. It is a tart bright orange tomato with the beta carotene gene instead of tangerine which is in the others. It is very productive in most climates.

Oh, yeah! I too like Nebraska Wedding, though I like the similar round medium sized orange Moonglow even better in my garden.

[wildcat62]

Hands down KBX in our garden.

[Dee]

Thanks to everyone for their feedback and suggestions! There are a few varieties mentioned that I hadn't heard of that I am going to look into.

KBX sounds (and looks!) fantastic, but it would likely be a gamble for me to grow in this area.

[root_grow]

I’m always looking for good earlier-in-the-season medium-large orange tomatoes since so many of the popular ones are so late. Last year I found Altai Orange, Sakharnyi Zheltyi and Summer Cider. Altai Orange was the earliest, I think Summer Cider may have been my favorite for flavor, but I’ll probably grow all of them again next year.

I also really liked Orange-1 a couple years ago.

[Nanooknorth]

Haven’t had good luck in my planting zone with KBX. Kellogg’s Breakfast, however, has done great and it has been in every garden since I got into heirlooms. Hummm, I don’t really remember how long that has been, but quite a while. I have been trying to stabilize my selection, as I have trialed so many already. So my go to oranges are Kellogg’s Breakfast, Summer Cider, and Cero Blackburn. I’ve grown Indian Moon, very nice and productive, but yellow and mild flavored. Orange Strwberry didn’t knock my socks off and Earl of Edgecombe was too long ago to comment on. I like Coastal Pride Orange for containers, which might do well in your short season. Actually developed in Western Canada.

[TomHillbilly]

20200918_095649.jpg

Albertan --- I grew Altai Orange and Persimmon last year. They was a beautiful maters to look at. I even took took pictures of the fruit's beauty. Both passed all tests, except TASTE ! If not for salting, I don't think there was anything I tasted. But I'm in zone 7. The Altai isn't sliced,
It's a shame I can't eat the pictures. LOL

20200822_112806.jpg

[pepperhead212]

My favorite large (non-cherry/grape) orange tomato is Amish Gold Slicer. Has a medium acidity, but a well balanced flavor, and has come in 2nd and 3rd in my taste tests a few years, with my 7 or 8 large tomatoes. Size varies from 6 to 12 oz, and is meaty, and has a very small core. Last season, I got some seeds from a fellow gardener, that were supposed to be larger Amish gold tomatoes, but they didn't show any size increase, and seemed to have less production, side by side, so I'm only doing my usual saved seeds this season. Kellogg's Breakfast did not do well at all for me in the past, though KBX did well many years ago - just not very productive, though one was the largest tomato I have ever grown, at just over 2 lbs.

[bower]

Well... in the really marginal tomato climate here I got nothing from Earl of Edgecombe or from Orange Minsk. Every fruit of the Minsk had severe BER and I didn't even get a fruit for seeds. I haven't grown any of the others on your list, but Zolotoe Serdtse is an easy grow here and early-mid to ripen. They are very productive, very firm fruited, and sweet. I find them a good size and shape to freeze (you can still cut them up when frozen, some others are just too big to cut the block of ice). Plant is semi-determinate so no pruning chores, which I like. ZS is a Beta orange (like Jaune Flammee) so you get beta carotene instead of the cis-lycopene from tangerine. I think the firm texture is a drawback for some. You can leave them on the counter a long time and they never get soft, nor do you ever get that melting texture which famous beefs are loved for. But I don't miss that when putting frozen slices on a pizza in february.
Just adding that we had good results with Orange-1 as well. They are another determinate with very firm fruit, earlier than ZS.

[worth1]

Kelloggs Breakfast seems to put out a nice big tasty tomato then the rest are small to nothing in my climate.
Due to this I went whole hog and made a hamburger from select hand ground beef and all the fixings.
Used the center most section of the prize tomato for said hamburger.
If memory serves me correctly I might have baked my own bun too..

[HenriSportif]

[mention]worth1[/mention] - The start of a new thread: "You know you're a tomato-head when....."

1st answer (Worth): "You build a whole dinner around the one tomato from your homegrown tomato plant! " (slightly exaggerated but fun)

2nd answer (me): you're up to garden #3 ( not even exaggerated! )

[MrBig46]

I only have space for one orange tomato in my garden this year. I love the colour and flavour of Amana Orange, but our season is a bit short for it to do really well (zone 2/3), and I don't find it as productive as I'd like.

As of now, I have my choices narrowed down to these. I would appreciate your feedback and hearing about your experiences, if you've grown them. What would be your top two?

Orange Strawberry
Dad’s Sunset
Indian Moon
Zolotoe Serdtse
Kellogg’s Breakfast
Earl of Edgecombe

If there is an orange tomato that knocks your socks off that you think would do well in my growing zone, please feel free to suggest it!

I solved the same problem three months ago at Tomatoville. I was recommended several varieties, in the end I chose two and I also got seeds. In my opinion, one of those varieties would fit your growing conditions. This is Orange 1, information on Tatiana´s TOMATObase. This variety was recommended to me by RJGlew from Calgary.

[zeuspaul]

A few years ago I grew Tangerine (not the hybrid). All I remember was it's beautiful color. Now due to this thread I will try it again if the seeds I saved sprout.

I did some research on the tomato and came across a good deal on the seeds with free shipping even on small orders. I have never ordered from Sweet Corn Organic Nursery.
http://www.sweetcornorganicnursery.com/ ... -Seed.html

[Gardadore]

KBX is my first choice for flavor but late so need others that are earlier. Orange Minsk has been the best producer in the last three years with good flavor. Planted Nizami last summer and had great production all summer. Jaunne Flamme is my favorite for oven drying due to its smaller size and flavor. Heart of Ashgabat is excellent with good production and flavor.

[root_grow]

My Altai Oranges did not look like what TomHillbilly's photo shows. Mine were flattened like beefsteaks with some light ridges, not very round at all, and it's the same on all the sites I can find about them. The first bite of an Altai Orange surprised me by actually tasting a bit like oranges. Not acidic or tart like Jaune Flamme (which I also love), but they had some intensity to them, not mild tomatoes at all.

[Albertan]

20200918_095649.jpg
Albertan --- I grew Altai Orange and Persimmon last year. They was a beautiful maters to look at. I even took took pictures of the fruit's beauty. Both passed all tests, except TASTE ! If not for salting, I don't think there was anything I tasted. But I'm in zone 7. The Altai isn't sliced,
It's a shame I can't eat the pictures. LOL20200822_112806.jpg

Interesting. I did notice that there was a difference in the flavour of the Altai Orange where one year it was really great and the next year not as much, but I have too short a season for the KBXs and such. I am noticing some positive comments on Summertime Wine here.

[Shule]

I'm a fan of Mexican Yellow (it's kind of orange) and Sweet Ozark Orange.

[Albertan]

I'm a fan of Mexican Yellow (it's kind of orange) and Sweet Ozark Orange.

You mentioned Mexican Yellow before but I couldn't locate it online. Which seed vendor sells it?

[Shule]

[mention]Albertan[/mention] I got mine from Marianna's Heirloom Seeds a few years ago.

[Gardadore]

Is Marianna’s still in business? Site seems to only mention catalog and seeds from 2017. Don’t want to derail this thread but it was just mentioned as a source for an orange variety.