Chef's Choice Orange Hybrid Tomato Seeds

Days to Maturity: 75 from transplant

Indeterminate

All-America Selections (AAS) Winner 2014

The winner of an All-America Selection award, Chef's Choice Orange is a stunning and delicious update of the old heirloom favorite Amana Orange. Amana was renowned for its bright tangerine tones and rich tomato tang, but it produced at the end of the season, taking a long time to finish. Chef's Choice updates that with a quick finish, but keeps all the rich flavor of the heirloom variety.

These beefsteaks weigh in at anywhere from 9 to 16 ounces, and reach 6 inches in diameter. Slightly flattened, they seem made for slicing onto sandwiches and into salads. But chefs will love them because they keep every bit of their bright color when cooked. Hence the name—Chef's Choice is the tomato that won't look muddy when it's sauteed, baked, broiled, or steamed.

And Chef's Choice Orange is a heavy producer. Expect nearly 2 dozen fruits from every plant. This is a vigorous, tall, well-branched vining plant, prepared to keep the fruit coming all season and in need of good support for its huge tomatoes. Easily 5 feet high before the season is over, it offers great foliage protection for the fruit against the punishing effects of the summer sun.

Part of the reason for the productivity of this tomato is its superior disease resistance. Chef's Choice Orange stands up to tobacco mosaic virus, resists cracking, and is not troubled by anthracnose. Healthier plants mean better growth and bigger crops, not to mention more lush foliage.

Start seeds indoors 5 to 6 weeks before the last frost date. Plant outdoors when danger of frost is past and night temperatures consistently remain above 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If the forecast calls for an unexpected late frost, protect young plants with plastic sheeting or other cover. Set plants 2 to 2½ feet apart.