I was so impressed with the ‘Chef’s Choice’ tomato I tested this summer that I’m already looking forward to growing it again next summer. I started my plant from seed in early April and tucked it into a barrel in late May. It grew about 4 feet tall and at that point I clipped off the top. It didn’t get too top-heavy until the fruits started to ripen. Even though I had it securely tied to a tomato ladder, the ladder eventually tipped over and I had to put a large stake in the ground to support the ladder.
This cultivar is an update of the popular ‘Amana Orange’ heirloom tomato. ‘Amana Orange’ needs 90 days to mature, but ‘Chef’s Choice’ is ready for picking in 75 days.
This 2014 AAS winner is disease-resistant and has eye-catching, yellow-orange fruit. The catalogs all describe the fruit weight as 9 to 12 ounces, but most of my tomatoes have weighed in at 6-8 ounces. The fruits feel very solid. I had a couple of them sitting on my kitchen counter for over a week and they didn’t show any signs of deterioration.
The biggest surprise comes when you cut into them. Look at this flesh. It looks like the inside of a peach, not a tomato!
My plant has shown no signs of disease, and thankfully the chipmunks aren’t taking little bites of the tomatoes before I can harvest them.
They have no idea what they are missing!