My Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Cherry Tomato EXPERIMENT

These are the current results of my winter experiment growing Orange Hat micro dwarf cherry tomatoes indoors.

These plants were started in January 2023. They are in hanging baskets. They have been producing flowers and fruit since March of 2023 (yes--for nearly a year). They are in my house and only receive sunlight from our south facing windows (NO GROW LIGHTS). I do have a small oscillating fan for air circulation. I do water and fertilize them about weekly using an organic fish emulsion.

The fruits are wonderful treats in salads or just to pop in your mouth in the middle of winter.

Last year (2023) I read of an account of a farmer growing the same plants hydroponically for 3 years (they were also Orange Hat micro dwarf cherry tomatoes) and they were still producing well; so I thought I'd try my own experiment in soil in hanging baskets.

Note: Orange Hat Micro Dwarf thrives in relatively low light. They do well in a south facing window without grow lights; but I DO NOT think this approach would work with most other varieties of tomatoes. Note #2: Orange Hat does NOT like a lot of direct sun. I tested them outside last year and they do not like our intense, direct sun. They should do fine outside under shade cloth or on a covered patio but they truly suffer if forced to endure extended amounts of direct sun here in the high desert mountains area of New Mexico.

Because my passion is heirloom and specialty plant nursery development, as we get closer to the start of the summer growing season we will have Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Tomato Plant starts available for purchase. If you would like to be notified by email when we begin selling plant starts, send me an email request to [email protected] . Otherwise, we will post our sales here on our farm blog as well as on Facebook & Nextdoor.