VegetableTomato
Orange Queen Tomato
Orange Queen is an early-maturing heirloom tomato that delivers bright, juicy fruits in just 60 to 70 days from transplant. These 4 to 6-ounce beefsteaks ripen to a gorgeous orange color and offer a refreshingly mild, tame flavor that makes them as pleasant to eat fresh as they are to cook with. As a determinate variety reaching 36 to 48 inches tall, it's compact enough for containers and raised beds while still producing abundantly. Open-pollinated and non-GMO, Orange Queen thrives across hardiness zones 2 through 11, bringing reliable harvests to gardeners from coast to coast.
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
48 in
Height
TypeDeterminate
Spacing
18
Plant Profile
Sunlight
Full Sun
Water
Moderate
Zones
2-11
Size
48in H x ?in W
Growth
—
Care
Moderate
Hover over chart points for details
Highlights
The real appeal of Orange Queen lies in its speed and simplicity. These early-maturing fruits appear remarkably fast for a beefsteak tomato, making it a genuine option for shorter growing seasons. The mild, gentle flavor sets it apart from acidic or complex heirloom varieties, offering instead a clean, approachable taste that families and first-time growers genuinely enjoy. Its determinate, compact growth habit means you get a productive plant without the sprawling commitment of indeterminate types.
Common Uses
Orange Queen tomatoes work beautifully as fresh eating tomatoes; their mild flavor and tender flesh make them ideal sliced into salads, served as quick snacks, or enjoyed straight from the vine. The 4 to 6-ounce size is perfect for individual servings and plate presentation. Their gentle taste also makes them well-suited for cooking applications where you want tomato flavor without sharp acidity, such as in sauces or fresh salsas.
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, sowing at a depth of approximately 1/4 inch in warm, moist seed-starting mix. Keep soil temperature around 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit for consistent germination. Provide bright light once seedlings emerge to prevent legginess.
Transplant Outdoors
Transplant seedlings outdoors after your last frost date once soil has warmed to at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit, ideally 65 to 70 degrees. Harden off plants by gradually exposing them to outdoor conditions over 7 to 10 days. Space transplants 18 inches apart in rows 36 inches apart.
Harvesting
Harvest Orange Queen tomatoes when they reach full orange color and yield slightly to gentle pressure. Ripe fruits detach easily from the vine with a light twist. Because these are early-maturing beefsteaks, watch for peak ripeness starting around day 60 from transplant; picking regularly encourages continued production from the determinate growth habit. For best flavor, harvest in the morning after the sun has warmed the fruits.
Pruning
As a determinate variety, Orange Queen naturally sets all its fruit in a concentrated flush rather than continuously, so pruning is minimal. Remove only the lowest leaves once plants are established to improve air circulation and reduce disease risk. Avoid heavy pruning that would remove too much foliage and expose ripening fruit to sunscald.
Growing Calendar
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Companion Planting
Pests & Diseases
Ecology & Traits
Edible
Scientific Classification
Solanum lycopersicum
Family
Solanaceae
Genus
Solanum
Growth Habit
Determinate
Native Status
L48 (I)AK (I)HI (I)PR (I)VI (I)CAN (W)