Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Tomato Review {with pictures!}

I grew this tiny tyke of a tomato from seed and made several gifts of this micro dwarf variety! The yellow-orange fruits were easy to grow on this short, sturdy plant. Seeds were easy to start and I’ve got pictures of plants from start to fruiting. Here is my Orange Hat Tomato review:

The Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Tomato

Everyone has seen the picture of the Orange Hat micro dwarf tomato that Baker Creek has online. It’s even on the seed packet. I thought it was a trick of their master gardeners using powerful grow lights to keep the plant artificially small. An 8 inch tomato plant producing enough ripe cherry tomatoes for a snack or a salad? No way. I had to try it!

three terra cotta clay pots holding small Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Tomatoes with one started plant and root ball with soil sitting on a shovel next to a seed packet for the tomatoes on a white countertop — The seed packet I used next to potted up plants, ready to be gifted!

A Gift for a Neighbor

My seed purchase was actually intended to be a gift for a neighbor. They love garden-fresh tomatoes to go with the eggs that come from our chicken coop. Unfortunately their property is shady and overrun with deer who walk right up to their back door and eat everything. They have lost so many plants to the deer that they’ve given up growing tomatoes altogether. I thought it might be fun to surprise them with a little tabletop tomato that could grow in their covered atrium, safe from the deer.

six Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Tomato seedlings with rich green leaves growing in a black seedling cell tray next to six younger, more leggy tomato seedlings — The Orange Hat seedlings in this image are 5 weeks old and ready to be potted up. Next to them are some San Marzano tomato starts around 1.5 weeks old.

Seed Starting & Growth

Orange Hat was VERY easy to start from seed! I had 6 out of 6 seeds germinate (100% germination rate) and the little seedlings did not go leggy at all. Instead they stayed squat and began developing leaves.

a single Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Tomato plant in a terra cotta pot with a popsicle stick plant marker that reads O-R-G H-A-T — This just-potted-up start is 5 weeks old. It stayed naturally squat and was not prone to legginess. (Other varieties growing nearby got a little leggy under the grow lights.)

Potting Up Instead of Planting Out

After 5 weeks of growth, the little Orange Hat starts were ready to be potted up. Orange Hat CANNOT handle full sun or outdoor heat. They must be grown in containers indoors or on a very shady balcony. I moved my plants into full sun for pictures only.

An Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Tomato growing in a ceramic pot sitting on a black metal table on a balcony patio in very shady indirect sunlight with 3 ripe fruits and 6 green fruits — Orange Hat can only handle a little indirect sunlight in temperatures 85°F or less. This covered patio is a great place for it to get some sun!

Does NOT Like Full Sun or Outdoor Heat

This micro dwarf tomato liked being indoors near a sunny window or with a grow light. This is handy because it is one of a few micro dwarf varieties you can grow in an AeroGarden. Mine was in an 8 inch wide terra cotta pot with a saucer – far bigger than the 4 to 6 inch pot the seed packet said it could handle – and it still got leaf curl if it was exposed to one day of full April sun, no matter how regularly it was watered. (I accidentally killed one plant by leaving it outside in indirect patio light on a very humid 89° Texas day in mid-May. It seriously cannot handle any outdoor heat or humidity!)

An Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Tomato growing in a ceramic pot sitting on a dark wood table indoors near a large window with indirect sunlight with 4 ripe orange fruits and 6 green fruits — Orange Hat is happier indoors with indirect sunlight from a window. Does well under indoor grow lights!

How Does the Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Tomato Taste?

It is not as disappointing as the online reviews described. I found the flavor to be very similar to the orange tomatoes in the tri-color mixes from the grocery store. If you only have a small growing space and want Orange Hat tomatoes to enjoy on salads, I genuinely believe you would love them! Sun-ripened fresh garden tomatoes just taste better and Orange Hat is no different!

How is the Production?

The images shown online, on the seed packet and here are accurate: you’ll get a small handful of ripe tomatoes at a time. If you want more than 3-6 at a time, you’ll need to grow multiple plants.

a closeup of the small orange hat tomato plant with green leaves it's root ball surrounded by soil sitting on top of a hand shovel, next to the seed packet on a white countertop

Fantastic for Kids!

This little tot of a tomato is a super cute way to encourage little gardeners. It is easy to coax children to eat their vegetables when they are growing them! Our toddler was enchanted with this diminutive plant and showed real interest in plucking and trying fresh tomatoes for the first time.

Give Them a Try!

If you have extremely limited space or ability to be out in the heat tending to a garden, seriously consider these lovely little tomatoes! They were easy to start from seed and grow (so long as they avoided all outdoor heat & humidity) and the yellow-orange fruit was delicious when plucked fresh from the vine. The neighbors I gifted the plants to were able to get a harvest and have requested I start plants for them again next year! These are an indoor grower’s dream come true!

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Orange Hat Micro Dwarf Tomato Review {with pictures!}