Kellogg's Breakfast Tomato

Kellogg’s Breakfast Tomato

Details

Kellogg's Breakfast Tomato, slightly under-ripe

Kellogg’s Breakfast Tomato, slightly under-ripe

  • Open-Pollinated
  • Type: indeterminate
  • Shape: beefsteak, squat and irregular, with pleats
  • Color: apricot (brilliant pastel orange, seems to glow from inside)
  • Maturity: 80-90 days from transplant
    • 2010: 70-77 days to 1st harvest
    • 2011: 112 days to 1st harvest
    • 2012: 70-98 days to 1st harvest
    • 2013: 91 days to 1st harvest
  • Size: large; 4-5″ in diameter, 1-2 lb tomatoes
    • 2010: 5.5-7.0 oz on average
    • 2011: 2.0 oz on average
    • 2012: 5.0-6.5 oz on average
    • 2013: 5.0 oz on average
  • Yield: “very productive”
    • 2010 (Kellogg’s): 11 tomatoes for 3.5 lbs
    • 2010 (Louise’s Orange Heirloom): 36 tomatoes for almost 15 lbs
    • 2011: 14 tomatoes for 2 lbs
    • 2012: 10-12 tomatoes for 3.0-4.75 lbs
    • 2013: 4 tomatoes for 2.25 lbs
  • Taste: “rich, meaty & full-flavored”, “delicious rich flavor with a good acid/sugar balance
  • Disease Resistance:
    • susceptible to root-knot nematode
    • susceptible to fusarium and/or verticillium

Notes:

  • Also known in my garden as “Louise’s Orange Heirloom” for my neighbor, Louise. In 2010, Louise gave me a tomato seedling that she had started from seeds she had saved from a seedling given to her the year before. Not knowing anything about it other than, “it’s a really large funny looking orange heirloom”, I planted it right next to another new tomato that year (Kellogg’s Breakfast). Well, the crazy thing is, that it ended up being exactly like its neighbor. I’m fairly certain that Louise’s Orange Heirloom is Kellogg’s Breakfast tomato. No other tomato that I’ve seen has had this vibrant, seemingly glowing, orange color.
  • Seed Saver’s Exchange: West Virginia heirloom obtained from David Kellogg of Redford, MI

Sources: (where to buy)

  • Seed Saver’s Exchange
  • Territorial Seed (both seeds & plants)

Results from My Garden:

  • 2010: bought one seedling from Territorial Seed Co to try out. It was not very productive, but it was at the top of a sloped bed, so it may not have gotten as much water as it needed; Also in 2010, I received the seedling from Louise, “Louise’s Orange Heirloom” which turned out to be Kellogg’s Breakfast Tomato; since these two ended up right next to eachother, their harvests may have been mis-identified
  • 2011:  didn’t grow KBT but I did grow 2 plants from Louise’s Orange Heirloom seeds saved from last year. way less productive than 2010. Perhaps I planted too early, or disease or competition?
  • 2012: 2 plants grown from seed (Seed Savers’ Exchange); earlier planted plant had more wilt (fusarium or verticillium) than the older one, which indicates that it was verticillium (Verticillium usually can’t get a foothold in the plant when temperatures rise above 85 or 90); also in 2012, started 2 plants from 2010 Louise’s Orange Heirloom seeds. Disease & competition from pine trees that were growing into our veggie beds prevented tomatoes from producing. Only 1 tomato, the entire season, from these two plants. They were both at the top of the sloped bed, right where the pine roots were infiltrating from. Less water & more competition.
  • 2013: purchased two seedlings from Territorial Seed Co. Very low production due to heat & disease (root-knot nematode, verticillium or fusarium wilt, and some kind of spotting disease)
 SEASON Source DATES Plants spacing Maturity Yield per plant Avg Size Disease
2010 TSC-seedling 5/14 1 18″x20″ 92 days 11 3.7 lbs 5-6 oz  none
   Louise-seedling 1 18″x20″   88 days  36 14.8 lbs  6-7 oz none
2011 Louise’s saved seed (2010) 4/18 2 18″x24″   111 days  14 2 lbs 2 oz ??? less productive?
2012 SSE-seeds 2/19 -> 4/9 -> 5/14 & 6/4  2 18″x24″ 97 days 6 2.5 lbs 6-7 oz V (slight)
   Louise’s Saved Seed (2010) 18″x24″   119 days 1 5 oz 5 oz straggly & stunted (pine roots)
2013 TSC-seedling 4/16 -> 5/21 2 24″x24″ 96 days 12 5 lbs 6-7 oz  RK, severe
2014 SSE-seed 3/15 -> 4/15 -> 5/10; 8/2 last fruit 1 24″ 76 days 8 3.4 lbs 7 oz  BER, early; cat-facing; wilt (V/F)
2014-Grafted SSE-seed; TSC- SuperNatural rootstock seed 3/15 -> grafted 4/5 -> 4/15 -> 5/4 1 24″ 87 days 14 6 lbs 7 oz  
                   

4 thoughts on “Kellogg’s Breakfast Tomato

  1. mo cahill

    is the kbt a potato leaf?
    you just solved my mytery. i had been growing this exact tomato thinking it was lillian’s yellow, because it was a potato leaf.
    but that is clearly not yellow, and i couldnt figure out where it came from.
    since i lay mine out by color- from cherokee green to cherokee purple, perhaps they crossed.
    i have a little urban farm in chicago. moah’s ark. i am an old friend of craig lehollier, and my first year, he sent me a big envelope full of little envelopes of of seeds. i have been calling my kbr moah’s yellow. i labeled the plants w a sharpie, which is no longer permanent. i couldnt put my hands on those seed packets right away, tho that is how i track what i grow. i asked craig, but he hadnt kept a record of what he sent.
    so, i am so happy to solve this mystery because if it is a cross, that means that moah’s orange is my very own.
    thank you. great page.

    Reply
    1. ThePlantLady Post author

      Hi Mo!
      I have both Kellogg’s Breakfast Tomato and one from the seeds given to me by my neighbor and they both have regular leaves – not potato leaf.
      So happy to help you solve your mystery!
      My tomatoes are having a really bad year, unfortunately. I decided not to graft any this year, and bought most of the plants as starts, and just about all of them are suffering from root-knot nematode, fungal or bacterial wilt, and/or russet mites. 🙁 Out of about 40 plants, only my Black Plums are producing, as well as a few green grapes. I think it’s time for new soil…
      Hope yours are doing well!

      Reply
  2. mo cahill

    ps- what the heck does the r in kbr stand for? that is what i was trying to figure out by hitting this link.

    Reply

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