Tomato Cherry Pearl

The Pearl Cherry Tomato is a variety that falls somewhere between cherry and cocktail types. It offers numerous small dark purple, slightly shiny and very decorative fruits, which will brighten up aperitifs with friends or picnics. Also consider this variety if you want to introduce your children to the taste of tomatoes. They love the tiny fruits with vibrant colors that can be eaten straight from the vegetable garden. The plug plants are planted from April to June after the last frost when the plants have reached about fifteen centimeters. The Pearl Cherry Tomato is harvested from July to October.

The Tomato is native to South America and Central America. Several varieties were already cultivated by the Incas long before the arrival of the Conquistadors. The term "Tomate" comes from the Inca word "Tomatl" and refers to both the plant and the fruit it produces. It is one of the many foods that came to us from the New World, along with beans, corn, squash, potatoes, and chili peppers. The Tomato took much longer to reach our taste buds. For a long time, it was cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal qualities, but it was considered toxic due to its resemblance to the fruit of the Mandrake, another member of the Solanaceae family. It only became a regular part of our diet in the early 20th century.

The Tomato is a perennial herbaceous plant in tropical climates, but it is grown as an annual in our latitudes. It becomes lignified over time and produces small, insignificant yellow flowers that cluster together and turn into fruits. Tomatoes can be grown in open ground but can also be grown in containers on a balcony, with a preference for compact varieties.

It is a fruit vegetable that offers many nutritional benefits. Low in calories like most vegetables, it is rich in water and contains a particularly interesting molecule: lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. It is also rich in vitamin C, provitamin A, and trace elements.

In terms of cooking, tomatoes can be eaten raw or cooked in a variety of ways: in salads or as appetizers, grilled, stuffed, marinated, preserved, or in sauces. They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of this and grow several varieties in your vegetable garden to enjoy a variety of flavors!

Harvesting: Harvest times vary depending on the maturity: early varieties are harvested from 55 to 70 days after planting, mid-season varieties from 70 to 85 days, and late varieties beyond 85 days. Harvesting should be done when the tomato has reached its final color and its texture, while remaining firm, shows a slight softening. For better preservation, make sure to pick the fruit with its calyx. Be careful, immature fruits, stems, and leaves contain solanine and should not be consumed.

Storage: The optimal storage temperature for tomatoes is between 10 and 15°C (50 and 59°F). Refrigeration is possible but affects the taste qualities of the fruits. For longer storage, tomatoes can be preserved, dried, frozen, canned, or cooked into jam. To preserve them, cut your tomatoes in half and collect the juice. Place your halved tomatoes facing upwards on a baking tray. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar, then bake at a very low temperature for at least an hour. Remove your tomatoes, store them in a glass jar, and cover with olive oil.

Gardener's tip: To reduce the need for watering, we recommend mulching the soil with thin layers of grass clippings, if possible mixed with dead leaves. This protection helps keep the soil moist and also reduces weed growth.