Tomato Delizia F1 plants

The Delizia F1 Tomato - Marmande hybrid tomato is a mid-season variety, highly productive and disease resistant. It produces large, slightly flattened, ribbed red fruits. With dense and flavorful flesh, these tomatoes can be used in both summer salads and stuffed dishes. The Tomato is a plant that is grown as an annual, requiring heat and rich soil. The plug plants of the Delizia F1 Tomato are planted from April to June, after the last frost, for a harvest 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 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 significantly longer to reach our taste buds. And for good reason: 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 herbaceous perennial plant in tropical climates, but it is grown as an annual in our latitudes. It becomes lignified over time and produces small, inconspicuous yellow flowers clustered in cymes that will turn into fruits. Tomatoes can be grown in open ground, but they can also be grown in containers on a balcony, with a preference for compact varieties.

It is a fruit vegetable that offers numerous nutritional benefits. Low in calories like most vegetables, rich in water, it 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 many ways: in salads or as appetizers, grilled, stuffed, marinated, preserved, or used in ratatouilles or sauces... There are tomatoes of all colours, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of this and grow several varieties in your vegetable garden to vary your enjoyment!

Harvesting : The harvesting periods vary depending on the earliness: early varieties are harvested from 55 to 70 days after planting, mid-season varieties from 70 to 85 days, and late varieties over 85 days. Harvesting should be done when the Tomato has reached its final colour and when its texture, while remaining firm, shows a slight softening. For better conservation, be sure to pick the fruit with its peduncle. 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 alters the taste qualities of the fruits. For longer storage, tomatoes can be preserved, dried, frozen, or cooked into jam. To preserve them, cut your tomatoes in half and collect the juice. Place your halved tomatoes face up 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 limit watering, we recommend mulching the soil with thin, successive layers of grass clippings, ideally mixed with dead leaves. This protection, which keeps the soil moist, also reduces the need for weeding.