Tomato Pendulina Red in plants

The Pendulina Red Tomato is a dwarf variety of Cherry tomato originating from Sweden. It produces small red fruits, grouped in clusters of 5 or 6 and weighing between 15 and 30 grams each.

The Pendulina Red Tomato is productive but compact, making it particularly suitable for a container or hanging basket on a balcony, patio, or even a windowsill.

Its fruits are enjoyed in salads as appetisers. Plant your Plug plants from April to June, after the last frost, for a harvest from July to September.

The Tomato originates from South America and Central America. Several varieties were 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 is one of the many foods that came to us from the New World, along with beans, corn, squash, potatoes and chilli peppers. The Tomato took longer to reach our taste buds. For a long time, it was cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal qualities but was considered toxic due to its resemblance to the fruit of the Mandrake, another Solanaceae. It only became a regular part of our diets from the beginning of the 20th century.

The Tomato is a perennial herbaceous plant in tropical climates, but it is grown as an annual in our latitudes. It becomes woody over time and produces small, insignificant yellow flower clusters that will transform into fruits. The Tomato can be grown in open ground but can also be grown in containers on a balcony, preferably using varieties with compact growth.

It is a fruit or vegetable that has many nutritional benefits. it is low in calories like most vegetables, rich in water and contains lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. It is also rich in vitamin C, provitamin A, and trace elements.

In terms of cooking, Tomatoes can be consumed raw or cooked in many ways: in salads or as appetisers, grilled, stuffed, marinated, preserved, in ratatouille, as a sauce... They come in all colours, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of this to grow several varieties in your vegetable garden to vary the harvest!

Harvesting: 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. The fruits should be picked when they have reached their final colour and their texture remains firm but shows a slight softening. For better preservation, make sure to pick the fruit with its stalk. 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, canned, or cooked into jam. To preserve them, cut your tomatoes in half and collect the juice. Place your half tomatoes face up on a baking sheet. 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, if possible mixed with dead leaves. This protection keeps the soil moist and limits weed growth.