Tomato Sturdy Jo

The Sturdy Jo F1 Tomato is a variety of Cherry or Cocktail type perfectly suited for pot cultivation on balconies or terraces. The plant, with an upright habit, adapts its growth to the volume of substrate available. It fruits for a very long period, with each harvest leading to the production of new clusters. These are pretty small, round, and red tomatoes with a crunchy flesh and a particularly sweet flavor, which will brighten up aperitifs with friends or picnics. Also consider this variety to enhance skewers, or if you want to introduce the taste of tomatoes to your children. They love the tiny fruits with vibrant colors that can be eaten straight from the garden or balcony. Planting plug plants can be done from April to June after the last frost when the plants have reached about fifteen centimeters. The Sturdy Jo F1 Tomato is harvested from July to October.

The Tomato originates from South America and Central America. Several varieties were already cultivated by the Incas long before the arrival of the Conquistadors. The term "tomato" 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, squashes, potatoes, and chili peppers. The Tomato took 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 feature on our tables 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 cold winters. It lignifies over time and produces small insignificant yellow flowers grouped in clusters that will transform into fruits. Tomatoes can be grown in open ground but can also be planted in containers on a balcony, with a preference for varieties with compact growth.

It is a fruit vegetable that offers many nutritional benefits. Low in calories like most vegetables, rich in water, it notably contains a very 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 consumed raw or cooked in many ways: in salads or for appetizers, grilled, stuffed, marinated, preserved, in ratatouille, as a sauce, in skewers... They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of this variety and cultivate several varieties in your garden to diversify your culinary experiences!

Harvesting: Harvest periods vary depending on their earliness: early varieties like Sturdy Jo 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 when 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 half tomatoes face up on the baking tray in your oven. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar, then bake at a very low temperature for at least one hour. Remove your tomatoes, store them in a glass jar, and cover with olive oil.

A Gardener's Tip: To reduce watering, we recommend mulching the soil with thin successive layers of grass clippings, if possible mixed with dead leaves. This protection, which helps to keep the soil moist, also reduces the need for weeding.