Tomato Corazon F1, Gourmandia F1, Russe rouge, Buffalo Steak F1, Buffalo Sun F1

A collection of 5 varieties of tomatoes selected for their large fruits, often spectacular, and their tasty flesh to be enjoyed in salads, sauces or cooked dishes. All are productive, rather disease-resistant and easy to grow. Planting of plug plants takes place from April to June after the last frost when the plants have reached about fifteen centimetres. Tomatoes like heat and sun as well as rich soils. Remember to stake your plants or train them as soon as they are transplanted into the ground. Harvesting takes place from July to September-October.

The collection consists of:

- 1 x Tomato Corazon F1: mid-season variety, producing large fleshy red fruits, of the Beefsteak type. It has good disease resistance. Its dense, sweet and extremely tasty flesh makes it ideal for use in salads, juice, gazpacho or stuffed. Height 1 m

- 1 x Tomato Ochsenherz: very productive, of the Beefsteak type, it offers large fruits (200 to 250 g) with golden yellow skin and flesh veined with red, tasty and delicately fruity. These tomatoes are delicious in summer salads, stuffed, in ratatouille and in cooked sauces. Height: 1.20 m

- 1 x Tomato Cuor Di Bue: late variety with heart-shaped red fruits, about 230 g. With dense, sweet and extremely tasty flesh. This tomato is suitable for use in salads, juice, gazpacho or stuffed. Height: 1 m

- 1 x Tomato Supersteak F1 GRAFTED: The Saint Pierre Tomato is an old variety appreciated by gardeners since the end of the 19th century. Semi-late, it is particularly productive and produces beautiful clusters of 4 to 5 round, bright red fruits, weighing 100 to 120 g

- 1 x Organic Tomato Rose Crush: Mid-early variety, vigorous, producing large pink fruits weighing 200 to 250 grams, of excellent taste quality, with a mild, slightly sweet flavour. Height 1.80 m

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 "Tomato" comes from the Inca "Tomatl" and refers to both the plant and the fruit produced by the plant. It is one of the many foods that came to us from the New World, like beans, corn, squash, potatoes, and chili peppers. The Tomato took notably longer to reach our taste buds. For a long time, it was cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal qualities, but it was considered toxic because of its resemblance to the fruit of the Mandrake, another Solanaceae plant. It only became a regular part of our diet from the beginning of the 20th century.

The Tomato is a perennial herbaceous plant in tropical climates, but is grown as an annual in our latitudes. It lignifies over time and produces small insignificant yellow flowers grouped in cymes that will transform into fruits. Tomatoes can be grown in the ground but can also be grown in containers on a balcony, by favouring compact varieties.

It is a fruit vegetable that has many nutritional benefits. Low in calories like most vegetables, rich in water, it contains a molecule of great interest: 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 multiple ways: in salads or for appetisers, grilled, stuffed, marinated, preserved, in ratatouille, as a sauce... They come in all colours, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of them and grow several varieties in your vegetable garden to vary the pleasure!

Harvesting: Harvest 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 beyond 85 days. Harvesting is done when the tomato takes on its final ripe colour and when its texture, while remaining firm, shows a slight softening. For better preservation, 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. 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 the baking sheet of 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.

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, which keeps the soil moist, also limits weeding.