Tomato Alicante

The Alicante Tomato is an excellent variety, awarded by the prestigious Royal Horticultural Society, both for its earliness and its productivity. It produces an abundance of medium-sized fruits with a sweet flavour on plants that reach about 2 metres (7 feet) in height. Sowing is done from February to April for a harvest from June to September.

The tomato is native to South and Central America. Several varieties were already cultivated by the Incas long before the arrival of the Conquistadors. We are still amazed by the variety of this solanaceous plant. The term 'tomato' comes from the Incas' Tomatl, which refers to both the plant and the fruit it produces. There are fruits of all colours, except perhaps blue, and of all shapes and sizes. Ancient varieties are plants with indeterminate growth and can live for two years. More recent varieties have what is called determinate growth and stop growing at the bush stage, so there is no need to stake or trellis them.

The tomato is one of the many foods that came to us from the New World, along with beans, corn, squash, potatoes, and chili peppers. It took much longer for the tomato to reach our taste buds. For a long time, it was cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal qualities. It was thought to be toxic because of its resemblance to the fruit of the Mandrake, another solanaceous plant. It only became a regular part of our tables at the beginning of the 20th century.

The tomato plant is a perennial herbaceous plant in tropical climates, cultivated as an annual in European latitudes. It lignifies over time and produces small, insignificant yellow flowers grouped in clusters that will turn into fruits.

Its fruit is very attractive and adds a pleasant colour to the vegetable garden. It also has many nutritional benefits. Low in calories like most vegetables, rich in water, it contains a molecule of great interest: lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. And the longer the tomato is cooked, the more available lycopene it releases. It is also rich in vitamin C, pro-vitamin A, and trace elements.

Today, its taste and nutritional qualities are well established. For gardeners, the tomato is one of the essential summer vegetables. They only need to consider how they want to use it to guide them among all the existing varieties. Is it for salads, sauces, consuming directly on the spot, cooked, etc.? They will also consider when they want to harvest it. The answer will, of course, depend on the average summer sunlight in the region where their garden is located. Rest assured, the choice is vast, and there is a tomato for every situation! And while tomatoes do need a lot of sunlight and warmth, they don't necessarily require a lot of space. That's why you shouldn't hesitate to grow them in containers on your balcony, where you can prioritise varieties with small fruits. Be careful, though, as immature fruits, stems, and leaves contain solanine and should not be consumed.

Harvesting: depending on the variety, it can take 50 to 100 days between the transplanting date and the harvest. There is no foolproof trick to determine in advance when a tomato has reached full ripeness. Harvesting should be done when, at a minimum, it fully displays its fully ripe colour and when its texture, while remaining firm, shows a slight softening. For better storage, be sure to pick the fruit with its peduncle.

Storage: tomatoes do not keep as long when they have a high water content. They can be kept for a few days in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator or spread out in the open air. To keep them longer, consider culinary methods such as tomato confit, sun-dried tomatoes, sauces, frozen fruits, preserves, jams, or juices. We love to confit them because it's simple and so tasty: cut your tomatoes in half and collect the juice. Place the tomato halves 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 and consume immediately, or preserve them in a glass jar and cover with olive oil.

Gardener's Tip: it is recommended to grow several varieties of tomatoes each year to minimise the risk of a complete loss of harvest due to climatic conditions or specific diseases.
To prevent the phenomenon of 'blossom-end rot' - not a disease but a calcium deficiency - spray a comfrey maceration rich in calcium on your plants.
When transplanting, don't hesitate to bury the stem up to the first leaves. This will stimulate the root system, ensuring a bountiful fruit harvest.
Winning combinations in the garden are often the same on the plate -which is a good mnemonic to remember that tomatoes and basil go well together.