Tomato Marmande

The Early Marmande Tomato is a variety resulting from successive selections of the Marmande tomato. It produces beautiful, bright red, slightly ribbed and flattened fruits. It is resistant to Verticillium (VR), a recently introduced fungus that penetrates all parts of the plant, stopping the flow of sap and causing it to wither.
The medium to large fruits (100 to 300 g) are appreciated for their fragrance and texture and can be stuffed, juiced, used in sauces, or enjoyed in salads, where they reveal their full flavour.
This Marmande variety is particularly well suited to cool and short summers. Sow from February to April and harvest from July until the first frost.

The tomato is native to South America and Central America. Several varieties were cultivated by the Incas long before the arrival of the Conquistadors. The wide variety of this solanaceous plant is still surprising. The term "tomato" comes from the Inca word Tomatl, which refers to both the plant and the fruit it produces. There are fruits of all colours (red, of course, but also green, yellow, and even some very rare blue varieties) and all shapes and sizes. Ancient varieties are indeterminate plants and can live for two years. More recent varieties have a determinate growth pattern and stop growing at the bush stage, so they do not need support.

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

The tomato plant is a perennial herbaceous plant in tropical climates and is cultivated as an annual in our latitudes. It becomes woody over time and produces small, insignificant yellow flower clusters, which will transform into fruits.

Its fruit is very attractive and adds a pleasant colour to the vegetable garden. It also has many nutritional benefits. It is low in calories like most vegetables, rich in water and contains lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. And the longer the tomato is cooked, the more lycopene becomes available. It is also rich in vitamin C, provitamin A, and trace elements.

Today, its taste and nutritional qualities are accepted. For gardeners, tomatoes are among the essential vegetables of summer. They only need to consider how they want to use them to guide their choice among the existing varieties. Will it be for salads, sauces, eating raw, or cooking? They will also need to consider when they want to harvest them. The answer will, of course, depend on the average summer sunshine in the region where their garden is located. The choice is vast and there is a tomato for every situation! While tomatoes do need plenty of sun and heat, they don't necessarily need a lot of space. You can grow varieties with small fruits in pots on your balcony. 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 transplanting and harvesting. There is no foolproof way to determine that a tomato has reached its full ripeness. Harvesting should be done when it is completely coloured and its texture remains firm but shows a slight softening. For better preservation, you should pick the fruit with its stalk.

Preservation: Tomatoes with a high water content do not keep as long. They can be stored well 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 your tomato halves face up on the baking tray of your oven. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar, then bake at a very low temperature for at least an hour. Remove your tomatoes and consume them immediately, or store them in a glass jar and cover with olive oil.

Gardener's tip: It is a good idea to grow several varieties of tomatoes each year to minimize the risk of a complete loss of harvest due to climatic hazards or specific pathologies.
To counter the phenomenon of "blossom end rot" - not a disease but a calcium deficiency - spray a comfrey concoction rich in calcium on your plants.
When transplanting, 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; tomatoes and basil go well together.