Tomato Orange Cherry

The Cherry Orange Tomato is a cherry variety with abundant production. It has numerous small, sweet, orange fruits which will brighten up meals with friends or picnics. Consider this variety if you want to introduce the taste of tomatoes to your children. They love the tiny, colourful fruits that can be eaten directly from the plant. Plant your plug plants from April to June after the last frost when the plants have reached about fifteen centimetres. The Cherry Orange Tomato is harvested from July to October.

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 term "Tomate" 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, squash, potatoes, and chilli peppers. The Tomato took significantly longer to reach our taste buds. For a long time, it was cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal qualities but was considered toxic because it resembled the fruit of the Mandrake, another Solanaceae. It only became a regular 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 latitudes. It turns woody over time and produces clusters of small, inconspicuous yellow flowers which then turn into fruits. Tomatoes can be grown in the ground but small varieties can also be grown in containers on a balcony.

It is a fruit or vegetable that offers 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 eaten raw or cooked in multiple ways: in salads or as an appetiser, grilled, stuffed, marinated, preserved, in ratatouille, as a sauce... They come in all colours, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of this and 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. Harvesting is done when the Tomato has acquired its final colour and when its texture remains firm but shows a slight softening. For better preservation, harvest the fruit with its stalk. 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 by confit, dried, frozen, canned, or cooked into jam. To confit 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.

The gardener's tip: To reduce watering, mulch 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.