Tomato Russian Black - Ferme de Sainte Marthe seeds

The Black Russian Tomato is a mid-season variety cultivated for its chocolate-coloured fruits (approximately 200g), which have dense and juicy flesh with few seeds. Its flavour is sweet and not acidic. It can be used raw or cooked in salads, tarts, soups, and stuffed dishes. Sow from March to April for a summer harvest.

The tomato is native to South America and Central America. Several varieties were cultivated by the Incas long before the arrival of the Conquistadors. We are still amazed by the wide variety of this solanaceous plant. The term 'tomato' comes from the Inca word "Tomatl" and refers to both the plant and the fruit it produces. There are fruits of every colour except, perhaps, blue, in all shapes and sizes. Ancient varieties are plants with indeterminate growth and can live for two years. More recent varieties have determinate growth and stop growing when they reach 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 chilli peppers. It took much longer for tomatoes to reach our taste buds. For a long time, they were cultivated for their aesthetic and medicinal qualities and believed to be toxic because they resembled the fruit of the Mandrake, another solanaceous plant. They only became a regular part of our diet in the early 20th century. This old semi-early, productive variety produces large fruits weighing between 200 and 300 grams, and sometimes even between 500 and 700 grams. Their full and sweet flesh is wonderfully flavourful. Sow from March to April for a harvest from June to September.

The tomato plant 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 small, insignificant yellow flowers clustered in cymes that will eventually turn 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 and rich in water, and it contains lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. The longer the tomato is cooked, the more lycopene becomes available. It is also rich in vitamin C, provitamin A, and trace elements.

Its taste and nutritional qualities are undeniable and tomatoes are among the essential vegetables of summer. You just need to consider what you want to use them for to choose from the many existing varieties. Are they for salads, sauces, direct consumption, or cooked dishes? Also consider when you want to harvest them. The answer will, of course, depend on the average summer sunlight in your region. The choice is vast, and there is a tomato for every situation! And even though tomatoes need a lot of sun and heat, they don't necessarily need a lot of space. You can even grow varieties with small fruits in containers 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 the transplanting date and the harvest. There is no foolproof trick to determine in advance when a tomato has reached full ripeness. They should be picked when they are completely coloured and their texture is still firm but shows slight softening. For better storage, make sure to pick the fruit with its stalk.

Storage: tomatoes do not keep as long when their water content is high. They can be stored well for a few days in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator or spread out in the open air. To keep them longer, consider methods such as tomato confits, sun-dried tomatoes, sauces, frozen fruits, preserves, jams, or juices. We love making confits because it is simple and so delicious: cut your tomatoes in half and collect the juice. Place your halved tomatoes face up on the grill 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 them 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 conditions or specific diseases. To prevent 'blossom-end rot' - not a disease but a calcium deficiency - spray a comfrey maceration rich in calcium on your plants. When transplanting, bury the stem up to the first leaves to stimulate the root system and ensure a bountiful harvest. Plants that go well together in the garden, are often the same on the plate. It's a good way to remember that tomatoes and basil go well together.