Tomato Buffalo Steak F1 Plants

The 'Buffalosteak' Tomato is a variety that produces huge fruits, weighing on average over 300 grams. They are ruby red and ribbed and their flesh is very tasty. They are versatile and can be eaten raw or used to make sauces, juices, or soups, as their flavour is rich and aromatic. The plants are very vigorous and you will need to stake them quickly to prevent them bending under the weight of their fruit. Plant your plug plants from April to June after the last frost when the plants have reached about fifteen centimetres. The 'Buffalosteak' Tomato is harvested from July to October.

NB: This variety is labeled 'F1' for "F1 hybrid" as it is a variety resulting from the cross-breeding of carefully selected parents to combine their qualities. This results in a variety that can be particularly flavourful and/or early while being resistant to certain diseases. Sometimes criticized or wrongly associated with GMOs, F1 hybrid plants are useful for their uniformity and resistance, but unfortunately, their qualities do not pass on to subsequent generations, so it will not be possible to recover the seeds for later sowing.

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 genetic diversity of this 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 all colours, except perhaps blue, and of all shapes and sizes. 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 was cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal qualities but thought to be toxic because it resembled the fruit of the Mandrake, another nightshade. It only became a regular part of our diet in the early 20th century.

The tomato plant is a perennial herbaceous plant in tropical climates, cultivated as an annual in our latitudes. It turns woody over time and produces small insignificant yellow flowers grouped in clusters that will produce fruits. Its fruit is very attractive and adds 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 a very interesting molecule: lycopene, which is 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.

Harvesting: Buffalo Steak can bear fruit from July to October depending on the planting date and the climate and cultivation conditions (in a greenhouse or outdoors). There is no foolproof way to determine when a tomato has reached its full ripeness. The fruit should be picked when it is fully coloured and its texture is still firm, but shows a slight softening. For better preservation, you should pick the fruit with its stem.

Storage: Tomatoes should be stored at an optimal temperature of 10-15°C (50-59°F). They can be kept for a few days in the vegetable drawer of your refrigerator or spread out in the open air. However, refrigeration alters the taste of the fruit. To keep them longer, consider producing tomato confit, sun-dried tomatoes, sauces, frozen fruits, preserves, jams, or juices. We love to confit them because it's so simple and delicious: cut your tomatoes in half and collect the juice. Place your halved tomatoes facing upwards 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, covered with olive oil.

The gardener's tip: It is a good idea to grow several varieties of tomatoes each year to minimize the risk of complete crop loss due to climatic conditions or specific diseases. To counteract the phenomenon of 'blossom end rot' - not a disease but a calcium deficiency - spray a comfrey maceration rich in calcium on your plants.