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Hello plant lovers - welcome back to Confetti Gardens. Spring is over and summer has sprung - we are so happy about the long days, the rays of sunshine, every warm hour spent in the garden amongst the countless flowers and vegetables that have been sown in spring and that have grown into show-stoppingly beautiful plants. We have sown an abundance of veg and wildflower seeds (cornflowers, phacelia, California poppies, marigold, borage etc.) and the countless flowers add colour to our surroundings and attract many insects - bees and busy bumblebees, eagerly foraging.
Lots of vegetables have been started off on the windowsill in early spring and planted out into the garden already. We have also sown directly into the soil, our carrots and chard, for example, alongside broad beans, French beans, spinach, lettuce and radishes.
We would like to dedicate this issue to one of our favourite fruits, the tomato! Tomatoes are super easy to grow but in moderate climates - such as in Germany and in the UK - they have to be started off indoors and need to live on the windowsill until around mid / late May before they can be transplanted outside after the last night frosts (a time referred to by gardeners as the ‘ice saints’).
In our summer edition we’d like to present our usual plant portrait and share tips and tricks for cultivation. We will discuss companion plants and also will share a yummy recipe.
I hope you like our summer issue - as always I look forward to reading your feedback and comments!
Sending sunny greetings,
Franzi
Solanum lycopersicum (Latin name).
Belongs to the nightshade family.
Perennial, but a very frost-sensitive plant. In temperate climates the tomato usually grows as an annual plant.
Originally cultivated in Central and South America since thousands of years; Introduced to Europe in the 16th century.
Grows as a main stem with many secondary branches and forms herbaceous leaves and berry-like fruits.
There are over 3,000 different officially registered varieties but there are many more unofficial varieties.
Pollinated by wind and insects.
Flowering period May - October.
Tomato blossom
Tomatoes are herbaceous perennials that belong to the nightshade family and have been cultivated for thousands of years. They originally come from Central and South America with now with over 3,000 officially registered species. There are far more unofficial breeds with numbers fluctuating between 20,000 and 30,000 varieties. Incredible, right?
In temperate climates, tomatoes grow as annual plants, since they are very frost sensitive, but given the right conditions, they can overwinter for several years. If you've never grown tomatoes in the garden or on the balcony before, and would like to give it a try this season, let me tell you, you will not regret it!
Freshly picked, homegrown tomatoes taste so much more delicious and sweeter than those we know from the supermarket, those that have travelled many miles. Tomatoes are very healthy and can be easily grown in the garden or on the balcony.
In addition to this, the plant is pollinator-friendly and well suited for biodiverse gardens. Tomatoes bloom a wonderful yellow and attract many insects. After the flowers have been pollinated, the plants develop their fruits from which ripe, delicious pulp seeds can be saved again for the next growing season.
Cultivation indoors
Tomatoes love to grow in full sunshine, sheltered from wind and rain, on the balcony or in the vegetable garden. They don't like shade, strong winds or downpours of rain. Tomatoes love loose, nutrient-rich soil, free from waterlogging.
If you cultivate tomatoes on the balcony, make sure that you plant low-growing varieties (more on this later in the variety recommendations) and take into account that your container should - ideally - have drainage holes so that excess water can flow easily. If your plant pot has no holes, you can first fill it with a 10 cm layer of pebbles to make sure the roots of your tomato plant don’t rot and are safe from waterlogging.
When growing tomatoes in raised beds or on balconies, the tub should be at least 20 cm deep, preferably 30 cm, as tomatoes develop long roots. With the exception of bush tomatoes which grow fairly low, all other varieties need support in the form of climbing help - ideally made of sturdy bamboo.
Tomatoes are very healthy and rich in vitamin C. They are heavy feeders which means they need a little fertiliser every now and then. Add a few doses of nutrients every few weeks between the beginning of the flowering period in spring until the last harvest in autumn. You can either use slow-release, organic tomato fertiliser or organic liquid fertiliser that you can add to water to give them all the nutrients they need to grow and mature.
Tomatoes are cultivated and propagated by seeds. They can be sown on the windowsill relatively early in the gardening season depending on your climate zone as early as the end of February. Indoor cultivation is necessary in cooler climates because the outside temperatures in northern and central Europe are often too cold for direct sowing into the plant bed.
Sow tomato seeds approx. 1 cm deep into individual pots relatively early in the season, as early as February or March, depending on your region. As a little tip: sow a few more seeds, as not all of them may sprout. The germination process can be relatively long depending on the tomato variety (about two to three weeks, sometimes even longer). Keep the soil evenly moist and make sure it doesn't dry out during the germination process. As soon as the tomatoes are too big for the tray or pot, carefully transplant them into larger containers (approx. 12-15 cm in diameter) and place the main stem a little deeper than the soil line. This trick has proven to be quite useful because where the soil has been piled up a little, extra roots form on the main stem, which later increases the stability of your tomato plants.
A little tip for repotting: water the root ball of your tomato plants before transplanting so that it stays nice and compact and doesn't fall apart. This means that fewer of the fine, delicate roots are damaged during the transplanting process.
Once night frosts are over, harden off your tomato plants for a few days. Put them outside for a few hours so they can get used to direct sunlight, wind, and colder temperatures, and bring them back inside at night. After about a week of hardening them off, plant them out into their final spot and give them a climbing support since they can grow into massive vines and need a little extra help to stay upright.
Hardening off outside
In the main growth phase, tomato plants like a little feed from time to time. You can feed them with compost, used coffee grounds or organic tomato fertiliser from garden centres. In their main growing period, tomatoes develop side shoots. A so-called "pruning" (removal of the side shoots) should be carried out for all varieties that grow as vines, just when the young shoots are approx. 5 cm in length. Exception: With many bush and wild tomato varieties, the pruning process won’t be necessary.
Pruning side shoots
Harvest times for tomatoes vary, depending on your location and climate zone, but a good rule of thumb to remember is: they are usually ripe when the fruit changes colour (depending on the variety: red, orange, green, black, and even pink or purple) and when they give in slightly when squeezed carefully between your fingers. Colourful varieties should be - by no means - consumed when they are still green as they contain toxins when they are unripe! The main tomato harvest in temperate climates is from summer up until late autumn. The ripe fruit taste heavenly when freshly picked from the vine and rinsed briefly under cold water!
Tip: Use the most magnificent of your plants when saving seeds from your tomatoes. The harvested seeds can be used for approx. the following three years if stored correctly (dry, cool and protected from light). After that, they might not be able to germinate any more.
In order to counteract pests in your tomato bed in a natural way, you can plant them together with useful companion plants and stick to a crop rotation. Do not grow tomatoes on the same spot in the vegetable patch every year, but ideally take a three-year break from cultivating them in the same space.
When you are gardening in a sustainable manner, there is a simple way to cultivate plants as naturally and gently as possible so that the garden soil needs to be fertilised as sparsely as possible and very little action against pests needs to be taken.
Various types of vegetables, herbs and certain flowers - if planted or sown next to each other in the vegetable garden - can support each other while growing. They can supplement each other with their individual features and supply each other with nutrients. In addition, growing certain different plants in the same space attracts many insects who will pollinate your vegetables, herbs and flowers, helping them grow into healthy and nutrient-rich plants. The rule of thumb is the more similar plants are, the less well they get along as plot partners.
Good plot partners for tomatoes: marigold, calendula and nasturtiums, which keep pests away in a completely natural way. Herbs such as basil and parsley can also grow next to tomatoes as well as spinach and salad varieties.
Bad plot partners: plants from the nightshade family, for example potatoes. Cucumbers, aubergines, fennel, and peas don't grow well with tomatoes either.
Tomatoes come in all kinds of colours and shapes with each one more delicious and more colorful than the other.
I recommend trying out these delicious, varieties: ’Black Krim', and 'Black Cherry', ’Green Zebra', and the wonderful heritage variety, 'Oxheart', which has been cultivated since the 19th century and is an absolute favourite amongst hobby gardeners who love to preserve old heirloom varieties. Another favourite that has been grown since 1795 is the super sweet cherry tomato, 'Yellow Currant', also called 'Golden Currant'.
If you don't have a garden and still want to grow tomatoes on the balcony or windowsill, then I recommend the varieties 'Tiny Tim' and 'Tumbling Tom', which are low-growing and do not require large containers or climbing aids.
Tomatoes are very healthy, rich in vitamins and can be used in various forms. They can be drunk as pressed juice, eaten raw as a snack or consumed in any cooked, fried or baked form, depending on your preference.
In this issue I would like to share one of my favourite recipes with you: cherry tomato salad!
The main ingredients you need are cherry tomatoes - preferably lots of different varieties that are super colourful. I often use the varieties 'Black Cherry', 'Golden Currant', and 'Black Zebra Cherry', for example, which I grow in my garden.
Pick three handfuls of tomatoes, wash them briefly under cold water after harvesting, halve them and drizzle with olive oil (approx. 2 tbsp). Then, add a little balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp), chop and add a few herbs - fresh chives, basil and oregano. Season with pepper and salt and - if you like - garnish with a few fresh strawberries and edible flowers such as borage or cornflowers from the garden. A delicate, sweet and super easy summer salad!
I hope you have loads of tomato-growing fun, each variety is simply more beautiful and delicious than the next!
By the way, if you like you can share your tomato-salad-bliss with us. We would be absolutely delighted to hear about your favourite tomato variety that you’ve grown in the garden or on the balcony. Hit us with tomato-spiration!
For more botanical inspiration, check out our Instagram accounts:
@confettigardens
@eininneresblumenpfluecken
… this time, we're not going to reveal what we're up to just yet - but you can look forward to something flower-ful and bee-friendly.
We look forward to having you back!
See you soon, take good care of yourself.
And as always, humming greetings from the garden post deliverers,
Malin and Franzi
Words and photography: Franzi Sordon
Illustration: Malin Lammers
Editing: Zac O’Driscoll (English version), Erika Sordon (German version)
CAUTION: Not all natural herbs and plants are suitable for everyone and consumption may result in allergic reactions. To reduce the risk of injury, please make sure you are not allergic before using parts of the tomato. Consult your doctor if you have any pain or allergic reactions when using tomatoes. The creators of this program disclaim any liability or loss arising out of or in connection with the services and advice herein.
© 2021 created and delivered to you by @eininneresblumenpfluecken / @confettigardens
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