Tomato Lemon Boy F1 GRAFTED plants

The Lemon Boy F1 Grafted Tomato is a semi-late variety that is productive and disease-resistant. It produces small clusters of round, smooth-skinned, fleshy yellow fruits weighing approximately 160g. Their sweet flavor and yellow color make them perfect for summer salads. The Tomato is an annual plant that requires warmth and rich soil. The grafted young plants are planted from April to June, after the last frost, for a harvest from July to October.

The grafting technique consists of giving a desired variety (in this case, 'Lemon Boy') the root system of another specially selected variety called the rootstock. This rootstock has excellent resistance to soil parasites and diseases, which provides the plant with extra vigor: it is then more resistant to difficult external conditions (such as cold climates) and will yield significantly higher than a non-grafted plant. The fruiting of grafted plants starts earlier and lower on the main stem. Thanks to the use of the 'Protector' rootstock, our grafted tomato plants also produce fewer leaves, making ripening and harvesting easier.

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 flavorful and/or early while being resistant to certain diseases. Sometimes criticized or wrongly associated with GMOs, F1 hybrids are interesting both for their uniformity and resistance, but unfortunately, their qualities do not pass on to the next generations: it will therefore not be possible to recover the seeds for later sowing.

The Tomato is native to South America and Central America. Several varieties were already cultivated by the Incas long before the arrival of the Conquistadors. The term "Tomate" comes from the Inca word "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 chili peppers. The Tomato took significantly longer to reach our taste buds. The reason being: it was long cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal qualities but was considered toxic due to its resemblance to the fruit of the Mandrake, another member of the Solanaceae family. It only became a regular part of our diets in the early 20th century.

The Tomato is a herbaceous perennial plant in tropical climates, but it is grown as an annual in our latitudes. It becomes lignified over time and produces small, insignificant yellow flowers grouped in cymes that will turn into fruits. Tomatoes can be grown in open ground but can also be grown in containers on a balcony, with a preference for varieties with compact growth.

It is a fruit vegetable that has many nutritional benefits. Low in calories like most vegetables, rich in water, it contains a particularly interesting molecule: lycopene, a powerful antioxidant. It is also rich in vitamin C, provitamin A, and trace elements.

In terms of cooking, Tomatoes can be consumed raw or cooked in many ways: in salads or as appetizers, grilled, stuffed, marinated, preserved, or made into sauce... They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Take advantage of this and grow several varieties in your vegetable garden to vary your enjoyment!

Harvest: Harvest times vary depending on the earliness: 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. Pick the fruit when it has reached its final color and when its texture, while remaining firm, shows a slight softening. For better preservation, be sure to pick the fruit with its calyx. Note that 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 fruit's taste qualities. For longer storage, tomatoes can be preserved, dried, frozen, canned, or cooked into jam. To preserve them, cut your tomatoes in half and collect their juice. Place your halved tomatoes 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, store them in a glass jar, and cover with olive oil.

Gardener's tip: To limit watering, we recommend mulching the soil with thin successive layers of grass clippings, if possible mixed with dead leaves. This protection, which keeps the soil moist, also limits weed growth.

Attention: When transplanting grafted plants, do not bury the graft point!