Tomato Pepe F1 Tomato

The Pepe Tomato is a highly prolific variety that produces long clusters of 30 to 50 perfectly round, ruby-red fruits weighing between 20 and 30 grams each. These small tomatoes have a delicious, sweet and juicy flesh. They are perfect for picnics or aperitifs with friends, but they are also well-suited for salads or as accompaniments in various dishes. This vigorous variety is particularly resistant to most tomato diseases. The Pepe Tomato should be sown from February to April and harvested from July to October.

Note: This variety is labelled as F1, which stands for 'F1 hybrid', as it is a variety resulting from the cross-breeding of carefully selected parents to combine their qualities. This creates a variety that can be particularly flavourful and/or early-maturing while also being resistant to certain diseases. Sometimes criticised or wrongly associated with GMOs, F1 hybrid seeds are interesting for their uniformity and resistance, but unfortunately, their qualities do not pass down to subsequent generations, so it is not possible to save the seeds for future sowings.

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. We are still amazed by the vast 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 tomatoes of all colours (red, of course, but also green, yellow, and even some very rare blue varieties), shapes, and sizes. Ancient varieties are indeterminate plants and can live for two years. More recent varieties have determinate growth and stop growing once they reach the bush stage, so they do not need to be staked or trellised.

The tomato is one of the many foods that came to us from the New World, along with beans, corn, squash, potatoes, and chili peppers. However, it took much longer for the tomato to reach our taste buds. For a long time, it was cultivated for its aesthetic and medicinal qualities. It was believed to be toxic due to its resemblance to the fruit of the Mandrake, another solanaceous plant. It only became a regular part of our diets in the early 20th century.

The tomato plant is a herbaceous perennial in tropical climates but is cultivated as an annual in our latitudes. It becomes lignified over time and produces small insignificant yellow flowers grouped in clusters that will turn into fruits.

It must be admitted that its fruit is very attractive and adds a pleasant colour to the vegetable garden. It also has many nutritional benefits. Low in calories like most vegetables, rich in water, it contains a very interesting molecule: 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.

Today, its taste and nutritional qualities are well established. For gardeners, the tomato is an essential vegetable of the summer. They just need to decide how they want to use it to guide them among the many existing varieties. Will it be for salads, sauces, consumption directly from the garden, cooked, etc.? They will also consider when they want to harvest it. The answer will, of course, be influenced by the average summer sunlight in the region where their garden is located. Rest assured, the choice is vast, and there is a tomato for every situation! And while tomatoes do need a lot of sun and heat, they do not necessarily require a lot of space. Therefore, don't hesitate to grow them in containers on your balcony, where you can focus on varieties with small fruits. Be careful, 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 way to determine in advance when a tomato has reached full ripeness. The fruit should be picked when it is fully coloured as announced and when its texture, while still firm, shows a slight softening. For better storage, be sure to pick the fruit with its calyx.

Storage: tomatoes do not last as long when they have a high water content. They can keep well for a few days in the vegetable compartment of your refrigerator or spread out in the open air. To keep them longer, you can consider culinary methods such as tomato confit, sun-dried tomatoes, sauces, frozen fruits, preserves, jams, or juices. We love to confit them because it's simple and so delicious: cut your tomatoes in half and collect the juice. Place your tomato halves 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 and consume them immediately, or store them in a glass jar and cover with olive oil.

Gardener's tip: it is recommended to grow several varieties of tomatoes each year to minimize the risk of complete crop loss due to climatic conditions or specific diseases.
When transplanting, do not hesitate to bury the stem up to the first leaves. This will stimulate root growth, ensuring a bountiful fruit harvest.
Winning combinations in the garden are often the same on the plate. It's a good to remember that tomatoes and basil go well together.