Tomato cherry yellow pear-shaped, snack tomato yellow, cherry tomato - pressing block 10x10 cm - seeded plant

These yellow snack tomatoes have a yellow colour and are pear-shaped.

GENERAL:
The tomato is undoubtedly the most popular vegetable in Western cuisine.
The plant originated in South America, from where it spread all over the world.

It belongs to the nightshade family and is closely related to various other cultivated plants such as potatoes, peppers, aubergines, etc.
It is by nature a creeping, herbaceous, non-hardy plant that is nowadays cultivated as an annual.

All parts of the tomato plant (leaves, stem,...) are in fact poisonous, except for the ripe fruits. The leaves are dotted with numerous fine hairs and glands, which when touched give off the typical tomato smell

PLANTS:
There are currently an incredible number of different varieties of tomatoes, in all sizes, shapes and colours.
A distinction can be made between seedfast varieties and hybrid varieties.

-The seedfast varieties are the result of years of natural selection by growers or enthusiasts. The advantage of these varieties is that they can be seeded themselves (which makes the seeds cheap as well). The disadvantage, however, is that the uniformity of the plants and fruits sometimes leaves much to be desired and the production is usually relatively low.
These varieties are still only used by amateurs. You can usually find them in various small packages in garden centres.
-Hybrid varieties are produced by specialised seed companies by crossing different so-called "parent" lines. These varieties guarantee a much higher yield and have very uniform fruits. The seeds are, however, much more expensive, and no seed can be obtained from them.
In professional horticulture only hybrid varieties are used. Every year still, new varieties appear on the market with even better or other characteristics: higher production, better taste, rounder, thicker, special shapes, colours, etc. These varieties are not freely available for amateur use.

The best guarantee for a good start of your cultivation is good plant material. Allégrow offers you an extensive assortment of different types of tomatoes for this purpose.
Our plants are always warmly cultivated and we only use recent, high-quality hybrid varieties from professional horticulture.
However, it is impracticable to set up plant material of all possible types. For those who want to start doing this themselves, we have some useful tips:

-Sow in good sowing soil at 22°C.
-Cover the seeds lightly and keep them moist at all times
-After +/- 10-12 days select the good plants and prick out in pots with universal potting soil
-Maintain a temperature of 18-20°C
-+/- 10 days later the pots are placed wider apart (16 pots/m²)
-Cultivate further at 16-18°C
-After +/- 18 days, usually after the 9th formed leaf, the first bunch of flowers will appear
-When the plants are approximately 40 cm tall, it is time to plant out

CULTIVATION TIPS:
General
-Tomatoes can be grown both under shelter and outside. However, it is advisable to grow them in a greenhouse. Greenhouse cultivation will produce a much larger harvest and nicer fruit. Moreover, outdoor cultivation is much more susceptible to diseases.
-To avoid root problems, a good fruit rotation is necessary (1/4 year). If there are problems with soil fatigue, it is best to plant grafted plants.
-Planting out is possible from the moment the soil is sufficiently warmed up. (preferably above 15°C).
In practice this means that planting out in the greenhouse can usually be done in mid-April, outdoors from mid-May. At a temperature lower than 12°C there will be a standstill in growth.
-Planting earlier does not mean that you will be able to harvest earlier!
-Tomatoes love a sunny, warm location.
The plant grows in just about any type of soil as long as it is well-drained and rich in organic material.
-Preferably give appropriate fertilizer, with sufficient potassium. This ensures tasty, firm fruits with a beautiful colour. Too much nitrogen gives too lush (leaf) growth and problems with fruit setting.
-Aim for a planting density of not more than 2.5 plants/m² = planting distance 80 x 50 cm.
-Make sure that the root ball rises +/- 1 cm above the ground when planting. Do not plant the root ball completely under the soil! This increases the chance of foot rot.
-Immediately after planting, give plenty of water (preferably heated to +/- 20°C).
-Don't water directly at the foot of the plant, but in an excavated gutter or a dug-in pot next to it.

Support
Tomato plants are grown climbing. In a greenhouse, they are best supported by a rope.
Fasten the rope at the top to the greenhouse construction and make sure it is sturdy enough, after all, a plant with fruit can weigh quite a bit.
Regularly twist the stem around the rope so that it grows around it. (Special clips are also available for attaching the plants to the rope).
In the open air, sticks or special corkscrew-shaped tomato supports are usually used.

Climate
Provide an airy climate, so that the plant can evaporate and grow easily. This also reduces the chance of fungal diseases.

Do not pour water on the plant.

Pollination
Tomatoes are self-pollinators. This means that the flowers must be pollinated with pollen in order to grow into tomatoes. In nature, the wind or insects do this job. In a hobby greenhouse, however, it is best to lend a hand. It is therefore recommended to 'shake' the plants every 1-2 days. To do this, just tap the support stick or the rope so that the pollen in the flowers is released. It is best to do this in the afternoon.

Thieves
In ideal circumstances, a tomato plant will produce 3 new leaves and a new vine every week. In each leaf axil a new shoot appears, called 'thief'. To avoid a dense and bushy plant with poor fruit set and many small fruits, the thieves must therefore be removed weekly. Take them between your thumb and forefinger and break them off. Do this in good time, before they are 10 centimetres long. In addition, always remove the leaves that sometimes appear at the end of a cluster.

Cross pruning
Cross-pruning is recommended in order to achieve uniform growth and production. In other words, do not leave too many fruits on the plant at once.

For beef tomatoes, it is best to grow a maximum of four to five fruits per truss. For vine tomatoes, seven to eight, depending on the size of the fruit. Cross pruning is not necessary for cherry tomatoes. Moreover, remove any deformed fruit at an early stage.

Plucking leaves
If the plant has sufficient vigour, the lower (yellowed) leaves can be removed to create a more airy environment. Remove leaves as far as under the currently ripening cluster. Removing other leaves is only useful if the plant grows too luxuriantly (e.g. due to excessive nitrogen fertilisation). Only from September onwards is it useful to remove leaves in order to expose the trusses and thus make use of the extra heat of the sun to ripen the fruit.

Tops
Normally the development from fruit setting to ripening of the fruit takes about 6 (in summer) to 8 weeks (at the end of cultivation). Since it gets colder in autumn and further growth of the plant is not very useful, it is better to stop growth in time so that the plant has enough energy to ripen the last fruits. This is best done by topping the plant. To do this, remove the growing point above the last flowering cluster.
In the greenhouse, it is best to top before the end of August. You can then harvest at the end of October. In the open air it is best to top after 5 trusses, or +/- the end of July.

HARVEST AND STORAGE:
Tomatoes that have ripened on the plant taste best. However, do not wait too long, the fruits may crack or rot.
Of course, you can also harvest earlier, from the moment the fruits start to turn colour. Then lay the picked tomatoes in an airy place, possibly with a piece of newspaper on top, they will colour by themselves.

The picking is best done by hand. Take the fruit in the palm of your hand and press the thickened part of the stalk with your thumb so that the tomato breaks off. This also leaves the crown on the fruit, which makes it easier to store.

It is best to store tomatoes in a cool and well-ventilated place (preferably 12°C), not in the refrigerator!

PROBLEMS AND DISEASES:
-Nose rot: rotten spots at the end of the fruit, because the plant can't supply enough moisture to the fruit.
This is actually not a disease but a deficiency symptom.

The cause:
Soil that is too dry
soil that is too salty
too much fertilisation (usually with chemical fertilisers) too little calcium in the soil

-brown spots on leaves, stems and then the fruit
occurs mainly in warm and humid conditions
preventive measures: do not water on top, ventilate sufficiently (always leave a gap in the greenhouse, also at night), avoid contact with potatoes
solution: spray, ask our advice

-Spider mite, white fly, leaf miner: ask our advice