San Marzano tomato: Plant & care

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The San Marzano tomatoes belong to the bottle tomatoes and are characterized by their fruity aroma. We introduce you to the Italian tomato variety.

Halved San Marzano tomato
The 'San Marzano' is a true classic of Italian cuisine [Photo: Jiri Hera/ Shutterstock.com]

The miraculously shaped San Marzano tomato is a legendary variety that brings us closer to the fruity and aromatic taste of a holiday in southern Italy. We present the bottle tomato in more detail.

contents

  • San Marzano tomato: profile
  • Origin and history of the 'San Marzano' tomato
  • Properties and taste of plum tomatoes
  • Planting San Marzano tomatoes: outdoor tips
  • Caring for San Marzano tomatoes
  • Harvesting and use of plum tomatoes

San Marzano tomato: profile

fruit lettuce tomato; Red
the taste sweet and fruity with little acid
maturing time late
growth Stick tomato, up to 150 cm
location greenhouse, open field

Origin and history of the 'San Marzano' tomato

The 'San Marzano' is probably named after the place of the same name in Campania, the region around Naples. It has been grown commercially in southern Italy since the 1920s and was mainly used in canned tomatoes. Over the years, however, more resistant and easy-care varieties replaced the 'San Marzano' and so it was finally deleted from the catalog of varieties in 1991. Fortunately, the variety survived in home gardens and thanks to an initiative of the Campania region, so that it is still available today for gourmet tomato fans.

Properties and taste of plum tomatoes

The fruits, which are about ten centimeters long and pointed at the bottom, hang in long panicles of seven to eight fruits. To ripen, the bottle tomato needs a lot of heat and time, it only begins to ripen from mid-August and is therefore one of the late-ripening varieties. The 'San Marzano' reaches a height of up to 150 centimeters and produces up to five kilograms of tomatoes per plant. The taste of 'San Marzano' can be described as sweet and fruity, with little acidity. The flesh is deep red and firm. You can purchase several varieties of the strain as seeds, including a non-propagating hybrid strain.

San Marzano tomato plants
The 'San Marzano' can be grown with two shoots [Photo: Andrew Kotch/ Shutterstock.com]

Planting San Marzano tomatoes: outdoor tips

The 'San Marzano' is a disease-tolerant and extremely hardy tomato, which makes it ideal for outdoor cultivation. After the last frost in mid-May, the young plants of the 'San Marzano' can be placed in the bed. To do this, dig a sufficiently large hole and fill it with a special substrate like ours Plantura organic tomato & vegetable soil. The completely peat-free soil is pre-fertilized and provides your freshly planted San Marzano tomatoes with the nutrients they need for rapid growth.

Caring for San Marzano tomatoes

Due to its size, the 'San Marzano' must be supported with a stick after planting. The Italian bottle tomato can be grown with two shoots, so you remove all side shoots in the leaf axils except for one that is far below. How one Tomatoes exhausted Find out in detail in our special article. From June the fruit starts to grow, now the 'San Marzano' needs a large amount of nutrients. With a primarily organic long-term fertilizer – like ours Plantura organic tomato fertilizer - Soil life is supported and the plants are supplied with nutrients evenly and over the long term.

Harvesting and use of plum tomatoes

The 'San Marzano' is a perfect tomato to work with, it reveals its unique flavor best when cooked and processed. The 'San Marzano' is ideal for soups and sauces, but also as ketchup and for preserving.

The bottle-shaped ones are very similar in shape tiger tomatoes. Find out everything about the pretty striped tomatoes in our variety portrait.

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