Tomarillo tomato tree, how to eat and grow it
A few years ago, many people had never even heard of tamarillo. However, today this fruit is quite popular among gardeners. You can grow it in a greenhouse or in the open field. From one tomato tree you can harvest 10-15 kg of the crop. Before planting this plant, you need to familiarize yourself with how tamarillo is grown and how it is eaten.
Description
The fruit is native to South and Central America, but currently New Zealand is the largest producer. It is from there that a large number of tomato fruits are exported.
The plant is quite tall and can grow up to 3-4 meters. Its fruits outwardly resemble ordinary tomatoes. They have a smooth surface with an oval shape, like a chicken egg, and a sweetish taste. The fruit is about 5 cm wide and 10-15 cm long.
There are several main varieties of tamarilla:
- Red. This variety is one of the most popular. The fruits of the plant have reddish seeds, orange pulp and dark red skin. The fruit can be used not only for preparing various dishes, but also for decoration.
- Golden. The fruits are quite juicy and fleshy. They are much larger than other fruit varieties.
- Yellow. The size of the yellow tamarillo fruit is not very large. Their main advantage is taste, as these fruits are much sweeter than the red and golden varieties.
All varieties of this plant are not afraid of insects and are resistant to many diseases.
Beneficial features
The fruit contains a large number of useful elements, trace elements and vitamins. Many other fruits can be substituted with tamarillo. The fruits of the plant contain a lot of iron, magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamins A and C. Also, they lack sodium and cholesterol.
Tamarillo is often used to relieve dizziness and headaches during neurological genesis.
Growing features
To understand how to plant a tomato tree correctly, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of this process.
Planting seedlings
Before planting, you need to acquire seeds. Tamarillo is a hybrid and it is impossible to grow seeds on your own, so you have to buy them. It is recommended to plant them for seedlings in mid-February.
First, the planting material is treated with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate. To do this, it is placed in a liquid for several hours, after which you can start planting. Seeds should be placed in a pot at a distance of 2-4 cm from each other. Then they are covered with plastic wrap.Growing seedlings should be carried out in a warm room with a temperature of at least 25-30 degrees. The first leaves on the seedlings will appear within a few weeks.
Planting in open ground
Planting seedlings should be carried out only when its height is more than one meter. Most often, seedlings grow to this size by early July or late May. The area for the tomato tree should be well lit and protected from strong drafts.
Before planting seedlings, you need to fertilize the soil. A little mineral fertilizers and humus should be added to it. Also, near future holes, you need to install special pegs for tying bushes. If several tomato trees are planted, then the distance between them should be about 80-90 cm.
Care
To get large and tasty fruits, you need to properly care for the plant.
Watering and fertilizing
You need to regularly water the tomato tree. In cool weather, watering the fruit once a week is sufficient. On hot summer days, the plant should be watered more often - 2-3 times a week.
To feed the soil, you can use liquid fertilizer for tomatoes... If necessary, prolonged-release drugs can be added to it.
Pruning
Tomato tree pruning should be done constantly. One year after the first fruiting, the tomarillo must be trimmed so that its height does not exceed one meter. This will help the plant's branches develop better.
In order for new shoots to appear more often, you need to annually get rid of branches that have already borne fruit.
You can prune the tree in both spring and fall. If you do this in early spring, then the fruits will ripen much earlier.
Eating
Tamarillo is quite commonly used in cooking, but some people don't know how to eat it. Fruit is eaten not only fresh. You can eat tamarillo with meat baked in the oven or with fried onions in a pan. The slices are used to make sandwiches and fillings for pizza, pies, stews and lasagna.
Tamarillo is often added to soups, sauces, appetizers, salads, and purees. It can also be used to create desserts: yoghurt, jam, juice, marmalade, mousse.
However, many people prefer to eat it raw. For this, the fruits must be peeled, as they have an unpleasant taste. To get rid of it quickly, put the fruit in hot water for 5 minutes. After that, the skin can be easily removed with a knife. If you do not want to peel off the peel, then it will be enough to cut the fresh fruit into two equal parts and scoop out its pulp with a spoon.
Conclusion
The Tamarillo tomato tree has juicy and fleshy fruits. Growing it is pretty easy. A person who gets acquainted with the peculiarities of planting and caring for him in advance will grow tamarillo without any problems.
