Tomato Gargamel is a very unusual, special but unstable tomatovariety that can produce 3 different phenotypes from 3 parent varieties. As far as we know it's developed by Phil Seneca from Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. This salad tomato is very beautiful, even when it's unripe. It's green with blue shoulders and stripes and marbles. It's almost indescribable. The tomatoes ripen to red flamed/striped with blue shoulders. The flavour is slightly acid with a full tomato flavour and somewhat sweet. The flavour is very good especially for a blue tomato.
Tomato Garmamel has a very good resistance against diseases and a long shelf life. It can be kept for a least a month when the tomatoes are stored undamaged. Use these tomatoes in pasta sauces, salads, soups, ketchup, on bread and directly from the plant as a delicious and healthy snack. Make sure there is enough sun and warmth and support the plant well for the best result. Tomatoes contain a lot of vitamin C and lycopene. This is best absorbed by the body if the tomatoes are warmed. Blue tomatoes contain a lot of anthocyanins. According to some studies, the anthocyanins (antioxidants) that cause the purple colour of these tomatoes are very healthy. Non hardy annual. Height: 180 - 250 cm.
Indoor sowing: February - April
Germination: 6 - 14 days
Germination temp: 20 - 25 °C
Sowing depth: 2 - 3 mm
Transplanting: when the seedlings are about 20 cm tall
Transplanting in garden: in May, after the last night frosts
Plant spacing: 45 - 50 cm
Planting position: sunny - sheltered (greenhouse)
Days till harvest: 60 - 90
Sow indoors from February on in trays filled with moist pottingsoil. Sow shallow and press the seeds gently in the soil, don't cover them with soil, because tomatoes are light germinators. Put the trays away somewhere warm at 20 - 25 °C and cover them with clingfilm or a lid. Keep the temperature as even as possible and don't let the temperature drop during the night. Keep moist, but not to wet to prevent rotting of the seeds. Remove the clingfilm or lid when the seedlings emerge. Transplant the seedlings to seperate pots approx. 10 days after emerging. Put them away a bit cooler at approx. 18 - 20 °C.
Harden the tomatoes of, from the middle of May, when there's no longer any danger of nightfrosts. Put the pots at a temperature of 15 - 18 °C for a week and reduce the amount of water for this week. Put the plants outdoors after this week on a sunny and sheltered plot with well draining soil or put them in a greenhouse. Make sure that there is no longer any nightfrost.
Tomatoes need some maintenance to ensure a good harvest. Give the plants a sturdy support with some sturdy and large bamboo sticks. Remove all suckers that will form in the axils of your plants. Remove all the leaves below the lowest hanging fruits by the end of July till the beginning of August. Remove all the leaves of all plants together with the tops of all plants from the end of August till the beginning of September to ensure the ripening of most of the green tomatoes. Harvest the tomatoes by cutting them with scissors. Tomatoes can't be kept for a long period. Don't keep your harvested tomatoes in the fridge. So use them a soon as possible after harvesting. Tomatoes used in sauces can be kept frozen to store.
