Jaune St Vincent: discover its flavour and how to grow it

Why grow Jaune St Vincent?

Een oude gele tomaat met lichte ribben en sappig, zoet vruchtvlees.

Kies hem als je een klassieke gele tomaat wilt met wat vorm, zonder de zeer grillige lobben van een Calabash. Het is een keuze voor de oogst in het middenseizoen.

How this choice tastes

Jaune St Vincent wordt beschreven als zoet en sappig. Dat maakt hem een toegankelijke gele keuze; een specifiek citrusaroma of extra lage zuurgraad is niet gedocumenteerd.

From harvest to kitchen

Snijd de licht afgeplatte vruchten dwars in plakken. De ribben geven elke plak een aardige omtrek op brood, in een tomatensalade of naast een omelet.

What needs attention when growing

Een kas of beschutte zonnige plek helpt de gele vruchten rijpen. Ondersteun de plant vanaf het uitplanten en controleer het zaadetiket voor de snoeiwijze; de gevonden tekst legt die niet duidelijk vast.

Oogst wanneer de vrucht geel is en licht meegeeft. Pluk grote geribde vruchten met beide handen of een schaartje zodat de tros niet onnodig wordt belast.

Choose by flavour, shape and use

Ace 55 VF: A round red tomato for anyone starting with the classic shape and a juicy harvest. Slice the round fruits for bread or an everyday salad. Their juicy character also suits a fresh tomato sauce.

The described flavour is classically tomato-like. Choose this as a reference alongside a sweet cherry tomato, so you can taste the difference in the same meal.

Ananori: A large, flat beefsteak tomato with light ribbing and marbled colouring from green to yellow and red. Cut broad slices for tomato carpaccio or a sandwich. The thin skin and large size invite eating fresh soon after picking.

The supplier praises the flavour but gives no precise description of its sweetness and acidity. Taste the ripe beefsteak tomato alongside a red variety; the marbled colour does not predict a particular aroma.

Anna Russian: Pink-red heart-shaped fruits on a vigorous plant with strikingly fine, drooping foliage. Use thick slices of the heart-shaped fruits on bread or add them to sauce. The small seed cavity leaves plenty of usable flesh.

The current description mentions mildly sweet, firm and juicy flesh with few seeds. This makes the large heart-shaped tomato useful both fresh and cooked.

Japans Laag: A bushy tomato about half a metre tall, with small round red fruits. Pick small amounts for lunch or salad straight from the pot. You do not need a large beefsteak tomato to add colour to a slice of bread.

The cultivar is described as sweet and juicy. This makes it a compact alternative to tall cherry tomatoes for a fresh snack harvest.

Choose the plant type before picking up the secateurs

The same treatment does not suit every tomato. An indeterminate cordon tomato can be trained with one main stem. A bush type, by contrast, develops its harvest on branches. Check the cultivar label before removing sideshoots; an arbitrary pruning rule may cost you future fruiting branches.

A loop must still fit next week

Make the attachment to the stake firmer than the attachment to the plant. A soft figure-of-eight tie prevents rubbing between stake and stem and leaves room for growth. Check older ties on every garden round, especially beside heavy trusses. Do not secure a truss in a way that constricts its stem.

Warmth works together with ventilation

A greenhouse can extend growth and harvesting, but a closed greenhouse quickly becomes too hot on sunny days. Open windows and doors when needed and let air reach the flowers. A light tap on a flowering truss can help release pollen; do not force or damage the flowers.

Make the water supply visible

Feel below the top layer rather than just looking at the dry colour of the surface. Water the soil and let excess water drain away. A small pot needs more frequent adjustments and produces greater fluctuations in moisture. A larger container gives more room for manoeuvre but does not replace checks.

Rain protection and a healthy harvest

Check outdoor plants particularly carefully during warm, humid weather. Dark, spreading patches on leaves, stems or fruit call for investigation of disease, including late blight. Remove severely diseased material and keep healthy produce separate. A roof can reduce rain exposure, but airy spacing and timely checks remain necessary.

One plant species, many ways to choose

A tomato may be small enough to eat whole or invite you to cut it into slices. Behind this diversity lies more than a row of different seed packets. The gene bank at Wageningen University & Research preserves cultivated varieties, landraces and wild relatives to keep genetic variation available for breeding. A cultivar is therefore a choice within a larger range of possibilities. At home, start with what you want to pick and eat; the most striking name is not necessarily the best match for your space.

Look closely: from flower to berry

Compound leaves and yellow, star-shaped flowers grow on the hairy stem. The fleshy fruit is botanically a berry, although we use tomatoes as a vegetable in the kitchen. This dual view makes following the plant more interesting: watch the flowers that become small fruits and the trusses filling out. You can see different stages of plant life during the same garden round.

Start with growth habit and use

Do you want to pick a handful of fruits regularly or process a large amount at once? Indeterminate cordon tomatoes keep forming new trusses; determinate bush types give a more concentrated harvest. This difference also determines how much support and space you need. A cultivar name alone does not tell you this: check the documented characteristics of your choice.

Sun, shelter and drainage

Find a sunny, warm spot out of strong wind. Roots need moisture but must not stay in wet soil for long. A greenhouse keeps rain off the crop and offers more warmth; a suitable outdoor position remains a fully valid growing choice.

Preparing the soil and feeding

Use soil information to guide feeding. Mature compost may improve structure. Do not apply nitrogen by guesswork: plentiful leaf growth does not prove good fruit production. Requirements depend on the existing soil and growing method.

Sowing ahead of your own planting-out date

For outdoor growing, March is a useful starting point in the Flemish school garden source, which specifically discusses Resibella. This is an example, not a fixed date for all cultivars. Sow only when you can provide the seedlings with enough light, warmth and space until they move to their final position.

Warmth for germination, then plenty of light

Keep the seed compost moist. After emergence, light is essential: long, thin stems indicate a shortage. Wait until true leaves appear before pricking out, and give each seedling its own growing space. Support the rootball and gently hold the seedling by a leaf.

Hardening off is gradual

Gradually acclimatise plants raised indoors to sun and wind. Start in a sheltered position and increase their time outside. Bring them back indoors on cold nights. A sturdy plant with a well-rooted rootball can cope with the transition better than a weak seedling planted out in a hurry.

Planting out: look beyond the date

Velt plants outdoor tomatoes after the Ice Saints days. Also check the local forecast and the actual warmth at the planting position. According to KNMI, frost can also occur on or after those days. Mid-May is therefore a planning point, not proof that your garden is frost-free.

Cordon or bush tomato?

For a tomato trained as a single stem, remove young sideshoots and tie in the main stem loosely. On bush tomatoes, let the side branches grow. A bush may also need support when fruits weigh down its branches.

Keep moisture even

Large fluctuations in moisture can make the fruits split. Feel the soil and check pots particularly carefully in hot weather. Mulch helps retain moisture. An existing split will not heal if you suddenly give much more water; work towards a more even water supply.

Blossom-end rot does not automatically mean a calcium deficiency

A dark, sunken patch at the bottom of the fruit may indicate blossom end rot. The problem concerns calcium in the growing fruit; there may still be enough calcium in the soil. Uneven water uptake, root damage and excessive feeding play a part. Investigate the conditions before adding lime.

Following flowers and fruit set

The cultivated tomato is predominantly self-pollinating. The WUR gene bank treats wild relatives and heterogeneous accessions separately: they do not reproduce identically. In your garden, watch whether flowers form fruits. Do not infer a guarantee of fruit set from a botanical name.

Harvesting by ripeness

Pick ripe fruits when they reach the colour appropriate to the cultivar. Green does not mean unripe in every cultivar. Timing depends on the cultivar, weather and growing position. Under glass, harvesting may start earlier and continue for longer. Check regularly rather than planning a single fixed harvest day.

Saving seed while keeping your chosen characteristics

Take fully ripe fruits from healthy, open-pollinated plants. Remove the seeds with their gel, let the mixture ferment briefly, then rinse and dry carefully. Seed from an F1 may germinate, but the offspring will not predictably match the parent. Keep the cultivar name and origin with the seed.

Healthy starting material

Do not save seed from visibly diseased plants. Seed-borne diseases are also a concern in professional collections. WUR checks its regenerated material for such diseases. Fermenting at home does not guarantee that infected seed becomes healthy; start with healthy material.

Pot or greenhouse: keep observing the plant

A pot dries out faster than open ground. Choose enough root space and secure supports firmly. The general calendar indicates when a growing stage is possible; the current plant size, fruit set and temperature determine what your own plant needs.

Frequently asked question: why no fixed calendar date?

A calendar helps you plan ahead, but two gardens can have different conditions on the same day. KNMI describes the last spring frost using measurements and scenarios. Use the regional timeline as a window and record the actual sowing and planting dates in My garden.