The lychee tomato is still a true rarity in our latitudes. The plant, originally from Central America, also grows excellently in our latitudes and bears plenty of fruit.

What is the Litchitomato and what does it look like?

Like tomatoes and potatoes, the lychee tomato is a member of the nightshade family. The plant has, very unusual for tomatoes, hard spines on the stems, leaves and fruit capsules. The red or yellow, small cocktail tomato-like fruits are surrounded by a prickly pericarp and are somewhat reminiscent of chestnuts. Depending on soil quality and care, the shrub grows up to two meters high. The taste of the fruit does not correspond to that of an ordinary tomato either: the fruit is sweet and tastes more like cherries. For this reason, the ripe lychee tomatoes can not only be eaten fresh from the vine, but can also be boiled down to make jam or fruit juice.

How to plant litchi tomatoes

You can grow the Litchitomato like normal tomatoes, i. H. From the end of March/beginning of April you grow the young plants from the seeds. This can easily be done in commercial potting soil on the window sill or in the greenhouse. You can put the young plants outside after the ice saints (i.e. mid to late May). Lychee tomatoes need loose, nutrient-rich soil. Before planting, dig up the soil thoroughly and incorporate mature compost or manure into the soil. Put the plants in the ground and press them down well. Now you can fix the lychee tomato to a stick so that the fast-growing bush does not snap over - as with conventional tomatoes.

The optimal location for lychee tomatoes

  • sunny
  • sheltered from the wind
  • protected from rain (e.g. by roofing)
  • protected from the cold (no ground frost, no temperatures below 1 °C)

The right care

When it comes to caring for the Litchitomato, you can treat it like tomatoes, but unlike normal tomatoes, it doesn't need to be pampered. Fertilize the lychee tomato about every two weeks, preferably with an organic fertilizer such as compost or horn shavings. Optionally, you can also use liquid tomato fertilizer. The plant should be watered regularly. However, only water them close to the ground and never spray them. The Litchitomate also does not tolerate rain well and should therefore be under a canopy.

Harvest litchitomatoes

Litchi tomatoes are harvested from late August to early October. The ripe fruits are between two and three centimeters in diameter and can be easily detached from the fruit capsules. However, you can also harvest slightly unripe fruit, as the lychee tomato ripens later.

tips and tricks

You can also keep the exotic plant in a sufficiently large bucket on the balcony or terrace. In this case, however, you should water the lychee tomato regularly, fertilize it and, above all, protect it from (heavy) rain. A covered shelter is therefore the ideal location on your balcony.

Category:

Vegetable garden