Small, white on the inside and fruity in flavour: the Snowberry is a cherry tomato that defies all visual expectations and charms from the very first bite.
About the variety. Indeterminate cherry tomato with heart-shaped fruits of 20–30 g: pale yellow skin and white flesh with a fruity, sweet and mildly acidic flavour. It stands out for its unusual appearance and exceptional taste.
Itinerário técnico
Como cultivar tomato snowberry?
Um guia de cultivo passo a passo, da sementeira à colheita.
pH ideal 6.0 to 6.8Temperatura ideal 20 to 28 °CCompasso 45 to 60 cm in the row, 90 to 120 cm between rows
Sementeira
Sow in trays six to eight weeks before planting out, half a centimetre deep, at 20 °C to 25 °C. Germination takes five to ten days. Prick out into individual pots at the first true leaves and bury the stem up to the seed leaves to gain roots. Harden off for a week outdoors and plant out with the soil at a steady 15 °C and no frost risk. This is an indeterminate variety: it grows all season and can pass two metres. It needs a stake or string from transplanting and weekly side shooting, taking out the shoots between stem and leaf while they are small. Pinch out the top at the end of summer, thirty days before the first frost, so the last trusses ripen.
Solo
It wants deep, fertile, free draining soil rich in organic matter, with a pH between 6.0 and 6.8. Work the ground to at least 30 centimetres because the roots go down looking for water. Soil with good calcium levels prevents blossom end rot, the commonest tomato defect. Do not follow tomato, potato, pepper or aubergine in the same bed for three or four years.
Clima
It needs full sun, at least six to eight hours a day, and temperatures between 20 °C and 28 °C. Below 12 °C at night the flowers do not set and above 35 °C the pollen goes sterile, so there is always a gap in fruit set at the height of summer. On the Atlantic coast, with cool nights and morning fog, pick the sunniest spot sheltered from wind and space the plants well so air moves through. Inland in Iberia heat is the limiting factor: in weeks above 35 °C the plant stops setting fruit and light shade over midday pays off. In northern France and in Germany a greenhouse, a tunnel or a south facing wall pays off, planting out only after mid May. Where summers are short, always choose the shorter cycle varieties and start them early in a heated tray. This is an early variety, which makes it particularly suited to short summer regions such as northern France and Germany, and also to a late second crop in the south.
Fertilização
Work two to three kilos of rotted compost or mature manure into each square metre before planting and add a handful of bone meal or wood ash for phosphorus and potassium. Once growth is away, feed with a liquid organic fertiliser every two or three weeks, moving to a higher potassium formula as cropping begins. Avoid excess nitrogen, which gives lush leaves, a poor crop and a lot of aphids.
Rega
Water deeply and regularly, at the base and never on the leaf. Swinging between drought and waterlogging causes blossom end rot and split fruit. Two or three generous waterings a week beat a little every day; inland in Iberia at the height of summer daily watering may be needed, ideally by drip under straw.
Controlo de Infestantes
Hand weed in the first weeks, while the plant is small and loses every contest for light and water. Once it is established, mulch with five to seven centimetres of straw, dried grass or leaves: it holds weeds back, keeps moisture in and stops rain splashing soil onto the lower leaves, which is how most diseases begin. Always hoe shallowly so you do not cut the roots running just under the surface.
Controlo de Pragas
The main pests are aphids, whitefly, red spider mite, thrips and tomato caterpillars. Against aphids and whitefly use potassium soap at the end of the day and encourage ladybirds and lacewings with flower strips nearby. Mite arrives in dry heat: raising air humidity and using neem oil holds it back. Against caterpillars apply Bacillus thuringiensis while they are still small. Yellow sticky traps help you spot whitefly early. Root knot nematode is a problem in warm sandy soils and is handled with long rotations and plenty of organic matter.
Doenças
Late blight is the disease to fear and strikes in cool damp weather, above all on the Atlantic coast: oily brown patches appear on leaves and fruit. Prevent it with wide spacing, removal of the lower leaves up to 30 centimetres from the ground and watering at the base. Powdery mildew, a white dust on the leaf, comes with dry heat and is checked with sulphur or potassium bicarbonate. Early blight makes concentric rings on older leaves. Blossom end rot, the black patch at the base of the fruit, is not a disease but calcium shortage from uneven watering. Remove and destroy diseased leaves and never put them in the compost heap.
Colheita
Pick when the fruit has reached its final colour and gives slightly under finger pressure, ideally in the morning. Cut with a short piece of stalk rather than pulling, so you do not tear the plant. Never keep tomatoes in the fridge: below 12 °C they lose aroma irreversibly. If rain or cold arrive at the end of the season, pick the fruit that has started to colour and let it ripen indoors. Allow about 70 days from transplanting to the first harvest of this variety. The reference colour is yellow, and that is what tells you it is ready.
