Fresh from the greenhouse: our tomatoes!
20/08/26
A tomato tastes best when you pick it straight from the plant: still slightly warm from the sun, juicy and sweet. That’s how a tomato should taste. At Stadsjochies, we grow our tomatoes in our own greenhouse, from seed to fruit, and you can taste the difference in every bite.
Why our tomatoes taste different
The tomatoes you buy in the supermarket have often travelled a long way. To survive that journey, they are picked whilst still green and only ripen on the way, in a crate, in the dark, far away from the plant they actually belong to. You can taste the difference: a tomato like that has never fully developed its flavour.
Our tomatoes don’t have to go anywhere. They’re simply left on the vine until they’re fully ripe, have developed their colour and are bursting with flavour. Only then do we pick them, often on the very same day. That’s the difference between a tomato that “has to be left to ripen” and a tomato that’s allowed to ripen as nature intended.
From seed to plant: we grow the tomatoes ourselves
Another thing that makes Stadsjochies special is that we don’t buy ready-grown tomato plants; we sow and grow them ourselves. This starts early in the year with tiny seeds in seed trays, which we allow to grow into sturdy, healthy plants in our greenhouse. This way, we’re in control at every stage: which seeds we use, how the plants are looked after, and how they eventually end up in the ground or in pots. It takes more time than simply buying plants, but it does result in the tastiest (and most enjoyable) tomatoes.
Our 6 varieties of tomatoes
In our greenhouse, there are not just one, but six different varieties of tomatoes growing together. Each has its own shape, colour and flavour:
- Yellow pear tomato: a small, pear-shaped tomato with a mild, slightly sweeter flavour. A real eye-catcher amongst the red varieties.
- Cherry tomatoes (orange and red): the cheerful, bite-sized snack tomatoes. Sweet, juicy and straight from the vine into your mouth.
- Red Vine tomatoes: the classic variety, picked whilst still on the bunch. Firm in texture and with a deliciously fresh, sweet flavour.
- Red Plum tomatoes: elongated in shape, with fewer seeds and more flesh. Ideal for adding to a sauce or spreading on bread.
- Red Round tomato: the trusty all-rounder. Not too big, not too small, and always just right.
- Red Flesh Tomato: the big one of the bunch. Fleshy, juicy and perfect for slicing thickly and putting on your sandwich.
Six varieties, six flavours, and all harvested just when they’re ready.
Where does the word 'kasplantje' actually come from?
Whilst we’re on the subject of greenhouses: did you know that the term “greenhouse plant” didn’t just come out of thin air? A greenhouse plant is literally a plant that grows in a protected environment, under glass, sheltered from the wind, rain and cold. Such a plant never really has to endure anything and is therefore not “hardened off”. That’s why we now use the term for people as well: a “greenhouse plant” is someone who has been brought up in a spoilt or sheltered environment and can’t cope very well with adversity, just like a plant that has never been outside in the wind and rain.
Our tomato plants may well be growing in a greenhouse, but we certainly don’t spoil them: they work hard to develop that rich, ripe flavour we love so much. Curious to find out what a tomato really tastes like? Pop into Stadsjochies and taste the difference for yourself between our six varieties, fresh from the greenhouse.
