Growing San Marzano – in your own garden

Profile of the San Marzano tomato

• Fruit shape: cylindrical (10 cm long, diameter 5.8 cm)
• Panicles: 7-8 fruits
• Fruit weight: 150-180 g
• Harvest time: 90-120 days after planting
• Height: pole tomato, approx. 1.5 meters
• Yield per plant: 4-5 kg
• Fresh consumption, tomato salad, tomato sauces

Growing San Marzanos – step by step

Sowing

Retailers often offer seeds of the San Marzano 2 variety. This variety is considered the highest-yielding. It is well suited for amateur tomato growers.

It is best to sow the seeds at the end of February to the end of March on the windowsill or under grow lights.

The optimum germination temperature is between 20 and 25° C. It will take 10 to 14 days for the tomatoes to germinate and the first green leaves to emerge.

Planting

After the last frosts in mid-May, the seedlings can be planted in the bed.

Moisten the young plant well before planting it in the ground and also water the bed to make it easier for the tomato to take root.

Leave 35-45 cm between the plants in the row and 70-80 cm between the rows.

Basil, parsley or garlic, spinach or lettuce, for example, are suitable for mixed cultivation.

Soil and fertilizer

San Marzanos prefer soil that is rich in organic matter. Before the young plants are planted in the soil, it is advisable to work fertilizer, such as compost, into the soil.

Open field or greenhouse

The San Marzano tomato can adapt well to northern climatic conditions, but naturally prefers a warm, temperate climate.

Outdoor cultivation is therefore possible in dry summers, but there is a risk of brown rot in rainy summers. If you can, you should grow San Marzano in a greenhouse.

Care

Mulch the plants well with compost, straw or foil so that rain or irrigation water cannot splash fungal spores onto the leaves. Pinch out the tomatoes regularly and tie them loosely to a stick for stable growth.

San Marzano in the kitchen

It is an ideal salad tomato and the perfect variety for cooking tomato sauce. The food industry, for example, swears by San Marzano when it comes to canned tomatoes.

San Marzanos have hardly any seeds, are not watery but have a firm, sweet flesh. The tomatoes only develop their full flavor when cooked!

Incidentally, Neapolitans clearly believe that only San Marzano tomatoes are suitable for a genuine Neapolitan pizza.

PS. If you can’t manage to grow your own tomatoes in the garden, you can find genuine San Marzanos from Vesuvius in the Gustini store all year round.