When you pick up a pack of tomatoes at the supermarket, it’s easy to forget just how much has happened before they reach the shelf.
Every tomato begins its journey as a small yellow flower.
But how does that flower eventually become the ripe tomato on your plate?
It All Starts With a Flower
Tomato plants produce clusters of small yellow flowers.
Pollination is an important part of the process, helping those flowers begin their transformation into fruit.
Once successful fruit set takes place, the petals eventually fall away and a tiny green tomato begins developing behind the flower.
Growing Green
During the early stages, tomatoes are green and gradually increase in size.
This is an important period of development, with the plant directing resources towards the growing fruit.
Behind the scenes, growers carefully manage the crop and growing environment to support consistent development.
The Colour Begins to Change
Eventually, something exciting happens.
The tomato begins to change colour.
Depending on the variety, the fruit progresses through different stages as it ripens, gradually developing the colour, texture and flavour associated with a ripe tomato.
For red varieties, this means moving from green through lighter shades before eventually reaching their characteristic red colour.
Knowing When to Harvest
Different tomato varieties may be harvested in slightly different ways.
For example, when harvesting tomatoes as a complete truss, growers need to consider the ripeness of the fruit across that truss.
We’ve previously shared how our Piccolo tomatoes are carefully monitored so they’re harvested at the right stage.
Timing matters because allowing tomatoes to develop appropriately helps achieve the flavour and quality customers expect.
More Than Just Planting and Picking
Growing tomatoes involves continuous attention throughout the life of the crop.
From pollination and plant care to monitoring ripening and finally harvesting, there are many stages between the first yellow flower and the finished tomato.
So next time you enjoy a British tomato, take a closer look.
What you’re holding started life as one tiny yellow flower. 🌼🍅
