In praise of the Litchi Tomato

The important bits: flowers, fruit and spiny leaves. Not my ungloved, unscathed hands. Not a fast procedure harvesting to avoid punctures but possible.

It sure doesn't look like any tomato you've ever grown before because it isn't though it is related. Litchi Tomato, aka Morelle De Balbis, known in proper gardenize as Solanum sisymbriifolium bears reams of tasty, juicy and somewhat seedy red fruit guarded by pretty and poky yellow spines. The whole plant is covered with them in fact with the exception of the large bluish white flowers.

To get your taste of these fruits, you will have to get ahold of some seeds (I probably have a few to share), start at the same time as tomatoes and plant out after last frost. It'll begin small and innocent enough but after a few months, it will be between the size of a tall kid or a giant adult depending. Mine have all been around 4 feet though I've heard at least one report of 8 feet. Harvesting the fruit is a delicate matter of avoiding the spines but they are a wonderful addition to the solanacaea fruit collection such as ground cherries and tomatillos. I made a sauce with tomatillos, litchi tomato and apples with a squeeze of orange juice that was reminiscent of cranberries.


If you look in the background, you'll note hoar frost on the ground. In the foreground, an unphased Litchi Tomato plant.

It's taste is often described as being similar to cherries, or at least a cherry crossed with a tomato, with a pleasantly (in my mind) seedy raspberry overtone. It will continue to pump out the bee friendly flowers and tasty fruit until AFTER first frost. That's right, if you live in a mild climate, you may be more weary of planting this thorn machine because it will survive several degrees below zero celcius.

It's thorniess could be seen as an advantage if placed at the edge of the garden to discourage larger, thinner skinned visitors like other people or perhaps a thorn weary racoon... Anyone who happens to grow a slightly less prickly variation wcould be pretty popular as this plant could benefit from a little refinement to make it less painful to pick with easier detachment from the husk, earlier and more prolific. I've heard different stories on its taste too that could be related to growing conditions or genetic variation - probably both.

When I used to garden in a city community plot, I noted the Colorado potato beetle liked them - you could see this as a trap crop or as a problem - but I haven't seen the same issue on my rural property. They would potentially be subjected to the same pests and diseases as other tomato relatives though I haven't noticed any foliar diseases but they may harbour them.


A close up of the leaves after light ground frost showing no damage but certainly possible damage to you if you were to fall into it.

I grow it as a tasty 'trail' treat as I walk through my garden or an ingredient in salads and other dishes that could benefit their fruity flavour, and as a pretty addition to the productive beds. Then again, I have a thing for thistles and their prickly friends.

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My source was La Societe des Plantes

There are a few other Canadian sources listed on Seeds of Diversity

Eggplants in Ottawa: On your mark...

Long, asian type eggplant on highly productive plant.

The first year I tried to grow eggplants, they were pathetic. I mean ragged eared, mangy, whining puppy pathetic. I got one fruit out of it but it was whizened, overripe, small and probably bitter though I didn't taste it. What I had done wrong was assume that it would grow with the usual level of neglect I dole upon my plants.

Eggplants in the north are prima donnas.

They need heat! They need sun! They need water! They need nutrients! Provided you choose a short season variety (80 days or under is probably best), start early like tomatoes, and give them what they want, you can get an excellent crop in Ottawa.

This year, I'm growing Applegreen, Slim Jim, something unlabelled which I'm going to name 'Surprise,' and Rima F3 seed produced by in the Toad's Garden blogger in Denmark.

Sun & Heat: If you don't have an area with near full sun then they will struggle but I'm all for experimenting. More sun of course means more heat.


Here is an eggplant seedling that produced beautifully planted in the ground with plastic mulch.

To warm the soil, think raised beds and sandier soil. You can also warm it up by incoporating partially finished compost or by using plastic mulch. Some people grow in pots which is good but make sure you choose a small variety, and use a water rententive 'soil' so they don't dry out easily. Another option, one commonly employed in cool, cloudy, often coastal climes is to grow things like eggplants and melons under glass or in a polytunnel. This will cut down on the amount of solar input but has the added benefit of warming up the air and cutting back on rain splashing foliar diseases. Ottawa normally gets a decent summer so they do well (for me at least) with their heads uncovered as long as the soil is warm. Other ways of increasing heat include planting against a south facing barrier like a wall and slanting the planting beds to the south.


Flowers on a the variety Little Fingers if memory serves

Water & Nutrients: Incorporating some unfinished compost near the planting bed can provide extra water and nutrients. You could bury a plastic jug* with a pinprick hole or use ollas (terra cotta pots)* next to the planting soil to provide a slow but steady supply of water. Every once in a while give them some compost tea instead. I can see this type of watering being of most benefit if you are planting in pots or in very dry conditions.

Okay, so I'll wait while you start your eggplants and we'll do part two in May.

* Pop bottle drip watering in a pot from The Fifth Street Palace Blog
** Ollas - unglazed ceramic pots for watering. The ones traditionally used are shaped like jugs but I've seen people glue two pots together, sealing the bottom drainage hole and using the top (upside down pot) to add water. These are especially useful for drought prone areas. A serious link here from someone whose done their experimentation about DIY ceramic pot watering system. Just one pot method.

Using terra cota pots in a self watering system for starts: seedlings, cuttings.

Other uses for milk jugs

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Seed Offers

Need some eggplant seed? If you promise to tell me how they do, I have some more Rima F3 seeds produced by a European amateur plant breeder. I'll happily send some along with a few Applegreen while supplies last. Let me know how they do.

I also have some cabbage seed from a cross between San Michele (blush savoy) and Red Rock Mammoth. Both are long season and these are seeds from the Red Rock Mammoth pod parent. It was an uncontrolled breeding meaning that I didn't chaperone them so I don't know if you'll get a plant that is crossed or is just Red Rock Mammoth. Actually 'just' is unfair because, in my garden, it was disease and pest resistent, stored well, tasted great and shrugged off the cold.

For those of you waiting for my excess seeds, I'm nearly finished sorting these out so I"ll drop them off this week sometime. If you want me to add either of the above, let me know.

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Last Snow Day?

I was starting to think that the two people who bravely guessed late March might be right but now I'm leaning toward early April. At least, I hope it's early April!

Another cool pepper trick

Garden expansion via large pots or why scrounging stuff from your neighbours is good. All my mini and hot peppers are growing in pots that were donated by my neighbours who put in a cedar hedge.

Early in the spring, a terrible thing happened: Cutworms ate through the stem of my variegated pepper. The previous fall I had resuced the seed for this pepper from a fruit dropped by a 'Fish' in their demonstration vegetable garden. I patiently dried the pepper and separated the seeds wondering if it would come up variegated like its presumed parents. It did beautifully until one fateful day.

In a desperate move, I stuck the broken stem back into the soil and kept it watered. My theory was because it was related to tomatoes, maybe it would too would easily root along its stem.

It took!


Fish pepper plant working on life 2.

My pepper plant survived. No, it will not produce peppers for me this year but as I commonly overwinter my favourite peppers, I have hope that next year, I will see the fruit of my labours.

Just a reminder that gardening is for the patient.

Hello little guys

My baby plants are growing. I've started some dwarf tomatoes to try as windowsill - patio - windowsill plants. As many of you may know, tomatoes are perennials. I am not sure how long lived our cultivated (and wild) varieties are but I intend to find out.


Little leek babies - first portrait.

I've also started some really cool looking leeks called Saint Victors, from another generous Homegrown Goodness guy who was getting some seeds from the Long Island Seed Project (LISP). May I recommend a browse of their seed selections if you are interesting in plant breeding. What is really neat about this leek is that they have selected to improve its tendancy to turn bright purple in the fall.

My hot peppers that I pre-sprouted* are started to root and the Pasilla, Fish, Small decorative pointed (collected this one at a park - ssshhh, don't tell - so I'm not sure what it was - I promise I only picked up some from the ground, really), and Jalapenos are now potted up.

Speaking of peppers, my overwintered peppers are picking up. Here is the Long Red Cayenne which in early January I figured was a goner because I thought I saw spots on it. Turns out that it overcame whatever was the problem after being exiled to the laundry room for a week.


Long red cayenne in its third overwinter. Happy birthday - you're four!

How are your plants overwintering? Started any yet?

Extra! Extra!

* Pre-sprouting or chitting: This refers to starting your plants out of the soil. People often green-sprout or chit potatoes. It is a useful technique for seeds that are hard to germinate too, either because they are hard to keep evenly moist during germination or because they require a lot of heat or some other reason. It is also a good way to check the germination rate of old seeds.

How I pre-sprout is that I moisten a paper towel, not dripping, put seeds on it and then fold it carefully and place in a labelled plastic bag. I place the plastic bags in a warm place and check daily. This is by no means the only technqiue and I Wet My Plants uses the more resilant coffee filter. As I'm writing this, I'm wondering if you could also use something re-usable like soft tightly woven cloth? I'll have to give it a try. One potential problem are the roots growing into the weave which occasionally happens when you forget to check daily. Then with the paper towel, you can carefully pull it apart to extract the trapped seedling. If a bit of paper towel remains, it's not generally a problem as it breaks down in the soil.

What should I grow? A primer of classic vegetables

If you are a fellow urban 'farmer,' then this time of year is filled with intricate 4 dimensional planting charts, and painful decisions about what not to plant. Then again, perhaps you just embrace the seeds but then wonder when the time comes where you are going to cram all those plants? Or maybe you are new to vegetable gardening and are trying to decide what best to plant? Well, friends, I am here to try to help because it is my trial too so let us think of some criteria:


a. Will my family eat it?
b. Will it grow with minimum fuss here?
c. Is it a space hog or will it provide me with maximum food output with minimum space?
d. Does it taste better fresh fresh, not normally available or is very expensive?
e. Is the store bought / non organic version normally high in pesticides?



Don't feel like playing my Q&A game then let me give you some common, mostly annual veggies that meet many of the above criteria.


1. Beans: easy to grow, you can plant 2-4 inches apart. Fresh beans are available abundantly during the summer and pole beans can be trellised. Also, it's one of the easiest plants from which to save seed.


Sideways picture 'Hunter' bean with broad pods and a ladybug.

2. Peas: See above and add that freshly shelled peas are an exquisite taste that you have to experience to believe. I experience it seldomly as my kids eat most of them.


Glowing peas

3. Roots: carrots, turnips and beets. They don't take up much space and their growing requirements are meagre - a bit of sun, a bit (not too much) fertility and adequate watering. Carrot*, turnip and beet tops are also edible so eat your thinnings. You can often get two crops in a year too. Carrots are one of the dirty dozen food that has a high pesticide residue to boot.


Turnip 'orange jelly' I think it's called and a golden beet by the looks of it beside dandelion?

4.Greens: lettuce, kale, spinach and the like are easy to grow tucked in between plants as they appreciate a little coolness in the summer months. They are not high in calories but superstars when it comes to providing you green vitamen vitality! Also on the dirty dozen list.


Self sown sugarloaf chicory

5. Peppers, especially bell peppers, tomatoes and potatoes are all sprayed within an inch of their life. Thankfully they'll all grow in containers. Just choose shorter varieties unless you have really big containers as indeterminate tomatoes are impressively large by the end of the season and bit tops usually mean big bottoms, ie the roots. If you have the space, potatoes are quite fun to grow. Kids enjoy helping plant the tubers and then dig up the treasures at harvest. Growing your own will also allow you to experience a diversity of varieties that is just not available at the grocery store.


Baby potatoes, the early crop.


Have a bit more space, then consider:


6. Strawberries and other soft fruit like grapes whose thin skins easily absorb pesticide residues.


Plums and cosmos happy together.

7. Cucumbers and squash whose rampant vines can be trellised for cleaner harvest, better air circulation that cuts down on diseases, and of course to save on room. Many kinds grow well in containers too.


Pontimarron squash I believe.



Even more space? Here are some high calorie crops to add to the mix:


8. Onions and leeks are both recommended by Jeavons, author of 'How to grow more vegetables,' the biointensive method.


Yummy onions... pictures of leeks lacking due to leek moth. I hope they enjoyed them.

9. Other roots like parsnip and sweet potato. Short season sweet potatoes will grow very well here with clear plastic mulched beds. Some have success in containers too.


Super delicious sweety 'Georgia Jet'

10. Grains and more pulses like lentils, chickpeas and dried beans. Combined with wheat, hulless barley, amaranth, and corn, you will get a very healthful meal.


Various dried legumes: peas, chickpeas, and beans

And my recommendation.

11. Cabbage fun to grow and surprisingly delicious fresh. It also keeps well in the winter in the back of my fridge. I've put it last as it is a space hog though I commonly space cabbage and broccoli only 12 inches apart and they grow smaller but sizeable heads in fertile soil.


Yes, I really love this picture. (It's been posted before...)

12. Lots of other veggies of course.

Enjoy and remember, Seedy Saturday with its seed trading table is coming up soon.