Wada Farm | Overdone Tomatoes

Yarisugi Tomato (Overachieving Tomato)

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary, sweet fruit tomato. But take a bite, and you'll be enchanted by a berry-like sweetness that quickly gives way to a refreshing acidity, tightening the sweetness beautifully.

That moment of awakening from a sweet, heartwarming sensation is something everyone must have experienced somewhere. For example, the embarrassing memory of being scolded by your father or grandfather for getting too boisterous in the countryside during summer vacation. Or, for example, the failure of a first love that ended as unrequited affection because, despite your pounding heart, you just couldn't muster the courage.

A Dramatic Flavor

The fruit tomatoes from Wada Farm, where "heart-pounding" and "tightening" sensations resonate, offer a dramatic taste that evokes nostalgia for bittersweet memories of long ago. Of course, with a sugar content of 11-12 degrees, they are sweet, so you can fully immerse yourself in the lingering sweet memories enhanced by the acidity.

Memories with Tomatoes

Mr. Wada, the creator, is one of those who associates bittersweet memories with these fruit tomatoes. "The sweet tomatoes my father grew, which I ate as an elementary school student, were shocking. Before that, I disliked the green smell and sourness of tomatoes."

The tomatoes his father cultivated were a variety that was the ancestor of the now-popular Momotaro series. At that time, there were few tomato varieties that had high sugar content, could be harvested when fully ripe, and had firm flesh.

Secrets to Tomato Cultivation

To recreate the exceptionally sweet taste of those tomatoes, Mr. Wada found the answer in his watering method and fertilizer concentration.

"We grow them slowly and steadily with minimal water and fertilizer. Determining the timing of watering is also crucial. We water them over an extended period during the limited morning hours when the leaves droop, craving water."

After graduating from a horticulture vocational school and studying agriculture as a live-in apprentice, Mr. Wada returned to his family home. The rockwool cultivation system his father had introduced was originally a large-scale cultivation system that used a lot of water and fertilizer.

Delicious Tomatoes Take 10 Years

As a result of challenging this system with the opposite idea of using minimal water and fertilizer, it took him 10 years to recreate the taste of his memories.

"In this system, the desire to make delicious tomatoes and the desire to produce a large quantity are inversely proportional," Mr. Wada said with a laugh, his expression as bittersweet as the tomato I tasted right there, revealing the trial and error he had gone through.

Yarisugi Tomatoes Twice a Year

Mr. Wada cultivates tomatoes twice a year: from June to July and from November to January of the following year. Due to the unique climate of the Tango area in Kyoto Prefecture where the farm is located, sunlight hours are short, and even in the cold autumn and winter, by "growing them slowly and steadily," the sugar content of the tomatoes can rise from 7 degrees to 11 or 12 degrees.

The soil, based on rice paddies, is sticky clay with poor drainage, so he regularly uses a tractor. To minimize moisture as much as possible, he uses Tajima beef compost, in addition to prioritizing usability.

A Dramatic Flavor

By deliberately creating a less-than-ideal environment for tomatoes, where moisture is severely restricted, the tomatoes themselves "squeeze" their bodies and store nutrients. The resulting taste is so sweet it could make you cry, with a refreshing acidity that feels like the vibrant energy of youth.

Just as the image of "Athlete Vegetables" and "Yarisugi Tomatoes" (Overachieving Tomatoes) named by Mr. Wada suggests,

The bittersweet taste, reminiscent of sports-themed dramas and manga from long ago, is somehow nostalgic and dramatic.

Photo by：Takashi Kuroyanagi

Writer：socko

Farmer：Wada Farm

Produced by OYAOYA