Wada Farm | Overdone Tomatoes

Overdone Tomatoes

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary, sweet-looking fruit tomato. But when you take a bite, you'll be dazzled by the berry-like sweetness, and then a refreshing acidity will spread across your tongue, bringing the sweetness right down to a crisp finish.

I'm sure everyone has experienced this feeling of waking up from a sweet, heart-fluttering moment at some point. For example, the embarrassing memory of being scolded by your dad or grandpa for being too excited in the countryside during summer vacation. Or the failure of your first love, where you just couldn't muster the courage to follow through despite the excitement in your heart, and it ended up being unrequited.

Dramatic taste

Wada Farm's fruit tomatoes, which resonate with your senses and make you feel refreshed, have a dramatic taste that brings back memories of sweet and sour memories from long ago. Of course, with a sugar content of 11 to 12 degrees, they are sweet, so they are also perfect for the aftertaste of sweet memories enhanced by the sourness.

Memories with tomatoes

Its creator, Mr. Wada, is one of those who have bittersweet memories of this fruit tomato. "When I was in elementary school, I was shocked by the sweet tomatoes my father made. Until then, I didn't like the sour, grassy smell of tomatoes."

The tomatoes that his father grew were the original variety of the now popular Momotaro series. At the time, there were few varieties of tomatoes that were high in sugar content and had firm fruit that could be harvested until they were fully ripe.

The secret to growing tomatoes

To recreate the incredibly sweet taste of tomatoes, Wada discovered that the answer lies in the way the plants are watered and the concentration of fertilizer.

"They grow slowly and steadily with a minimum of water and fertilizer. It's also important to determine the right timing to water them. I take my time to water them during a limited time in the morning when the leaves are wilting and they need water."

After graduating from a horticultural technical college and studying agriculture as a live-in resident, Wada returned to his parents' home and discovered the rock wool cultivation system that his father had introduced to them, which is a large-scale cultivation system that requires a lot of water and fertilizer.

Delicious tomatoes last for 10 years

He took on the challenge of minimizing the use of water and fertilizer, and it took him 10 years to recreate the taste he remembers.

"With this system, your desire to produce delicious tomatoes and your desire to produce large quantities are inversely proportional," says Wada with a laugh. His expression was just as sweet and sour as the tomatoes I tasted on the spot, revealing the trial and error he has gone through.

Too many tomatoes twice a year

Wada grows tomatoes twice a year, from June to July and from November to the following January . Due to the unique climate of the Tango area of ​​Kyoto Prefecture where his farm is located, the hours of daylight are short and even in the autumn and winter when temperatures drop, the tomatoes' sugar content increases from 7 to 11 or 12 degrees by "growing them slowly and gradually."

The soil of the rice paddy base is clayey and has poor drainage, so tractors are used regularly. In addition to being easy to use, the fertilizer is also made from Tajima cow compost, which keeps moisture levels to a minimum.

Dramatic taste

By reducing the amount of water as much as possible and deliberately creating an environment that is not sweet for the tomatoes, the tomatoes themselves squeeze out their bodies and store up nutrients, resulting in a taste that is so sweet it will make you cry, with a refreshing acidity that is reminiscent of youth.

The image of the "athlete vegetable" and "over-the-top tomato" that Wada-san named it is exactly the same.

The sweet and sour taste reminds me of the sports dramas and manga I once watched, and it's somehow nostalgic and dramatic.

Photo by: Takashi Kuroyanagi

Writer: socko

Farmer: Wada Farm

Produced by OYAOYA