Tomato 'Himmelsstürmer' - The Climbing Giant That Breaks All Records

Forget everything you thought you knew about growing tomatoes! Regular indeterminate tomatoes dutifully grow on their small metal spirals and usually give up, exhausted, at just under two meters. The "Himmelsstürmer" (Sky-Stormer) tomato, however, has completely different plans. For this variety, the name says it all: it climbs incredibly high, so much so that you'll almost need a ladder for harvesting in mid-summer. It breaks all conventional garden boundaries and rewards your courage to aim high with a gigantic green privacy screen and tons of super sweet, fleshy bottle tomatoes.

Scope of delivery: Each plant in a 7cm pot.

Origin & Special Features:

The Himmelsstürmer (often called "tree tomato") is an impressive open-pollinated tomato rarity. While normal indeterminate tomatoes often reach their limit at 1.50 to 2 meters, the Himmelsstürmer is just getting started. You're not getting a well-behaved standard tomato for your garden that grows neatly on its small metal spiral, but a real climbing giant that effortlessly climbs 3 to 5 meters (and even more under ideal conditions!) into the sky.

Not a Dwarf, but a Rampant Climbing Giant

Leave those standard plant stakes in the shed! The absolute highlight of the Himmelsstürmer is its unrestrained urge to climb upwards. Give it a tall trellis on the house wall, a pergola, a sturdy climbing aid, or let it climb on long strings up to the eaves. Unlike many other tomatoes, you can even grow this vigorous variety with multiple main stems (2 to 3 main shoots) to create a truly dense, high-yielding tomato jungle.

Teardrop Shape and Fleshy Delicacy

Visually, this variety stands out significantly: it produces elongated, slightly pear- or teardrop-shaped red bottle tomatoes (about 5 to 8 centimeters long) that often end in a small, characteristic tip. When fully ripe, they unleash their potential: the fruits are extremely firm, have few seeds, and boast a wonderfully mild, fruity-sweet, and delicate aroma. Thanks to their consistency, they are not only juicy but, above all, pleasantly firm to the bite.

Into the Kitchen – What to Make with Your Harvest:

• The perfect snack: Due to its handy shape and firm flesh, it's great for snacking directly from the bush – and without splattering when you bite into it.

• The ideal sandwich tomato: It can be cut into thick, firm slices and doesn't immediately soak the bread. Perfect for sandwiches or rustic open-faced sandwiches!

• The sauce champion: Because it has so much flesh and extremely little water/seeds, it's the ultimate tomato for creamy, thick tomato sauces (sugo) or homemade ketchup.

• Pickling & Drying: Those who like to dry tomatoes (for antipasti in oil) will find the perfect base in this variety, as it loses its moisture very quickly in the oven or dehydrator.

Recipe Tip: The Quickest Oven Sugo for Stock

Since the Himmelsstürmer is a classic, meaty sauce tomato, there's nothing better than concentrating its flavor by roasting it in the oven. This sugo practically makes itself and is the perfect "meal prep" for winter.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Himmelsstürmer tomatoes (simply washed and halved)

• 2 red onions, cut into coarse wedges

• 4 cloves of garlic (whole, with skin – they will be squeezed out after roasting)

• 5 tbsp excellent olive oil

• Fresh herb sprigs (rosemary, thyme, oregano)

• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• Coarse sea salt, fresh pepper, and a small pinch of sugar

Preparation:

1. Prepare: Preheat the oven to 200 °C (top/bottom heat).

2. On the tray: Spread the halved bottle tomatoes, onions, and garlic cloves on a large baking sheet. Ideally, the tomatoes should be cut-side up.

3. Season: Drizzle everything generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the pinch of sugar. Simply place the fresh herb sprigs among them.

4. Roast: Place the baking sheet in the oven for about 35 to 45 minutes, until the tomatoes are nicely soft and lightly browned and caramelized at the edges. The roasted aromas are the secret to the deep flavor!

5. Process: Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Remove the herb sprigs. Squeeze the soft, sweet garlic directly from its skin into the tomatoes. Finally, drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

6. Puree: Transfer everything, including the released tomato juice, into a pot and blend with an immersion blender to a creamy sauce. If you prefer it finer, pass it through a sieve or a food mill.

7. Serve or Preserve: Serve hot directly over fresh pasta or fill into sterilized screw-top jars while boiling hot – that way, you'll have summer in a jar!

Say goodbye to well-behaved standard plants that give up halfway. With the "Himmelsstürmer" tomato, you're choosing a climbing giant that will transform your house wall into a green paradise and provide you with first-class tomatoes well into autumn.