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

Forget everything you previously knew about growing tomatoes! Standard vine tomatoes grow obediently up their little metal spirals, usually petering out with exhaustion at just under two meters. The "Himmelsstürmer" (Sky Stormer) tomato, however, has completely different plans. Its name says it all: it climbs so incredibly high that you'll almost need a ladder for the harvest in midsummer. It breaks through all conventional garden boundaries, rewarding your courage for height with a gigantic green privacy screen and masses of sugary-sweet, meaty plum tomatoes.

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

Origin & Special Features:

The Himmelsstürmer (often referred to as a "tree tomato") is an impressive, open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety. While standard vine tomatoes often reach their limit at 1.5 to 2 meters, the Himmelsstürmer is only just getting started. You aren't bringing an obedient, standard tomato into your garden bed that grows nicely up a little metal spiral, but a true climbing giant that effortlessly scales 3 to 5 meters (and even more under ideal conditions!) toward the sky.

Not a dwarf, but a rampant climbing giant

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

Teardrop shape and meaty indulgence

Visually, this variety stands out clearly: it produces elongated, slightly pear- or teardrop-shaped red plum tomatoes (about 5 to 8 centimeters long) that often end in a small, characteristic tip. When they reach full ripeness, they unlock their potential: the fruits are extremely firm and meaty, contain very few seeds, and shine with a wonderfully mild, fruity-sweet, and refined aroma. Due to their consistency, they are not just juicy, but above all pleasantly firm to the bite.

Off to the kitchen – what to do with your harvest:

• The perfect snack: Thanks to their handy shape and firm flesh, they are great for nibbling on directly from the vine – without spraying juice when you bite into them.

• The ideal sandwich tomato: They can be wonderfully sliced into thick, firm rounds that don't make the bread soggy right away. Perfect for sandwiches or rustic open-faced toasts!

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

• Pickling & drying: Anyone who likes drying 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 fastest oven-roasted sugo for your pantry

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

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Himmelsstürmer tomatoes (simply washed and halved)

• 2 red onions, cut into large wedges

• 4 garlic cloves (whole, in their skins – they are squeezed out after roasting)

• 5 tbsp premium 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 (upper/lower heat).

2. To the tray: Distribute the halved plum tomatoes, onions, and garlic cloves on a large baking tray. Ideally, the tomatoes should lie with the cut side facing up.

3. Season: Drizzle everything generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and the pinch of sugar. Simply lay the fresh herb sprigs in between.

4. Roast: Slide the tray into the oven for approx. 35 to 45 minutes until the tomatoes are nice and soft and slightly browned and caramelized at the edges. The roasted aromas are the secret to the deep flavor!

5. Process: Take the tray out of the oven. Remove the herb sprigs. Squeeze the soft, sweet garlic out of its skin directly into the tomatoes. Finally, drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the top.

6. Puree: Place everything, including the released tomato juice, into a pot and blend with a stick blender into a thick sauce. If you prefer it finer, push it through a sieve or a food mill.

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

Put an end to obedient standard plants that give up halfway. With the "Himmelsstürmer" tomato, you are choosing a climbing giant that will turn your house wall into a green paradise and provide you with top-class tomatoes well into autumn.