Peak tomato season

“Awesome Emma”: Styrians breed new tomato variety

Josef Obermoser relies on resistant, seed-resistant tomato varieties.

(Bild: Gerlinde Obermoser)

Just in time for the tomato peak season, Styria surprises with a new tomato variety. Josef Obermoser and Ulli Klein put seven years of work into breeding "Awesome Emma" - now they have sweet, colorful and, above all, resistant cherry tomatoes in their hands. There are already buyers beyond national borders.

It's not something you see every day: Josef Obermoser and Ulli Klein have launched their first own tomato variety on the market. It's a cherry tomato called "Awesome Emma", with a sweet and spicy taste and special colors: "It ripens from green to yellow, purple or even black," explains Obermoser.

The 42-year-old organizer of the Crossroads Festival in Graz has been dedicating himself to gardening alongside culture for twelve years. "I was interested in the enormous variety of tomatoes - I tested hundreds of varieties," says Obermoser. And so he literally acquired a taste for trying his own crosses. He started out with around 40 potted plants, which was all the space he had available.

The "Awesome Emma" is a high-yielding tomato plant.

(Bild: Kathi Soos)

The tomato enthusiast talks about centuries of breeding history and the further development of resistant varieties, which is hardly ever done nowadays: "Breeding is basically not difficult." Obermoser crossed his two favorite varieties "Stripes of Yore" and "Bianca" and is now - seven years later - proud of his "Awesome Emma" (named after the women's rights activist Emma Goldman). There hasn't been a new variety of tomato from Styria for years.

Styrian variety finds international buyers
He grew the first four "generations" himself, the last three years the plants were moved to a farm in St. Nikolai im Sausal. Since then, the farmer's wife Ulli Klein has also been largely responsible for "Emma". Before and during the current tomato peak season, her seeds and young plants are sold on (including in the Sortenwerkstatt online store) - in countries such as Germany, France and England, but of course also in Styria. "Emma is already growing in many places. I am surprised that it is so well received," says Obermoser.

Tomato peak season in Styria

• Tomatoes are healthy: the plant substance lycopene is mainly responsible for their red color. In the plant, lycopene absorbs light for photosynthesis and protects against oxidation damage. Lycopene also has this antioxidant, protective effect in our body.
• The right preparation: Lycopene is particularly readily available for our metabolism if the tomatoes are heated during preparation and we eat them in combination with a little fat. It is therefore worth preparing Styrian tomatoes warm as a soup, casserole or sauce from time to time.
• Correct storage: Fresh tomatoes should never be stored at temperatures below twelve degrees Celsius, otherwise they lose their flavor. The fridge is therefore not a good place to store tomatoes. It is best to store them in the kitchen or pantry in an airy and dry place, for example under a fruit cover.
• Grow your own tomatoes: You can even grow tomatoes in a pot on the balcony - especially cherry tomatoes. Obermoser relies on "seed-resistant" varieties: the seeds from the fruit of these varieties can be dried and reused the following year.

According to the Chamber of Agriculture, there are almost 60 farms in this country that mainly grow tomatoes in polytunnels. Almost 5600 tons of tomatoes are harvested on around 37 hectares - with a per capita consumption of more than 31 kilograms per year, they are the most popular vegetable among Styrians.

However: "There are a lot of fungal diseases that cause blight in tomatoes," says the "Emma" grower. This makes it all the more important for him to cultivate plants that also survive in the open field. "I have no commercial interests, I work for the common good." Obermoser is currently looking for new cooperation partners who support his philosophy and want to grow 30 to 40 plants. "But even ten would be great," says the 42-year-old.