In our new series of articles, we will be introducing you to the diversity of our vegetable seedling assortments. We are kicking off with OpenSky® fruit vegetables – a selection of particularly robust varieties that are just as impressive in home gardens as they are in professional sales. A glance at the sales figures at lubera.com shows that almost every second vegetable plant sold belongs to the fruit vegetable group – no wonder, as it includes popular vegetables such as tomatoes and cucumbers.
What makes OpenSky® vegetables so special?
Not all vegetables are the same. Whether leaf, tuber, root or fruit – we eat what tastes good and grows well. At OpenSky® , it's all about vegetable varieties whose fruits take centre stage. Tomatoes, peppers, chillies or aubergines: these plants give us their harvest directly in the form of juicy, aromatic fruits – to be enjoyed raw or cooked.
But OpenSky® is more than just another fruit vegetable assortment: it is a line that has been consistently bred for health, robustness and outdoor suitability – exactly what ambitious hobby gardeners are looking for.
Why OpenSky® ?
The name says it all: OpenSky® stands for varieties that thrive in the open air. Instead of delicate specialists for greenhouse cultivation, we offer varieties that can survive outdoors – hardy, easy to care for and full of flavour.
Our market analysis confirms it: when customers can choose between susceptible varieties for protected cultivation and robust outdoor varieties, they clearly opt for the latter. The clear message: health and simplicity score highly.
OpenSky® – your advantages at a glance
- High robustness through to resistance
- Bred for outdoor cultivation
- Easy care and cultivation
- Intense flavour
- Wide variety of shapes and colours
The OpenSky® fruit vegetable range in detail
Discover the most important representatives of our OpenSky® line – from classics such as tomatoes to exciting specialities and new products.
OpenSky® Tomatoes – diversity that inspires
Tomatoes are the backbone of every vegetable department – and rightly so: at Lubera, almost every third vegetable plant sold is a tomato. Our OpenSky® tomato range is correspondingly diverse. Whether beef tomatoes, salad tomatoes or cherry tomatoes –there is something for every taste here.
Bush tomatoes – compact and productive
Our OpenSky® bush tomatoes are indeterminate like stake tomatoes, but thanks to their short internodes, they grow compactly and branch out. Best of all, they don't need to be pruned or pinched – a clear advantage in terms of care.
Our OpenSky®® bush tomato assortment:
OpenSky® Schlingel Max®
Advantages of OpenSky® Schlingel Max®
- Bush-like growth
- extremely fertile
- high tolerance to Phytophthora and Alternaria
- red cocktail tomato
OpenSky® Schlingel Moritz®
Advantages of OpenSky® Schlingel Moritz®
- bush-like growth
- High yield
- High tolerance to Phytophthora and Alternaria
- Red cocktail tomato
OpenSky® Schlingel Filou®
Advantages of OpenSky® Schlingel Filou®
- Easy to grow, just plant and harvest
- No scaffolding, no support and no pruning necessary
- Plant opens by itself before harvest to allow easier access to the tomatoes
- Beautiful black-red cherry tomatoes
Beef and salad tomatoes – classic and robust
These varieties are classic stake tomatoes and need to be pruned regularly. In return, they deliver large, juicy fruits with an intense aroma – ideal for salads, sauces or straight from the bush.
Our OpenSky® beef and salad tomato assortment:
OpenSky® Tombonne®
Advantages of OpenSky® Tombonne®
- Red vine tomato
- Perfect salad tomato
- Resistant & healthy
OpenSky® Climbing Tom®
Advantages of OpenSky® Climbing Tom®
- strong, upright growth – "climbs" almost by itself
- Resistant to Phytophthora and Alternaria
- Red vine tomato
OpenSky® Vivagrande®
Advantages of OpenSky® Vivagrande®
- Resistant beef tomato
- Large fruits High yield
- Ideal for outdoor cultivation
Cherry tomatoes – colourful, sweet and surprising
This category offers the widest variety of colours: red, orange, yellow, black – plain or lightly patterned. All cherry tomatoes are vigorous growing stake tomatoes and benefit from being trained with two shoots – this slows down vegetative growth and increases yield at the same time.
Our OpenSky® cherry tomato assortment:
OpenSky® Morningsun®
Advantages of OpenSky® Morningsun®
- Yellow cherry tomato
- Incredibly good flavour
- Resistant & healthy
OpenSky® Orangelina®
Advantages of OpenSky® Orangelina®
- Highly tolerant to late blight
- Huge racemes of orange cherry tomatoes
- Crisp, firm fruit
- Sweet when fully ripe
OpenSky® Sugared®
Advantages of OpenSky® Sugared®
- Red cherry tomato
- Sweet, fruity taste
- Resistant & healthy
OpenSky® HappyBlack®
Advantages of OpenSky® HappyBlack®
- Black-red cherry tomato
- Fruity, spicy flavour
- Resistant & healthy
OpenSky® Amberone®
Advantages of OpenSky® Amberone®
- OpenSky® outdoor tomato, plant remains healthy until the end of September
- beautiful colour: attractive dark green stripes when unripe, amber with brown stripes when ripe
- Aromatic small salad tomato
OpenSky® Chili & Paprika – Spicy meets sweet
Botanically speaking, chili and bell peppers are closely related – both belong to the Capsicum annuum species. The main difference lies in the size of the fruit and the heat level. While bell peppers are usually large and mild, chili peppers produce smaller, often fiery fruits – although the boundaries are fluid.
Important to know: Both love warmth! They only really get going in summer temperatures. This should definitely be taken into account when growing them, whether in a nursery or in your home garden.
Our OpenSky® pepper assortment:
OpenSky® Speedy Gonzales®
Advantages of OpenSky® Speedy Gonzales®
- Short, pointed peppers curved at the tip
- already edible and interesting when yellow
- Compact, healthy growth outdoors
- yellow, ready for harvest from late July to mid-August 5 or more ripe red fruits per plant
OpenSky® Speedy Rosina®
Advantages of OpenSky® Speedy Rosina®
- Early ripening, outdoors from mid-August
- Attractive tomato shape, fleshy fruit walls
- Easy to grow outdoors
Our OpenSky chilli assortment:
OpenSky® Hot Surprise compact
Advantages of OpenSky® Hot Surprise compact
- Diversity: every plant is different!
- Very fertile and early maturing
- Good heat level (5-7 from 10)
- Works great in outdoor cultivation
- ideal for balcony pots: only 20-40 cm high
OpenSky® Hot Surprise bushy
Advantages of OpenSky® Hot Surprise bushy
- Diversity: every plant is different!
- Early maturing and very good harvest
- Heat level 5-7 on a scale of 1-10
- Works reliably outdoors
- Slim growth, up to 60 cm possible
OpenSky® Aubergines – elegant, decorative and high-yielding
Aubergines, also known as eggplants, are real gems in the garden. In addition to their elegant fruit, they also have attractive flowers. But beware: not every variety thrives easily in the open field in Central Europe. We therefore rely on two proven varieties from Lubera breeding, which impress with their rich harvest and impressive health.
Our OpenSky® aubergine assortment:
OpenSky® Green Blitz®
Advantages of OpenSky® Green Blitz®
- Unique green-white colouring
- Medium-sized, oval fruits up to 10 cm long
- compact growth supports stability;
- early and high yield, ideal for outdoor cultivation
OpenSky® Purple Blitz®
Advantages of OpenSky® Purple Blitz®
- Dark purple base colour with an elegant transition to light purple
- Relatively small, goose egg-sized fruits with striking black-purple veining
- vigorous variety with spreading, healthy growth
- Very early and high yield, ideal for outdoor cultivation
OpenSky® Andean berries – exotic and surprisingly aromatic
Many people only know Andean berries (also known as physalis) as decorative fruit on desserts – often disappointing in taste. But a sun-ripened, fully ripe Andean berry from your own garden is a true flavour sensation!
Although not hardy, it can be easily cultivated in pots for several years – as long as a bright, frost-free overwintering spot (ideally at 5–8°C) is available.
Our OpenSky® Andean berry assortment:
OpenSky® Fruttosa
Advantages of Fruttosa
- Fast-growing
- Fruity sweet berries
- Easy to grow
OpenSky® Little BIG Buddha
Advantages of Little (Big) Buddha
- Largest Andean berry
- vigorous growth
- aromatic berries
OpenSky® Peter's Best
Advantages of Peter's Best
- Extremely fertile
- Very aromatic fruits
- Absolutely no bitter aftertaste
OpenSky® Cucumbers – crisp and now also robust
Cucumbers are the third most popular vegetable in Germany. And yet they have been underrepresented in the Lubera assortment – too few robust varieties. That is now changing!
Our breeding team is working intensively on resistant cucumbers suitable for outdoor cultivation – with promising results. Until then, we are relying on proven, carefully selected varieties that have proven themselves over many years in our variety testing.
Our OpenSky® cucumber assortment:
OpenSky® Brupless Tasty Green
Advantages of OpenSky® Brupless Tasty Green
- Mild, sweet taste
- Low bitter substance content (cucurbitacin)
- Few, barely noticeable seeds
- Tender skin
OpenSky® Salome
Advantages of OpenSky® Salome
- Long shelf life
- very high yield
- Does not form bitter compounds
- Very tasty
Young plants, seeds & delivery period
When can you purchase OpenSky® young plants or seeds? Here is the most important information:
Young plants or seeds – what is available?
We offer young plants for all varieties listed – this is the preferred form for most of them. Selected varieties are also available as seeds – for those who like to grow their own plants.
Picture: selected varieties are also available as seeds
Delivery window for OpenSky® vegetable young plants
The delivery window for our OpenSky® young plants is between calendar weeks 12 and 16. Depending on the variety, the cultivation time is 4 to 8 weeks – tomatoes are often slightly faster than heat-loving species such as chillies or aubergines.
Picture: tomato young plants
Conclusion
With OpenSky®, you can bring robust, tasty and easy-to-grow fruit vegetable varieties to market – bred for what hobby gardeners really want: healthy plants that thrive outdoors.
