Description of the Ashdod tomato variety and its characteristics
Tomato Ashdod F1 - the newest hybrid from the Semko company with brown-brown fruits, intended for greenhouse culture, temporary film greenhouses and open ground.
Hybrid characteristics
The ripening period of these tomatoes is very early, it is 85-90 days from germination. Bushes are indeterminate with compact internodes. The first fruits form above the seventh or ninth leaf, the next ones appear after three leaves. The fruits are collected in a brush. Bushes need a garter to an individual support or an ordinary trellis.
The fruits are round, even, smooth with a dense skin, have high transportability, and are delicious. The description given by the originator indicates that the weight of the fruit is from 120 to 150 g. The color is interesting, formed by a combination of red and green, close to brown, when fully ripe, it is brown. On a cut, the fruit is deep burgundy. Varieties with a brown fruit color have recently come into vogue, but they are also very useful, they contain a high content of lycopene.
The characteristics of this hybrid indicate that it may be the very first tomato on the market. If it is sown on seedlings in late February - early March and planted under a temporary film or fabric greenhouse, then the fruits can be harvested at the end of June. Also, Ashdod tomato can be sown in a seedless culture, immediately into open ground, but the crops must be covered with a film before germination. Harvest in this case will be obtained in August. The last harvest goes to winter ripening and storage.
The main purpose of Ashdod tomato is fresh consumption. However, the pigment lycopene is absorbed in the human body in the presence of fats, and the greatest benefit from tomatoes is achieved when they are consumed after heat treatment with vegetable oils. In the blood, lycopene binds to low-density lipoproteins, protects them from oxidation and prevents them from deposition on the walls of blood vessels in the form of cholesterol plaques. And the plants themselves, lycopene protects from excess light.
Growing features
Seedlings of early tomatoes are planted in open ground when the soil at the planting depth warms up to at least 16 aboutC. Until the end of the frost hazard period, the planted plants are covered with temporary greenhouses. When grown in a greenhouse, a tomato of the Ashdod F1 variety can be cultivated all year round, but subject to the lighting regime. In winter, the tomato needs a day of light, lasting at least 14 hours.
The Ashdod hybrid is very responsive to fertilization and feeding. Well-rotted manure or compost must be added to the soil for planting, and feeding can be done with fresh mullein, but previously aged for 7-10 days in a solution with water, at the rate of 10 liters of water per 2 kg of mullein.
Before feeding, the solution is diluted at least 5 times. Modern humic fertilizers give no less effect than manure and mullein. In addition, they can be applied both under the root and as foliar feeding. Fertilizers based on amino acids and trace elements have shown good results. They can also be used to feed tomatoes during the growing season.
Removing stepchildren is an important agricultural technique. Ashdod tomato is best formed into one stem. To do this, you need to remove the stepchildren when they are 2-2.5 cm in size.It is important to remember that when pinching, you can infect healthy plants with viral and fungal diseases if sick plants have been pinned in front of them, so you need to strictly observe precautions.
Tomato varieties like Ashdod claim to be among the earliest and most useful!
