The best and most productive varieties of tall tomatoes, when to plant them for seedlings
Tomatoes are not uncommon guests in country gardens. Tomato by its useful properties not inferior to citrus fruits, especially in terms of the content of vitamin C. Therefore, summer residents often call it a "summer orange". Growing tomatoes is a whimsical job that requires a lot of preparation in order to grow a large, healthy crop of tomatoes. Increasingly, tall varieties of tomatoes can be found in garden beds. They significantly surpass other varieties of tomatoes in terms of the growth rate of the main stem, and it can only be stopped if you pinch the top of the bush in time.
Some varieties of tall tomatoes can grow up to 5 m in just six months. Accordingly, a huge amount can be obtained from them. The main thing is to know when to plant tall tomatoes for seedlings and how to do it correctly.
Seedling growing technology
You need to sow fruitful varieties of tomatoes in seedling boxes at the end of winter. And preparation for the next season should be started in the fall. The plot of land on which the beds of tall tomatoes will be located and sowing will occur should be well dug up and fertilized with manure. The same procedure should be carried out in the spring when the snow melts. Only to organic, you need to add 1 tbsp. l. potash fertilizer and 5 tbsp. l. phosphates.
When to sow tall tomatoes for seedlings, the seed manufacturer will tell you. He is obliged to indicate the exact dates on the package. Usually, a tomato is planted about 2 and a half months before planting in open beds. The end of February is the best time for this. Plants will be able to grow and get stronger.
If you have already grown tall tomatoes on your site, or the neighbors have shared several particularly successful fruits, you can independently collect tomato seeds for seedlings for future harvest. For this, only the best varieties and the healthiest and most beautiful specimens are suitable.
A few of the best fruits should be placed on the windowsill and wait until they are completely ripe and soft. With a spoon you need to get the juice with seeds and place in a glass jar.
After they have stood for a couple of days at 22 ° C, the juice will take on a light shade, and the seeds will be ready for further processing. They need to be rinsed and dried on a flat, smooth surface such as a piece of paper or glass.
But the preparation of seeds for planting does not end there either. To strengthen and harden the planting material, it is necessary to soak the seeds in a warm solution using liquid fertilizers or wood ash. And after 24 hours have passed, you need to wrap them in plastic bags and put them in a cold place for a couple of days.This will help the seeds survive possible temperature changes.
Tomatoes for seedlings should be planted in previously prepared soil. To prepare it, you need to take humus, peat and sod in equal parts, saturate with superphosphate, potassium sulfate and urea in the proportions indicated on the packages. The resulting mixture must be calcined in the oven at a temperature of one hundred degrees for 20 minutes. The soil layer should not exceed 5 cm.
The soil prepared for cultivation must be poured into wooden or plastic boxes in an even layer.
When to sow seeds for seedlings, you can calculate it yourself or follow the lunar calendar of the summer resident. We usually sow seeds from February 20 to March 10. If the plants are planned to be transplanted into a greenhouse, then the planting dates may be slightly different. When the planting site is ready, it should be well shed with water, and you can start sowing seeds of tall tomatoes and growing them using a time-tested technology.
In the soil, it is necessary to make grooves at a distance of 5 cm from each other, and no more than 1 cm deep. Seeds should be sown one at a time, in increments of 2 cm, and then sprinkled with earth. This completes the planting of seeds of tall tomatoes. You should not water from above, you just need to cover with glass or plastic wrap to create a greenhouse effect. Boxes with seedlings must be placed in a bright, warm place - on the sill of the south window. On this, the cultivation of strong seedlings is just beginning.
As the seedlings grow, they need to be periodically fed with copper chloride in the proportions indicated on the package. It is worth watering sparingly so as not to ruin the plants even at the seedling stage. From an excess of moisture, the dying off of the root system may begin, the soil will acidify and a black fruit fly will appear, which feeds on rot.
When the first two true leaves appear, the plant must be dived. This happens at about the age of 20 days, then the plants need to be transplanted into a more spacious container. Individual jars or even plastic cups are great for this. Seedlings should be transplanted with their own clod of soil, so that the process of getting used to a new place is quick and unnoticeable.
A good, strong seedling will only grow if it has enough room to grow and sunlight.
Planting seedlings in open ground and care
Harvesting varieties must be planted in a checkerboard pattern. For this, long rows with wide and deep holes are prepared, approximately on the bayonet of a shovel, measuring 15x15 cm. One bush should be planted in each depression to ensure good ventilation of the plants.
Fertilizer
The best yield is observed in plants that have enough mineral and organic substances. For the entire period of tomato growth, experienced agronomists recommend at least 3 dressings. The very first will be 10 days after transplanting the seedlings to the garden. Bird droppings or manure are best suited for this, from which a 1:10 solution is prepared. It is best to combine it with watering. It is also possible to use ready-made fertilizer mixtures, for example, "Gumisol". For better assimilation, the soil for cultivation should be immediately mulched with sawdust or pine needles under the base of the bush stem. It will also prevent weeds from growing.
When a second brush with ovaries appears on the bush, you need to wait 10 days and carry out the next feeding. To do this, it is necessary to prepare a special solution, which includes manure, 3 g of potassium permanganate, 3 g of copper sulfate, 1 tbsp. l. ready-made fertilizer "Solution" - for 10 liters of water. 2 liters are poured under each plant. The third feeding procedure is carried out when the first fruits ripen. The same solution is prepared and 2.5 liters are applied under each bush.
Watering
Tall tomatoes should be watered abundantly, up to 1 liter per 1 bush.But it is not necessary to moisten the fruits and leaves, and it is worth watering only under the root of the plant. However, if the weather is cloudy and not sunny for a long time, watering should be reduced to 2 times a week.
Tall tomatoes love when watering is done in the morning. The water temperature should not be too low. Ideally 24-26 ° C. Therefore, it is best to paint a container with water in dark colors and put it in a sunny place, then you do not have to warm up the liquid before watering.
In too hot and dry weather, the ground between the bushes must be pierced with a pitchfork, and after watering it must be loosened well. In this case, you need to try not to damage the roots of the plant. And with the arrival of autumn, when only a few brushes with fruits remain, the tomatoes should be released from the leash and carefully laid on the ground. After that, watering should be canceled altogether.
Garter
Without support, such tall plants can simply break. They need good support, which will allow the bushes to grow not only in breadth, but also upward. Experienced gardeners use three types of garters - with rope, pegs or net.
Along the edges of the bed, you need to dig in 2 high stakes, which can rise 3 m above the ground. Between them you need to stretch a nylon cord, from which ropes stretch to all plants. Synthetic materials that are not attacked by microbes are best suited.
As the plant grows, the ropes need to be tightened so that the bush does not fall to the ground. When the tomatoes grow 2.2 m, they can no longer be pulled, but left to hang freely with the fruits down.
If it is possible to tie each bush separately, then individual pegs are used, which are dug in near the bush. It should also be tied up in several places, as the tomatoes grow, with a synthetic or nylon rope. By the same principle, a net is used, to which plants are tied in the necessary places. The higher the bush, the more often it needs to be tied up.
Stealing
After 1.5-2 months, from the moment of planting the seedlings, you should begin to pinch the growing leaves and shoots located closest to the ground. They interfere with air circulation, and contribute to the occurrence of all kinds of diseases. In addition, overgrown thickets attract parasites that can damage the fruit.
Shoots should be removed from the bush at least 1 time per week. In this case, you can immediately rip off only 3 sheets. After carrying out this operation, in a day you need to shed the plant well. As the bush grows, it is necessary to remove excess shoots, and even new ovaries. To do this, you just need to monitor the plant. It must have at least 15 leaves and no more than 8 brushes with fruits. Only in this case a good yield will be achieved.
Tall tomato varieties
The timing of the ripening of tomatoes will depend entirely on the choice of variety. All yielding varieties will be early or mid-season. This is what makes it possible to grow large yields from good gardeners.
- "Alyonushka" is an early variety, the fruits of which can reach up to 1 kg each. It is sown 100 days before the expected harvest, while the yield will be high.
- Wonder of the Earth is also an early variety. Its fruits weigh up to 500 g. It must be planted 90 days before harvest.
- Midas is a mid-late variety. Seedlings sown and planted in open ground will bear the first fruits in 120 days. Each tomato will weigh up to 100g.
- "De Barao" is a mid-season variety. It should be planted 130 days before harvest, while the yield is high. According to the reviews of gardeners, this variety bears fruit within 3 months, before the onset of the first frost, and each fruit weighs up to 70 g each.
All of these fruitful varieties of tall tomatoes have visible advantages over other tomatoes.Sowing these vegetables requires less land and can be planted on a small plot of land. They give several times more yield than their undersized counterparts, while one plant can have up to ten full-fledged brushes with fruits.
In addition, their unusual appearance allows you to decorate the look of your garden. In addition, some tall yielding varieties, if planted correctly, can bear fruit until late autumn, before the onset of the first frost.
Each gardener himself chooses which varieties of tomatoes to plant on his site. Some are chasing high yields, others are trying to grow the largest fruits, and still others simply love self-grown tomatoes.
