Tomato Katrina F1: characteristics and yield of the variety, features of cultivation and care

Description and characteristics of the tomato variety

Katrina tomatoes have excellent characteristics that have made them one of the most popular and frequently planted among experienced farmers and gardeners, as well as among summer residents:

1. This variety of tomatoes is distinguished by early ripeness; the first fruits can ripen already on the 80th day from the moment the seeds are planted in open ground.
2. The bushes are quite large in size, with a lush deciduous crown, reaching from 85 to 125 cm in height and over half a meter in diameter.
3. The foliage is rich green in color, soft and silky to the touch.
4. The stem is strong, elastic and quite thick, which allows it to support such a crown and many fruits.
5. On average, about 5 kg of fruit can be harvested from one tomato bush of this variety per season. The fruits are round, fleshy, and bright scarlet in color. The average weight of one tomato varies in the range of 150–250 g. Inside they have a uniform and uniform texture, are pleasant to the taste and have a pronounced tomato aroma.
6. Suitable for both home cultivation in small quantities on your own plot, and for large-scale production in greenhouses and open fields.
7. They are unpretentious in care and maintenance, easily adapt to temperature and weather conditions, and withstand temperature fluctuations characteristic of a temperate continental climate.

Description of fruits

• The fruits are round in shape, smooth, but there may be slight ribbing at the stalk.
• The skin is dense, smooth, and not prone to cracking.
• The color of the tomatoes is bright red.
• The weight of each fruit is 150-200 grams.
• Excellent taste and familiar tomato aroma.

Tomatoes of this variety are universal in use. They can be eaten both fresh “straight from the bush” and used for whole-fruit pickling. They fit well and are resistant to transportation, retain their presentation and excellent taste for a long time.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

• The inherent advantages of this tomato variety include:
• high productivity;
• unpretentiousness to living conditions and care;
• the bush is medium-high, and therefore it will be easy to care for and collect fruits;
• the variety is highly resistant to temperature changes and various diseases;
• the fruits are large, fleshy, tasty, do not crack, are well stored and can withstand transportation;
• The variety is suitable for cultivation both in open ground and under the cover of a greenhouse.

According to reviews from farmers and summer residents, Katrina does not have any significant disadvantages.

Detailed description of the tomato variety Pink Katya F1

Let's take a closer look at what the variety is.

Characteristics of bushes

Forms bushes reaching 0.6-0.7 m. The plants are medium-leafed, the leaf blades are small, emerald in color. One bush can have 6-9 clusters of fruits. The vegetative period begins on the 5th leaf.

Fruit characteristics

Round, with a slightly flattened surface on the stalk side. There is no green spot around it. The fruits are strong, dense, and not subject to cracking. Each weight is 120-130 g.

After technical ripening they become pinkish. They have 3-4 seed chambers. The pulp is dense and tasty. It has a pronounced tomato taste and smell.

Ripening time and yield

Pink Katya is an early ripening variety. Technical maturity occurs after 80-85 days.

It is distinguished by friendly fruiting and stable high yield throughout the entire growing season. When planting in open ground, it is possible to collect 8-10 kg of crop per 1 square meter. m. When grown under film - 16-18 kg 1 sq. m. Mass ripening allows you to get tomatoes in waves, which is convenient for gardeners.

Using tomatoes

The variety was bred for salad use; it is also suitable for fresh consumption, for example, sliced. It is actively used for various dishes and juices. Suitable for preservation and preparations for the winter, because... has a thick skin.

Features of planting and growing at home

If on large farm lands there is already a clear technology for planting various crops, then for summer residents and owners of their own private land plots this question remains open. Let's take a closer look at the features of planting and growing Katrina tomatoes at home.

Did you know? In addition to a huge number of useful elements, tomatoes contain serotonin, called the hormone of happiness, which is why tomatoes are considered an excellent remedy for depression, because they can lift your spirits.

Optimal conditions

One of the fundamental factors for successfully growing tomato seedlings at home will be the creation of optimal conditions, which include temperature, lighting and air humidity. The ideal temperature regime will vary in the range of +20 to +25 degrees. The minimum permissible air temperature is +18 degrees.

If the temperature is lower, growth will decrease significantly or may even stop. Moderate humidity of 70–80% will also promote the growth and development of seedlings. You can track this indicator using a special device, or simply periodically spray it with a spray bottle to humidify the air in the room.

It is especially necessary to monitor humidity if your room has a large radiator, which significantly heats and dehumidifies the room. Wet cleaning will also come in handy. As for lighting, it is better to choose a south-facing window sill, which will allow you to capture maximum natural light. If the day is not yet long enough, then in the evening you can illuminate the seedlings for 2–3 hours using a regular incandescent lamp.

Preparing for sowing

To grow strong, healthy and strong seedlings at home, you will need to select the optimal soil mixture in a specialized store or prepare the substrate yourself. If the second option is chosen, you will need to mix humus, wood ash and sawdust in certain proportions, add superphosphate and the soil itself (it is advisable to take it from the area where you plan to plant seedlings in the spring).

Important! Pre-treatment of seeds with growth preparations (activators, stimulants, growth regulators) will help speed up the germination of seedlings and their stability in the future in an open area. You can buy these at any specialty store.

Store-bought seeds should be soaked in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate to protect and disinfect them, and discard any that remain afloat. This is a good way to check before planting which seeds will sprout and which are best thrown into the trash right away. Those that will sink are considered suitable; anything that floats on the surface will not be able to germinate.

Sowing technology

Seeds should be sown two months before they are transplanted to a permanent location in open ground. Thus, work on planting seeds can begin in mid-March, so that the seedlings are ready by May. You should not rush and start planting in February, because then by the time the soil warms up enough and serious temperature changes cease to operate at night, the seedlings will simply outgrow and it will be difficult for them to take root in the new place.

Seeds are planted in disposable peat or plastic pots with holes in the bottom to ensure sufficient ventilation, removal of excess gases and free passage of excess water. You should plant 2 grains per pot, in case some of them still do not germinate. Afterwards, you can remove the sprout that is weaker, or leave both plants and divide them into two holes when replanting.

Planting seedlings in a permanent place

One of the main factors in successfully growing a bountiful tomato harvest is choosing a good site and the right soil. Almost all varieties of tomatoes, including Katrina, are quite demanding on the soil, and therefore it is advisable to choose breathable, light, and preferably sandy loam soil.

You will be interested to know when and how to plant tomato seedlings correctly.

Control of soil acidity and its mineralization deserves special attention. The site should be prepared in the fall. During this period, the plantation should be dug up to the depth of a spade bayonet, and phosphorus and potassium fertilizers should be applied according to the instructions. In the spring, a similar procedure is carried out, only nitrogen fertilizers are applied.

Seedlings are planted on the 60th day from the moment of sowing the seeds. In this case, you should make sure that the soil is sufficiently warmed up and that there are no serious temperature changes at night. This way you can protect the still immature seedlings as much as possible from the harmful effects of climatic and weather factors. To plant, dig a small hole half the depth of a shovel. Afterwards, water the hole with agents against the larvae of the cockchafer and mole cricket (the most fierce enemies of the summer resident).

Sprinkle generously with wood ash and ash, which will also be a good way to protect young seedlings. Next, carefully remove the seedlings with a lump of earth and place them in the hole. Sprinkle with loose soil, pour an additional liter of water on the bush and sprinkle with dry, loose soil again. The recommended distance between seedlings is 60–70 centimeters.

Agricultural technology Rosamarina pound

Rosamarin pound is grown only in protected soil. It is under such conditions that the highest yields are recorded.

You can plant seedlings in a permanent place in early March. In protected soil, the soil will already be quite warm during this period.

Transplanting

Before planting tomatoes, prepare the soil. In autumn, the beds are dug up and cleared of plant debris. For 1 sq. m add 4 kg of humus. If the acidity of the soil is increased, it is reduced with dry lime.

In the spring, the beds are leveled with a rake, cleared of weeds, and watered with copper sulfate.

The holes are dug in rows in a checkerboard pattern. For 1 sq. m no more than three plants are planted. With a denser planting, fewer fruits will be produced on the bushes.

1 tbsp is poured into the bottom of each hole. l ash. Plants are placed in them, forming roots towards the center. The holes are covered with earth, each one is watered with a liter of water.

Tomato care

Tomato Rosamarin pound should be tied up. It is more convenient to use trellises, but wooden supports will also work. The plant is attached to the support as it grows with a synthetic thread that does not rot.

When forming a bush, one or three stems are left. The fewer trunks remain, the larger the fruits will be and the sooner the harvest will ripen.

During the pinching process, leaves up to the first cluster and withered greenery are removed. The procedure is carried out once a week. No more than three leaves are removed in one session.

Water the soil as it dries out. Use warm, settled water. If the liquid gets on the above-ground part of the plants, the likelihood of burns on the leaves will increase. Watering should be plentiful, but infrequent.

After each moistening of the soil, it is loosened. This prevents the formation of an earthen crust, which interferes with air exchange. During this procedure it is convenient to remove weeds.

Tomatoes are fertilized with complex mineral and organic fertilizers. They must contain phosphorus and potassium. Before applying fertilizing, moisten the soil abundantly.

Features of care

Rosamarinum pound will produce a bountiful harvest if properly cultivated. It has care features that every gardener needs to know about:

Rosamarin pound is prone to fattening. With an excess of nutrients, it forms few ovaries, and the leaves begin to curl. Tomatoes of this variety are fed only twice a season.

If a tomato is not fed at all, the fruits will crack.

It is important to use moderation when using fertilizers.

Be sure to help pollinate the inflorescences of Rosamarinum pound. To do this, the bushes are shaken regularly.

Tomato beds are mulched

They are covered with straw, humus or hay.

Diseases and pests

Rosamarin pound has high immunity to various tomato diseases. However, it is worth following the rules of prevention:

Seeds, soil and containers are disinfected

Garden tools are also treated with copper sulfate. It is important to monitor soil moisture. The bushes are sprayed with a solution prepared from a piece of laundry soap rubbed into a bucket of water. This mixture protects tomatoes from aphids, spider mites, Colorado potato beetles and other insects.

Tomato care

In addition to following the technology of sowing and growing, you should familiarize yourself with and subsequently implement the rules for caring for tomatoes.

Important! with
various fertilizers, because excessive quantities can cause irreparable harm to the plant. Therefore, carefully study the instructions for various drugs and strictly follow the recommendations given.

Fertilizer and watering

For tomatoes, three important elements that almost all fertilizers should contain are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Sometimes several others must be added to these small amounts, including boron, copper and manganese. Fertilizers based on phosphorus and potassium are recommended to be introduced in winter when digging the site. Nitrogen should be introduced before planting seedlings in the ground and then once a month as needed.

The full list of tomato fertilizers is listed below:

1. The first feeding is done in early June. To implement it, you will need to dissolve 0.5 liters of cow manure, 2-3 tablets of pressed microfertilizers, 1 tbsp. in 10 liters of water. l. nitrophoska and 0.5 tsp. boric acid. Dosage: 1 liter of mixture for each tomato bush.
2. The second feeding is carried out a month later, in early July. The composition is the same, only instead of boric acid, 1 tbsp is added. l. potassium sulfate. The dosage is similar.
3. To carry out preventive procedures to prevent the development of various diseases, it is recommended to apply a solution of potassium permanganate at a ratio of 5 g per 10 liters daily to the root. Dosage: 200 ml for each bush.
4. Before the fruiting period begins, the following are added to the soil per 1 m²: 5 g of ammonium nitrate, 15–20 g of superphosphate and 4 g of potassium chloride. During fruiting: saltpeter - 10 g, superphosphate - 10–15 g. The best way to use it is a liquid solution when watering.
5. As for the introduction of organic matter, for example, manure or compost, in this case it is recommended to apply them in the fall for digging at the rate of 2–3 kg per 1 m². After this, next season it will be possible to plant a tomato plantation in this place.

Learn about the features of fertilizing tomatoes.

Watering is carried out as needed 2-3 times a week in the evening. Monitor the condition of the soil by regularly checking for moisture in the root area of ​​the plant. If there is moisture under the top dry layer, it means it is too early to water. Excellent indicators of the sufficiency of water in the ground are garden weeds, among which are field daisies, dandelions, knotweed, wheatgrass, spurge and some others. After watering, be sure to fluff up the soil and sprinkle it with dry soil so that the moisture evaporates more slowly.

Bush formation and pinching

The Katrina tomato variety does not require pinching if the bushes grow in open ground in compliance with the previously prescribed distances between plants. Due to their compactness and medium height, tomato bushes are less damaged and do not require additional lightening of the green crown. This is another advantage of this variety, for which it received such high marks from professional farmers and is used in agriculture and on private plots.

Did you know? La Tomatina (Spanish: La Tomatina) is an annual large-scale festive event held on the twentieth of August in the Spanish city of Buñol, located in the autonomous community of Valencia. Many thousands of tourists and participants in this event come from different parts of the world to see and participate in the battle, in which tomatoes are the “weapon”.

If tomatoes are grown in a greenhouse, then to prevent rotting and the development of mold lesions caused by the increased humidity of greenhouses, pinching is still recommended. The bush is formed into one or two stems, the upper shoots are pruned starting from a height of 40 cm to activate the growth of side shoots. When the ovary forms, it is also recommended to prune new shoots to allow the bush to devote all its strength to the development and ripening of a high-quality and rich harvest.

Loosening the soil and weeding

An integral part of garden work has always been weeding and loosening the soil. It is especially important to do this after rains or after watering, so that a dense and hard crust does not form on the surface, which can damage the delicate root system, which can lead to negative consequences and even the death of the bush.

Did you know? There are more than 10,000 different varieties of tomatoes in the world today. At the same time, the smallest tomato does not exceed 2 cm in diameter, and the largest weighs almost 1.5 kg.

While the tomatoes are small, loosening must be carried out constantly after these procedures. When the bushes grow, weeding can be canceled. Thanks to the lush deciduous crown, the tomatoes themselves will be able to protect the ground from direct sunlight and save enough moisture for their successful growth and fruiting.

Diseases and pests of tomatoes

As with other crops, spring is one of the most critical periods for growing tomatoes, since a large number of pathologies multiply with increasing temperature and humidity. Therefore, it is very important to know what the main tomato pests and diseases are and have an idea of ​​how to avoid or control them:

1. Powdery mildew - This parasitic fungus, belonging to the Erysiphaceae family, is one of the main diseases of tomatoes. Its most well-known symptoms are the appearance of yellow spots on the plants, which eventually cause necrosis in the center. It also appears as a white powder on the undersides of leaves and can lead to leaf drop. To prevent powdery mildew in tomato, it is important to destroy weeds and residues of previous crops and use special treatments to control it. In this sense, the products Certis ArmicarbR or TakumiR are excellent choices. ArmicarbR is registered for organic farming and is MRL free. The domestic alternative is the drugs “Antrakol”, “Consento”, “Tatu”.

2. Mold — this fungus affects different species of the nightshade family. In tomatoes, it damages the above-ground part of the plant at any stage of its development. The main symptom of tomatoes is the appearance of oily spots that penetrate almost all the foliage. Brown spots also appear on the stem and on unripe fruit. To avoid mold, it is important to ventilate tomato plantations when in a greenhouse and ensure that there is no standing water on the leaves. It is also recommended to use a fungicide such as KdosR de Certis, or the drugs Hom, Oxychom, which help control this disease, in addition to being certified for organic farming.

3. Alternaria blight - Among various tomato diseases, it is also known by the scientific name Alternaria solani and, as a rule, affects all nightshade plants. The main effect on tomatoes is fruit rot, although it can also affect the leaves, stem and petioles of the plant. Round or angular spots appear on the leaves, sometimes a yellow halo appears. To prevent Alternaria blight, it is necessary to remove affected vegetables and plants, control humidity and use phytosanitary products that help eliminate this disease. There are several drugs to combat Alternaria blight, for example KdosR and KocideR Opti, as well as Oxychom, Barrier, Zaslon.

4. Gray rot is a fungus that can cause plant death. In mature plants it causes brown lesions on the stem and petioles that penetrate into the stem. Soft rot appears on the fruit, and brown lesions similar to those on the stem appear on the leaves and flowers. To prevent gray mold, it is important to monitor soil nitrogen levels, remove plants already affected by the disease, and take extra care when pruning. It is recommended to undergo chemical control by applying a product that helps eradicate the disease. Certis JapicaR, Scomrid Limb AerosolR and CercobinR 50 SC products are ideal for eradicating gray mold from tomato plantations.

5. Aphid - is the most common pest affecting tomato crops. Typically, the pest causes deformations and bulges in the leaves. Aphids are capable of transmitting CMV and PVY viruses in tomato crops, which will lead to much more serious damage. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to eliminate weeds and residues of other crops, as well as eliminate excess moisture. Products such as MospilanR, Breaker (registered for organic farming), Eradicoat and Sherpa 100 EC will also help you. Among domestic preparations, choose Karbofos or a folk remedy - spraying with a soap solution.

6. Whitefly - is a pest that reproduces very quickly. On the back side, insects lay eggs, and after some time, the first mobile larvae appear from them, which cause direct damage to the plant, as they absorb sap from the leaves, causing yellowing and weakening of the plants. To avoid misfortune, it is important to remove weeds and not leave the crop at the end of the vegetative cycle, since young shoots attract adult whiteflies. Specialty stores offer a wide range of products that help control whiteflies, such as EradicoatR, MospilanR and BotanigardR. Among domestic drugs, Confidor is suitable.

How to deal with pests and diseases

The most common disease of tomatoes is leaf curl.

• using large amounts of organic fertilizers when planting. You can cope with the problem by using complex fertilizer
• the lack of copper is compensated for by copper-containing fertilizers
• high temperature in the greenhouse - the situation can be corrected by systematic ventilation

If the causes of leaf curling are properly eliminated, the plant will acquire a healthy appearance; recovery will take a couple of days.

The Rosemary pound tomato variety is famous for its high resistance to disease, and pests also do not particularly affect it. Therefore, there are usually no special problems when growing them. If necessary, you can use products that help fight pests of nightshade crops.

Harvest and storage times

Already on the 80–85th day after sowing the seeds in the ground, the first harvest begins to ripen. Considering that the Katrina variety is an early variety, the harvest season will be completed by the beginning of August. Such a crop can be stored for a relatively short time, given that these tomatoes are not subject to long-term storage fresh. They can be stored for 10–15 days in a cool place, such as a basement, and about 20 days in the refrigerator.

During this period, it is recommended to eat tomatoes fresh or marinate and preserve them, as well as distill them into juice, taking into account the indicators of taste and juiciness. You can store them in small boxes, placing tomatoes in a maximum of two layers to avoid stress on the bottom row and extend the shelf life of vegetables.

We recommend that you learn how to grow tomatoes at home.

Guided by the information provided in this article about the early and productive tomato variety Katrina F1, it will not be difficult for you to carry out all the necessary work on preparing seedlings, their subsequent planting on your own plot, care and maintenance of plants, as well as harvesting, storing and processing. As a result, your efforts will be more than justified by a tasty, aromatic and juicy harvest of ripe tomatoes.