The SeDeK agricultural firm pleased gardeners with an unusual variety with the beautiful name Garden Pearl. The plant not only looks decorative, but also has excellent taste. The tomato is new, it was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements of Russia in 2017 and received permission to be grown in all regions of the country. Recommended for open ground and film greenhouses of private farms. The new product was highly appreciated in Moldova and Ukraine. Our hero is not a hybrid.
Description
The plant is determinate, low, 30-40 cm high. The shape of the bush is creeping, so the variety is convenient to grow in hanging pots as an ampel plant. It looks very elegant, and it is interesting and convenient for children to harvest. Shoot formation is good. The stem and stepsons are of medium thickness, but very strong, and do not break under the load of the crop. The leaves are medium in size, regular in shape, dark green. The inflorescence is simple. The fruit cluster consists of 8 - 10 ovaries. The first brush is formed above the 4th - 5th leaf. During the season, the prolific bush of the Garden Pearl produces from 300 to 500 tomatoes.
The fruits are medium dense, round in shape, smooth. An unripe tomato is light green in color without a dark spot at the stalk. When ripe, it becomes pink, with a pearlescent tint. The skin is quite strong, but not hard. The pulp is juicy, aromatic, there are 2 - 3 seed nests, the seeds are very small. The taste is excellent, the taste is sweet, with a slight sourness. The fruit size is small, weight - 15 - 20 grams.
Tomato Garden Pearl
Description and characteristics of the Garden Pearl tomato variety, reviews, photos
An early-ripening, productive, low-growing tomato variety for growing in open ground, on a balcony, or a window. The period from germination to the beginning of ripening is 87-9 days. The name of the variety is due to the pearly moire of the tomatoes. Extraordinary beauty both when flowering and when ripening!
Bush of determinate type, creeping, 25-40 cm high. Does not require pinching. The first inflorescence is formed above the 4th - 5th leaf.
Advantages of the Garden Pearl tomato : decorativeness of the bush, long fruiting period. During the season, a bush of this variety produces up to 300-500 tasty, sweet tomatoes.
Basic qualities of fruits
The fruits are round balls, pink at ripeness, weighing 20-30 grams, juicy, excellent taste. These tomatoes are suitable for fresh consumption, decoration of dishes, and canning.
Features of growing tomatoes Garden Pearl
When grown in open ground, 1 sq. Place no more than 4 plants per meter of land, since the bushes are very spreading, they spread along the ground and occupy up to half a meter of area.
If you grew Garden Pearl tomatoes, please write whether you liked them or not. What was the yield and taste of the fruits like under your climatic conditions? How do you rate the disease resistance of this variety? If possible, attach a photo of your tomatoes to your comment. Thank you!
Your reviews of the Garden Pearl tomato and additions to the description will help many gardeners evaluate this variety more objectively and decide whether it is worth planting or not.
Characteristics
- The amazing Garden Pearl is an ultra-early ripening variety. She will delight you with a harvest within 87 - 93 days after the appearance of full shoots;
- The crumb yield is excellent due to the growth of side shoots on which fruit clusters appear. According to different sources, this figure is quite high - from 2.0 to 7.0 kg of tomatoes per bush. True, the State Register notes that 4.8 kg per 1 square meter was collected under film covers;
- the fruiting period is long, the plant will form ovaries before the onset of persistent cold weather;
- there is no specific data on immunity, but the Garden Pearl is reported to be resistant to major diseases;
- fruits are resistant to cracking;
- transportability is good, tomatoes can withstand the hardships of transportation. Keeping quality, according to reviews, is long-lasting if storage standards are followed;
- method of use is universal. Children love to pick sweet tomatoes and eat them in their natural form. You can make a salad from the fruits and decorate the finished dish with them. Another advantage of the variety is the ability to use it in whole-fruit canning.
Diseases and pests
All of the above tomatoes are new. They are bred in laboratory conditions by selecting seeds of the best varieties. All of them have high immunity. If you follow the rules of agricultural technology, there should be no problems with diseases. In any case, it is worth monitoring the level of temperature and humidity in the greenhouse, removing plant debris and carrying out preventive treatments using light fungicides.
Among the pests, plants are threatened by mole crickets. Various types of aphids do not like the pungent odor of leaves. They fight mole crickets using physical and chemical methods.
Agricultural technology
It is best to grow Garden Pearl using seedlings. The seed sowing period is from March to April. Picking in the phase of 2 true leaves will definitely be required. The transplant takes place in May or early June. Recommended density is no more than 4 plants per 1 square meter. Do not save space, as during the fruiting period the bush spreads out very much and can take up to half a meter of area. To the delight of busy gardeners, there is no need to shape the plant. On the contrary, the more stepsons are formed, the more productive the bush will be. But it is recommended to pick ripe fruits in time so that the plant switches nutrition to the formation and ripening of new tomatoes. Care is usual, but the variety needs to be planted in well-drained and nutritious soil.
An interesting feature of the variety is the ability to grow it not only in the garden, but also on the balcony, and even on the windowsill. In this case, care is carried out as for balcony varieties. You can learn more about how to grow tomatoes on a windowsill in one of our articles.
If you want to decorate your garden, balcony or flowerbed, and at the same time get a tomato harvest without bothering yourself too much, plant a Garden Pearl. This tiny bush at first, thanks to its good shoot formation, is capable of showing real miracles of productivity. But of course, it also requires timely care - watering and fertilizing. There were no complaints from vegetable growers during cultivation of the crop; on the contrary, many experienced a feeling of delight and gratitude. In addition, you can collect seeds from this amazing variety yourself.
How to grow ampel tomatoes
Canopy varieties can be grown under film, in beds in open ground and in greenhouses. There they require obligatory garter, bear fruit well and become similar to ordinary tomatoes.
When planted in hanging baskets to decorate a house or territory, ampelous tomatoes require a large amount of mineral fertilizers and constant treatments. In potted culture, you need to choose - beauty and a lot of fruits that are of little use for eating, or a modest harvest and not very presentable bushes.
Preparing soil and seeds
Sowing seeds for seedlings to grow balcony hanging tomatoes is usually carried out a month earlier than for soil. There, when moving to a permanent place, you need to wait until the soil warms up well.
Seedlings are grown in the same way as for conventional varieties. It is better not to prepare the soil yourself - there is a danger of introducing an infection or pests with one of the components that can destroy tender young plants.
Steaming with boiling water does not provide a 100% guarantee of the destruction of pathogenic spores and larvae. Of course, you can bake all the ingredients in the oven, but this is time-consuming and messy. It is better to buy a ready-made substrate for seedlings. Its quality is quite acceptable and the price is low.
There is no need to prepare pelleted seeds for planting - any manipulation violates the integrity of the shell. Conventional ones are first disinfected in a convenient way, then heated at a temperature of 53 ° C, then planted.
Experienced gardeners, if they soak tomato seeds, do so only until they swell, and never wait for them to peck.
Landing
Ampelous tomatoes are sown in low wooden boxes. To avoid picking, you can use peat or plastic cups with a hole made at the bottom for the outflow of water with a volume of no more than 0.5 liters, or special pallets.
First, the container is filled with substrate, compacted well, paying special attention to the area along the sides, and leveled. For the top 5 cm, the soil mixture is sifted to avoid lumps and tamped lightly.
Furrows are made at a distance of 1-1.5 cm from each other, about 1 cm deep, and seeds are rarely sown. Level the surface and water by spraying from a household spray bottle.
As an option, just mark the grooves, lay out the tomato seeds according to a 1x1 cm pattern, cover with a 2 cm layer of substrate. Compact with a spoon. Watered. Cover with film or glass and place in a warm place. The planting is ventilated daily and the soil moisture is checked.
The seeds germinate better at a temperature of 28-32° C - they only need 4 or 5 days.
At 20-23°C you will have to wait a week. If the temperature is below 18° C, the seeds not only hatch poorly, but can also rot in wet soil.
After germination, the containers are moved to the brightest place. The temperature is reduced to 16-18° during the day, 12-14° C at night. Seedlings that emerge with a delay of 4-5 days are immediately discarded.
Picking
Tomato seedlings are picked when 2-3 true leaves appear. The seedlings are immediately planted in individual containers with a capacity of 0.5 liters. You can use plastic cups with holes in the bottom. If the seeds were planted in pallets or separate containers, picking is not required.
The operation is conveniently carried out with a special wooden peg. It is planed at one end like a screwdriver, but so that the edge is blunt and cannot damage the plants.
The peg is driven into the aisle, pointing the flat surface towards the young tomatoes. Press in the opposite direction from them. Gently pull it out of the soil, holding the seedlings by the cotyledon leaf. If the root is too long, pinch it off, leaving about 4 cm. Seedlings with a shorter shoot are also plucked, they will take root well.
Using the same peg, make a deep notch in the cups. Insert the tomato into the hole so that the root fits completely there and does not bend. Stick a peg next to it and press the substrate against the plant, covering the lower part.
Planting depth – up to the cotyledon leaves. It’s even better to carefully pinch them off first. And bury the tomato down to the real leaves. But only experienced dive operators can do this without injuring the seedling.
Water the tomatoes carefully. Place it for 2-3 days away from the sun and lighting fixtures. If necessary, cover with newspaper. Tomato roots recover quickly, and after a few days the seedlings can be returned to their usual conditions.
Feeding and watering
Watering tomato seedlings should be sufficient, but not excessive. An overdried plant will quickly die, an overwatered plant will get blackleg, fall, and have to be thrown away.
Tomatoes are very demanding when it comes to fertilizing from the moment they emerge. If they were sown in a store-bought substrate, there is nothing to worry about for a while - it contains all the necessary additives.
The first time tomato seedlings are fed 12 days after picking. It is better to use special fertilizers for tomatoes, diluted 2 times more than indicated in the instructions. Additionally, urea is added to the fertilizer at the rate of 1 teaspoon per 10 liters of water. Although tomatoes do not like excess nitrogen, at this stage it is very necessary.
A week later, a second feeding is carried out. If the tomatoes develop normally, this is the limit. If growth is delayed, fertilize the seedlings every 2 weeks. If the leaves and shoots of tomatoes turn purple, it means they lack phosphorus, light, or are cold.
The main rules of feeding:
- fertilize early in the morning or in cloudy weather;
- the fertilizing is completely dissolved, there should be no crystals left, otherwise they will burn the seedlings;
- use warm, settled water;
- pre-moisten the soil;
- It is better to underfeed than to overfertilize.
Transplantation to a permanent place
Depending on the variety, containers from 5 to 10 liters are used. Some tomatoes allow planting in 3-liter pots. There should be holes at the bottom to drain excess moisture.
You can take greenhouse soil prepared for planting tomatoes as a substrate, or make it yourself from equal parts of well-rotted humus, turf soil and peat. Add a glass of ash and 1 tbsp as a starting fertilizer. a spoonful of double superphosphate per 10 liters of mixture.
At the bottom of the pot, drainage made of expanded clay, broken red brick or gravel is laid in a layer of at least 5 cm. The wet substrate is poured, squeezed, and a recess is made in the center corresponding to the size of the container in which the seedlings were grown.
Carefully remove the tomato from the container, trying not to destroy the earthen lump. Place it in the hole, add soil, and water it. There is no need to crimp so as not to damage the roots. The substrate will compact itself when watering. Add soil again. If tomatoes were grown in a peat cup, do not remove it before planting.
They try to plant tomatoes as deep as possible. Adventitious roots quickly form on their stems, providing additional nutrition and stability. The part of the shoot that will be underground must be freed from the leaves so that they do not rot.
The containers are placed in the shade for several days. As soon as new leaves appear, they are placed in a permanent place.
