Octopus tomatoes: how to grow, secret technology for growing F1 tomatoes and the development of agricultural technology Russian farmer

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Published: 10/20/2018

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Everyone is accustomed to the fact that the Land of the Rising Sun is not only one of the first to greet the new day, but is also famous for its latest developments in various fields. It turned out that the Japanese succeeded in garden breeding, namely tomato selection, introducing the world to the hybrid form of the Octopus F1 tomato.

1 Grow the tomato, grow!
2 Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
3 Tomato Octopus and his “family”
4 How to grow Octopus in a greenhouse? 4.1 Tomato seedlings: what is important to know
4.2 Planting tomatoes

5 Tomato agricultural technology

Miracle tree

Octopus f1 is a perennial (up to 15 years) indeterminate hybrid that does not stop growing the main stem, forming many clusters.

Grows in height up to 5 meters. Forms a crown with a diameter of up to 50 square meters. 5-6 tomatoes ripen on one bunch, weighing about 150 g.

Leaves are oval shaped. The flowers are white and pink. The fruits are elongated, of different shades: red, yellow, orange. The pulp is distinguished by its juiciness, aroma, and sweetish taste.

The introductory video below will help you better understand the scale of the Octopus F1 tomato tree. Tomato is good in vegetable cocktails, sauces and dressings. The fruits are suitable for canning, long-term storage, and making tomato juices. There are special reserves where tourists are allowed to get better acquainted with this variety of Octopus tomatoes. How to grow them in open ground, in ordinary greenhouses, on balconies and loggias, in industrial hydroponic greenhouses?

The average gardener does not have greenhouses of suitable size for the long-term cultivation of real trees, and there is no opportunity to work with hydroponic solutions.

For most hobbyists, the option of growing a hybrid in one season in a regular greenhouse or open ground is suitable. Technologies of using effective biofertilizers will help to grow a decent harvest.

Advantages and disadvantages, features, differences from other varieties

If we talk about the possibility of growing the Octopus tomato and its varieties in the form of a tree in a two-year culture, then here, perhaps, there is nothing to compare the Octopus with; we can say that it is a unique hybrid. However, for normal conditions (standard greenhouse or unprotected soil), the main indicators of the hybrid are not much different from hundreds of similar tomatoes. Its advantages can be considered:

versatility of crop use;
high productivity;
very good disease resistance;
drought resistance, resistance to sudden changes in conditions;
long shelf life of fruits and excellent transportability.

We start with seedlings

It is better not to experiment with this variety of tomatoes, but to use only purchased tomato seeds Octopus f1. The growing technology is quite simple and below we will look at it in detail:

We disinfect and soak the hybrid variety in the traditional way for all tomatoes.
The timing of sowing seedlings is from late January to mid-February. Seedlings germinate at a temperature of + 20-25°. Seedlings need additional lighting and heating.
We dive into large containers.
We transplant into open ground from May to mid-June. We replant in the phase of 5-7 leaves, with a seedling height of up to 30 cm. In warm areas, it is possible to plant seeds directly into the ground.

Choosing a place

Tomato trees can grow outdoors in beds, but it is better to grow them in barrels or boxes.

You will need a barrel with a volume of at least two hundred liters . You can take a wooden box or a thick plastic bag.
To remove excess water, knock out the bottom of the barrel. Using a 20 by 20 cm pattern, we make centimeter holes in the walls. They will provide oxygen access to the root system.
Install on the sunny side.
Pour in 10 cm layers a mixture of equal parts of soil, turf and biofertilizer .
We make a mound by filling a bucket of fertile soil. We plant the strongest bush of seedlings, with the lower leaves and stepsons torn off in advance so that the wounds heal.
We fill it with another ten-centimeter layer of soil mixture. Cover with film until freezing stops.
As the shoot grows 10 cm, sprinkle it with soil up to the lower leaves. We repeat the procedure until the planting container is completely filled.

Before you start filling the barrel with soil, place a rubber hose with several slots in it. Close the end of the hose at the bottom tightly. Connect the pump from the outside.

Blow air twice a week to improve ventilation.

Preparing biocompost

You can buy ready-made biocompost, but it’s better to prepare the mixture yourself:

To obtain biocompost (urgasy) at home, we use a bucket or similar container .
We fix the grate not high from the bottom.
We line the walls with plastic bags with holes at the bottom. We put all food waste into the dishes prepared in this way.
For 10 kg add 1 kg of earth and sawdust.
Stir until the mixture becomes loose and homogeneous in consistency.
the resulting mixture layer by layer with the biological preparation Baikal EM1 .
Prepare a solution of 100 ml of the drug in a bucket of water, with the addition of liquid sweet jam without fruits. We accumulate in large bags, placing a load on top.
We maintain the humidity of the mixture at about 50-60% . The mixture will ripen in two weeks. Then we dry the mixture.

Compost should not contain bones, fat, plastic or synthetic waste.

Not a day without care

During the summer, it is recommended to follow simple requirements.

We plant the tomatoes until the barrel is completely filled with soil mixture. In the future, we do not pinch the stepsons and buds. You can find a diagram for growing tomatoes in a greenhouse here.
By mid-summer, we provide support for the lashes and brushes. Before this, they can hang freely and even creep along the ground.
We maintain soil moisture at 60%. To do this, we carry out loosening and mulching. Water it 2-3 times a week with warm water.
Starting in July, we feed 2-3 times a week with biocompost mash. We make a chatterbox like this: fill the container 1/3 with mixed soil and biocompost in equal quantities. Fill with settled water to the top. Leave the solution for a day.
We feed the tomato tree with solutions of mineral or organic fertilizers simultaneously with watering.
When the fruits of the first cluster ripen, remove the leaves. We repeat the operation when the tomatoes on the second brush begin to turn brown.
Old, wilted leaves that have begun to turn yellow must be eliminated throughout the growing season.
We water it with a weak aqueous solution of iodine for prevention.

The same rules are followed when growing a tree in a heated greenhouse in the traditional way, in open ground in a garden bed.

On the balcony

A small fruit-bearing tree can be grown on the balcony. The hybrid can be planted all year round, but it is preferable in the spring. We plant it one and a half centimeters deep. We water and cover. We plant the seedlings in separate containers. We place it on an insulated loggia, a southern window sill.

Mulch with moss, expanded clay, sawdust. As they grow older, we transplant them into a shallow, wide pot. We water the solution with fertilizing through the tray once every 2 weeks.

In winter, we reduce watering and do not apply fertilizers.

Is there a result!

Back at the turn of the 90s, Soviet biologist T.A. Protopopov, in the laboratory of the Institute of Plant Protection in the city of Pushkin, Leningrad Region, spent three years breeding amazing hybrids of a popular vegetable. When certain results were achieved, a domestic analogue from the “Podarok” variety was selected when stimulated with a drug invented by the same team of scientists. A harvest of 12.5 thousand tomatoes was recorded from one tomato tree. Nowadays, extensive experience has been accumulated in growing multi-yielding varieties.

Reviews from vegetable growers about ripe tomatoes are very different: enthusiastic from people who are very pleased with the taste of the fruit, their weight - up to 160 grams each, the volume of the harvest, the entire aesthetic appearance of a large plant, and absolutely disappointed and even angry. It all depends on the conditions in which the tomato tree grew. Now anyone can grow such a miracle on their own plot. To do this, you definitely need to get acquainted with the characteristics of an indeterminate tomato variety (unlimited in growth) and the techniques for the serious work ahead.

Klondike for the farmer

Year-round industrial cultivation of tomato trees is only possible in large hydroponic greenhouses. Greenhouses must be constantly heated and have a continuous lighting system.

The method is expensive, but the result is worth it - the tomato tree is not susceptible to diseases and produces a fantastic harvest of one and a half tons or more.

The sequence of work could be like this:

We equip the greenhouse : we install a compressor, lighting lamps with an optimal spectrum. We purchase glass wool, containers, components for hydroponics, devices for monitoring the concentration and composition of the hydroponic solution.
We make glass wool cubes for seedlings (20x20x10 cm), soak them in hydroponic solution. You can use a ready-made solution, or you can use a homemade solution.
We cut holes in the cubes and plant the seeds. We immerse the cubes halfway into the solution poured into the trays. We moisten them with a nutrient solution and place them in small baths filled with the same solution, so that the cube is half in the solution. We constantly wet the top surface of the cube with the same solution.
After two months, we transplant the most plump sprout with 5-7 leaves into a large (50x50x30 cm) fiberglass cube. We connect the cube with tubes to the aerator. As the roots grow, we add air supply tubes in a checkerboard pattern every 30-40 cm.
Place the cube in the prepared container with the solution. The height of the container with the solution should be at least 50 cm, and the area should be about one and a half meters. The container should be black inside and filled with a hydroponic solution to a depth of 30-35 cm. Close the container with the solution with a black foam lid with a hole for growth. The black color does not allow single-celled algae to multiply in the nutrient solution.
Since October, we have been providing the hybrid with 12 hours of daylight using lamps. In February we turn off artificial lighting.
We form the trunk during the first 7-8 months. We install a trellis 3 m high. We stretch a mesh horizontally over the trellis. When the trunk grows, we carefully lay out the shoots on it, oriented in different directions. We pinch the main stem when it exceeds the height of the mesh. We don't stepchildren. Before they are fully formed, we pick off the flowers. The timing of the formation and ripening of fruits in Octopus should coincide with the spring-summer period.
Once a day, or every other day, we supply air to the roots.
We maintain the temperature of the nutrient solution in summer no higher than + 25°, in winter the temperature of the solution should not be lower than + 19°.
We constantly check the composition of the nutrient solution every week. If the concentration of the components of the solution changes, the entire solution must be changed. If the concentration of the solution is increased, dilute the solution with water. If the concentration of the solution is reduced, add the mother solution in the required quantities.

The agricultural technology of growing a five-meter tomato tree in open ground or a regular greenhouse is, of course, impossible. But with proper care, Octopus f1, cultivated as an annual, can please you with a very decent harvest.

With patience, courage and finances, you can try the hydroponic method and grow a giant tomato tree. We hope this review helped you get more information about Octopus tomatoes and growing them both in a greenhouse and on a windowsill. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Advantages

Why should you choose this particular tomato? The tomato tree is one of the best indeterminate varieties and has:

well-developed, widely branched root system;
high growth rate;
increased heat and cold resistance;
resistance to a number of diseases, such as tobacco mosaic virus, cucumber mosaic virus, late blight, Septoria causing white spot, fusarium wilt and drying out;
adaptability to humidity.

Thanks to the wide internodes of the hybrid, it is possible to form bushes up to 4-6 meters high.

In addition, caring for the Sprut F1 variety during the growth process is quite simple. The tomato tree does not require pinching or removing excess ovaries. Fruiting occurs on all formed shoots.