All about successfully growing tomatoes Oxheart: a favorite variety of pink tomatoes

Large tomatoes Bull's heart are widespread in Russia. The basis of the variety was Italian tomatoes with dense pulp, which were successfully zoned for cultivation in temperate latitudes. The breeders' achievement was highly appreciated by tomato producers and ordinary summer residents, and in 2003 the variety received state registration.

Over time, several subtypes emerged within the variety, retaining the basic characteristics, but differing in the color of the fruit.

Characteristics and description of the variety

The main characteristic features of the Bull's Heart bushes include:

• height up to 1.5-1.8 m;
• determinant type;
• powerful central stem;
• strong branches;
• spreading crown with a small number of leaves;
• fruits under 8 leaves and above;
• up to 5 ovaries on a branch.

The main feature of the variety lies in the specificity of the fruits, which are easy to note in the photo of tomatoes:

• pronounced heart-shaped;
• pointed end;
• there may be ribbing on the surface;
• dense peel is not prone to cracking;
• the pulp is dense and does not have thick veins;
• a large number of narrow chambers contain little free liquid and seeds;
• sweet taste with some sourness.

The size of tomatoes varies significantly depending on the location on the bushes. The largest tomatoes are formed at the bottom of the stem, which can weigh 0.5-1.0 kg. In the upper part of the plant, the fruits are much smaller, weighing 0.1-0.2 kg.

Tomato Bull's heart red is not the only variant of this variety. There are subspecies with different fruit colors:

• pinkish;
• rich brown;
• reddish-black;
• orange;
• yellow;
• almost white.

Varietal varieties have minimal differences in care and cultivation from the classic variety.

In appearance and characteristics, the cultivar is similar to the Sugar Nastasya tomato, Budenovka tomatoes and the Batyanya variety.

Characteristic

Speaking about the characteristics and description of the tomato variety Bull's Heart, it should be said that it was bred by Russian breeders from agrotechnical. And in 2003, the new product was included in the State Register of the Russian Federation, and it was allowed to be cultivated throughout Russia.

Tomato fruits “Bull's heart”

The plant is determinate, powerful, tall. The variety got its name from its unusual heart-shaped shape. The exhibition center displayed massive giant fruits weighing a kilogram. But you shouldn’t expect fruits in the form of picture hearts; tomatoes are very similar to the real heart of a buffalo or bull, as it looks from an anatomical point of view. It is a slightly flattened oval with jagged edges.

This variety is not capricious; its agricultural technology is standard, as for most tomatoes. The Oxheart tomato loves the sun and does not tolerate waterlogged soil and air. Because of this, its fruits crack.

Taking into account the varietal characteristics, it is quite possible to get a decent harvest of sugary, fleshy fruits.

Description of the variety

Characteristics of the Bull's Heart tomato say that it belongs to the mid-late indeterminates, that is, the bush has unlimited growth and grows spreading. In a greenhouse it stretches up to 1.8 m, in open ground - up to 1.3 m.

Varieties

The variety has several varieties that differ in organoleptic qualities, color, and yield.

There are the following subspecies:

1. Gold. Tomatoes of this variety are distinguished by their golden color and cone-shaped shape with a slightly sharp nose. The taste is sweetish and tender, fleshy with thick skin. One yellow Oxheart tomato weighs 350-750 grams. The yield is slightly lower than that of the red counterpart.
2. White. A very unusual subspecies with a white, sometimes cream color. It is distinguished by a long fruiting period, during which large beautiful tomatoes weighing up to 900 grams ripen. Tomatoes can be picked from the bush until the first frost.
3. Pink. A large-fruited variety of the variety, tomatoes reach a weight of 1 kilogram. Unlike their red counterpart, pink tomatoes ripen a little later, but they are easier to care for; the bushes have increased immunity to diseases, which has made pink Ox's Heart popular among owners of summer cottages. The fruits are bright pink, with a thin but fairly dense skin. They are suitable for transportation due to their good shelf life.
4. Orange. A subspecies of Bull's Heart with a beautiful sunny, peach color. Tolerates drought well and rarely gets sick. But the bushes grow very quickly, you have to constantly trim and shape them. The fruits are heavy.
5. Black. A subspecies distinguished by brown-burgundy fruits weighing on average 700 g. The pulp is tender, practically without seeds, with a pleasant sweetish taste. The black variety has a high yield, and tomatoes form and ripen on all clusters at once.

Tomato “Oxheart” yellow

Yield indicators

When gardeners mention the Oxheart tomato, the description necessarily includes rave reviews about its excellent yield.

When grown in a greenhouse, 12 kg of fruits are collected from a bush. In open beds the yield is lower, 5 kg per bush.

But to achieve this, you need to choose high-quality planting material and properly care for the plant.

The fruits are picked from the bush greenish, at the stage of technical ripeness, and red when they reach biological ripeness. But if you collect unripe tomatoes, you may lose part of the harvest, because it is not clear whether they have reached their maximum size or can still grow and gain weight. Focus on changing the color of tomatoes. As soon as they acquire a brownish or yellowish tint, they can be removed from the bush. For further ripening, they are laid out in one layer in a box, basket, or simply on the windowsill.

Taste of fruits

The tomatoes are sweetish with a slight sourness. The pulp is juicy, fleshy, with a small amount of seeds, and when broken it resembles a sugar watermelon.

Appearance of the bush and fruits

The bushes grow tall and spreading, they need a lot of space and fresh air. The stem is very strong, thick, with medium foliage. The roots form a powerful system that goes deep into the ground. The leaves are slightly pubescent, grow large, and have a bright emerald color. The fruits set 125-130 days after the first shoots hatch.

Tomatoes of the Bull's Heart variety need to form a bush.

If you choose the method of forming a bush into one trunk, then leave no more than 9 brushes, otherwise the stem will break. After all, the average weight of tomatoes is 500 grams. The largest tomatoes grow on the lower carpal processes; they reach a weight of up to a kilogram. Small tomatoes weighing 150-250 grams are formed on the upper clusters.

Bull's Heart produces fruits of various sizes and shapes on one bush. So, on the first two clusters, heart-shaped tomatoes with a pointed tip appear. Round tomatoes are formed on further clusters. Ripe tomatoes are colored red, but the color differs depending on the variety; they can be yellow, amber, pink, crimson, even brownish if the variety is chocolate. The surface can be smooth or ribbed.

Tomatoes of this variety are not used for whole-fruit canning due to their large size. Still, these are not compact cherry tomatoes. But they make delicious natural juice and tomato paste. Overripe fruits do not last more than 3 days; technically ripe tomatoes have a longer shelf life, about 2 weeks.

Appearance of tomato “Bull's heart”

Disease susceptibility

The Oxheart tomato is resistant to many diseases. This is its advantage. Late blight poses a danger to him. Prevention of this disease is important. This applies to tomatoes grown in open beds. In rainy and cold weather, the disease affects the bushes. Rusty-colored spots appear on the foliage and fruits.

To prevent infection, it is better to cultivate Ox's heart in greenhouses, where it is much easier to control humidity and temperature than in open ground.

Bushes are treated for preventive purposes with antifungal drugs. Diseased plants are dug up and burned. Against late blight, the bushes are sprayed with serum, dusted with ash, and watered with garlic infusion.

When planted in saline soils, Ox's heart is affected by non-infectious rot. If this happens, the diseased tomatoes are picked and calcium solutions are added to the soil.

When there is high humidity, gray rot affects the bushes. A fluffy gray coating and brown spots appear on the leaves. If they are detected, the leaves are removed and the plants are treated with copper sulfate or fungicides “Ordan”, “Previkur”, “Skor”.

Cladosporiosis, or brown spot, appears as yellow spots on the leaf blades. Over time, they grow and the leaves fall off. The same thing happens with ovaries, flowers, and fruits. Copper preparations and the “Bravo” remedy act against this disease.

Advantages and disadvantages

Ox's heart tomatoes have a number of advantages noted during cultivation:

• the ability to get very large tomatoes;
• fruit fleshiness;
• sweet pleasant taste;
• can be planted in open ground and greenhouse;
• good germination of seed;
• high yield rates;
• low level of losses during transportation;
• the ovaries are formed almost simultaneously;
• the presence of varieties with different peel colors;
• seeds of the new harvest retain varietal properties;
• drought resistance of bushes.

The variety has very few disadvantages:

• tall bushes require support;
• requirement of a wide distance between rows and plants;
• the size of the fruit differs at the bottom and at the top of the plant;
• the need to form a crown by removing stepsons;
• lack of nutrients significantly reduces yield;
• lack of resistance to fungal infections and pests;

Another minor disadvantage of tomatoes is that they can be stored in the refrigerator for no longer than 2 weeks.

Productivity

• When grown in open ground, you can collect up to 5 kg from one bush.
• When growing tomatoes in greenhouse conditions, the yield can be increased to 12 kg per bush.

You can harvest such a harvest only if you choose good seeds and also adhere to all the rules for caring for plants of this variety.

The fruits can be collected both at the technical stage of ripeness (greenish tomatoes) and at the biological stage (red tomatoes). But while the tomatoes are still unripe, it will be difficult to understand whether they have reached their size or will continue to grow.

Therefore, if there is a need to remove unripe tomatoes, then you should focus on changing the color. As soon as a yellow or brown tint appears, you can pick it.

Tomatoes ripen well on a windowsill, in a box or in a basket. Just lay out the fruits in 1 or 2 layers.

Varieties

Among the particularly attractive Bull's Heart hybrids are:

1. Exhibition. The fruits of this variety have a dark red skin color, but are distinguished by a more rounded shape. It is recommended to grow these tomatoes in greenhouses.
2. The Abakansky and King London varieties have a soft pink tint.
3. Golden. Tomatoes have a more pronounced cone shape, golden skin color and sweetness.
4. Peach. The salad variety of Ox's Heart is characterized by a yellowish-orange color of the fruit and a sweet fruity taste, which, when ripe, lacks acid.
5. Orange. Tomatoes of this variety become bright orange during ripening and gain weight up to 0.9 kg.
6. Brad's Black Heart is characterized by a dark fruit color that takes on a rich hue when exposed to intense sunlight.
7. White. A variety with very light colored fruits, rarely grown in Russia. The delicate fruity taste is suitable for using tomatoes in salads.
8. Brown's yellow giant is also used in cooking without cooking. The fruits have a characteristic lemon-yellow hue.
9. Chocolate. When ripe, tomatoes become brick-brown in color and have a more rounded shape. The harvest is used in cooking to prepare cold dishes and sauces.

Existing varieties of the variety

The tomato variety we are considering has several different subspecies, which are similar to each other in many characteristic features. In addition to the usual red color of fruits, there are also:

• “black” (in reality dark maroon), which can only form if the tomato has received sufficient sunny color;
• pink, a much more delicate shade than the original red;
• yellow, sour fruits, shades vary from orange to sunny lemon;
• white.

For its taste and excellent appearance, gardeners have come to love, in addition to red, the pink shade of ox’s heart. The fruits, painted in such a delicate color, have juicy “meat”, sweetness and seem to melt in your mouth.

Tomatoes of the variety we are interested in got their name due to their obvious similarity to the heart of living creatures.

It is not possible to use them for pickling due to their large size, and I don’t want to, since it is more pleasant to put such beauty in a salad or tomato paste, which turns out to be very concentrated due to the low wateriness of the fruits of this variety.

This subspecies ripens very quickly, and at the same time, it exhibits little cracking of the skin of the fruit, as well as high resistance to certain diseases.

Common Tomato Diseases

Growing seedlings

Despite the versatility of Ox Heart, it is recommended to grow the variety in open ground only in the south of the country. As you move north, the yield of tomatoes in the absence of shelter will drop significantly.

Starting from the central part of Russia, the variety needs to be planted in a greenhouse. The building should be tall and spacious, since the bushes are tall and spreading.

To plant Oxheart, you can use your own seeds or store-bought ones. Only the seedling growing method is suitable for the variety.

Sowing seeds

Before planting seeds, preparatory measures must be taken:

1. The seed is kept overnight in melt water at room temperature.
2. For disinfection, it is recommended to place the seeds in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for ¾ hour.
3. Boxes made of wood or plastic can be used as containers for sowing.
4. The soil is a disinfected mixture of garden soil, peat, humus and sand. You can buy ready-made soil for seedlings.

The containers are filled with warm, moist soil so as not to reach the edge. Ox heart seeds should be sown at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other, buried 1.5 cm in the ground.

To speed up germination, containers should be covered with glass or transparent film until shoots emerge.

Seedlings grow well in a warm room with good lighting and access to fresh air without drafts.

After the second pair of true leaves appears, the tomatoes can be planted in separate pots, removing weak and non-viable shoots.

Hardening of seedlings

When growing tomatoes for seedlings, you need to prepare the plants for outdoor climatic conditions. A week before transplantation, the Ox's heart must begin to be hardened. There are 2 ways to carry out the procedure:

1. You can open the windows in the room for a short time so that the air from outside can completely fill the space.
2. Place the pots outside, on a terrace or on an open balcony for 5-10 minutes, gradually increasing the time the seedlings stay outside the house.

It is especially important to harden tomatoes when planting in open ground. For growing in a greenhouse, the procedure can be shortened, but cannot be completely eliminated.

Transfer

Growing Ox's Heart tomatoes can be transplanted into a greenhouse in the last ten days of April, or at the very beginning of May. You should focus on the degree of soil warming, weather conditions and the possibility of additional heating and lighting.

Seedlings can be planted in open ground no earlier than mid-May, and sometimes at the beginning of June.

It is important that warm, sunny weather sets in and the threat of night frosts, which can damage a young, unprotected bush, completely disappear.

Soil preparation

The growth rate of tomatoes and the volume of harvest depend on the quality of the soil, which must be prepared in advance. The site should be located in a well-lit place where there is no risk of moisture stagnation.

Bull's heart tomatoes are best planted after crops such as:

• roots;
• onion;
• cabbage;
• beans;
• beans;
• annual herbs.

It is recommended to grow Oxheart tomatoes on soils with the following characteristics:

• abundance of nutrients;
• light structure;
• good conductivity of water and oxygen;
• acidity 6-65 pH.

Primary land preparation is carried out at the end of the previous season. The soil at the site of future beds is dug up and mixed with organic fertilizers, such as manure.

After winter, the soil must be loosened and compost or humus added in an amount of 9 kg per square meter. In early spring, the site can also be planted with green manure, which will subsequently be embedded in the ground.

Features of care and cultivation

Growing tomatoes of this variety has its own difficulties. To obtain high yields, you must follow the recommendations of experienced gardeners.

Basic Tips

• You need to plant bushes 3-4 per square meter according to the 50x50 pattern;
• For proper formation of the bush, one or two stems are left. Excess shoots are removed, all lower foliage is torn off to the first cluster with the ovary.
• To obtain a high yield, up to 8 clusters with ovaries are left on the plant. The last brush remains with the leaves, and the top is pinched off.
• The garter to the trunk support is carried out as the plant grows. If necessary, clusters with fruits are also tied up.
• The plant is fed every 10-12 days with organic and mineral fertilizers.

Growing in a greenhouse

Planting Oxheart tomatoes in a greenhouse requires a lot of space. Using a cramped greenhouse will not allow you to get a normal harvest and large fruits.

The shelter planting scheme assumes:

• the gap between the bushes is more than 0.4 m;
• row spacing is about 1.0 m;
• planting depth up to 15 cm;
• The distance from the ground to the real leaf is about 4.5 cm.

The height of the greenhouse should not be lower than 2 m, since Bull's Heart is a tall variety. The temperature inside should be maintained at 20-22°C during the day, 16-18°C at night.

Growing Oxheart tomatoes at home

The Ox Heart tomato variety and any of the varieties bred on its basis are not very suitable for growing at home. The main reason is the size of the plant. There is not enough space for such bushes even on the balcony, let alone on the windowsill. Their root system is powerful and developed; it will not do well in a cramped pot.

In addition, early-ripening varieties with a ripening period of no more than 90–100 days are most often chosen for planting at home. The bull's heart does not satisfy this criterion either.

For planting on the windowsill and on the balcony, tomato varieties are chosen whose appearance is radically different from the exterior of the Bull's Heart

It is difficult to provide plants of this variety with nutrients in the required volume. If they are deficient, the fruits simply will not ripen. But raising the dose or shortening the intervals between feedings is also not an option.

Ideal for the windowsill are super-determinate varieties of tomatoes from the category of ampelous or standard tomatoes, the bush of which does not extend more than 0.5 m in height. It is also desirable that they be small-fruited - such tomatoes ripen faster. As you can easily see, Bull's Heart is a completely different story.

Growing in open ground

When planting seedlings of the Bull's Heart variety in open ground, it is necessary to prepare a support for tying up the growing shoots. A vertical trellis more than 2 m high is suitable. The direction of the beds should be chosen from south to north.

Bull's heart golden at the stage of technical ripeness

Holes for planting are prepared several days in advance; the extracted soil is mixed with compost, superphosphate or potassium sulfate for enhanced growth.

Bushes should be planted at a distance of more than 0.5 m from each other. Seedlings can be buried to the level of the first true leaf, which activates the development of additional roots.

Use of fruits

Large tomatoes, which include Bull's Heart, are most often used in the summer-autumn period as a table variety. It is eaten just like that, and salads are prepared from ripe fruits. The sweet, fleshy tomato appeals to many connoisseurs of this vegetable. Ox's heart is also suitable for preparing healthy homemade preparations.

Of course, it won’t fit in a jar, but the red-colored fruits make excellent tomato juice, as well as the basis for making rolls, sauces, etc. The dense pulp also allows these tomatoes to be dried or dried.

Ox heart is not used as a variety for growing in industrial greenhouses or fields. This is a tomato purely for amateur gardeners.

Care

Tomato Ox's heart needs careful care. Competent agricultural technology includes:

• compliance with watering standards;
• maintaining soil moisture;
• introducing additional fertilizing;
• correct crown formation;
• tying up growing shoots;
• loosening the soil and weeding.

Watering

The Ox's Heart variety tolerates lack of moisture well, but to obtain a bountiful harvest, it is necessary to provide the bushes with sufficient water.

Plants need to be watered weekly or every 3-4 days. The liquid should not fall on the leaves; water should be poured strictly at the root.

The soil should not be moistened during the day; it is better to do it early in the morning or in the evening. After rooting, Bull's Heart tomatoes need 6 liters of warm water for each meter of planting.

Growing bushes need to be watered more abundantly, gradually bringing the norm to 12 liters. When the tomatoes begin to fill with juice, as well as in hot weather, 2-4 liters more water is required.

Bush formation

For normal fruiting, the bushes of the Bull's Heart are formed in such a way as to obtain one central stem with leaves. Tomatoes gain maximum weight if the growth of the plant in height is stopped in time. To do this, the top of the bush needs to be pinched after 6-8 fruit clusters have formed.

Growing this variety requires regular removal of shoots. Thickening of the bush leads to a lack of nutrients for normal fruit growth. Tomatoes do not gain weight and remain small.

Correct execution of the pinching procedure requires experience and skills. Shoots growing from the leaf axils must be removed before reaching 5 cm in length.

Top dressing

It is important not only to take care of the condition of the bushes, but also to apply fertilizers on time. Mineral supplements should be added to the soil after the snow melts, as well as 4 weeks before harvesting tomatoes. Potassium chloride and superphosphate are used as fertilizing.

Organic matter is added to the soil several times during the growing season:

• before the buds appear;
• when fruit ovaries form;
• during fruit growth.

A source of nitrogen can be chicken droppings or mullein dissolved in water. 2-3 weeks before harvest, the introduction of any additional substances should be canceled.

Mulching

Oxheart tomatoes do not need frequent watering, but it is advisable to retain moisture in the soil in the beds for as long as possible. The mulching procedure helps to cope with this task.

After loosening, removing weeds and watering, the ground must be covered with a protective layer. You can use the following as mulch:

• straw;
• hay;
• tree bark;
• pine needles;
• wood sawdust.

Such care will not only retain water at the roots, but will also reduce the number and growth rate of weeds. In addition, the tomatoes do not come into contact with the ground, which reduces the risk of rotting.

Pollination

When growing the Ox Heart variety in greenhouse conditions, you need to take care of normal pollination. The access of insects and air flows is limited, so pollen cannot spread independently throughout the plants.

The right time for the procedure is in the morning or evening, when the air temperature is warmed up to 24°C and the humidity is 70%. Simple methods of pollination:

• knock on the pegs on which the stems are fixed;
• transfer pollen to flowers with a brush;
• attract bees to plantings.

Cultivation rules

When choosing Oxheart tomatoes for growing, the description of the variety must be studied thoroughly. Tomatoes go through a long growing season; in Russian conditions (especially Siberian and Ural) it is recommended to grow them only by seedlings.

First, the most viable ones are isolated from the total number of seeds. Dissolve a couple of tablespoons of salt in a glass of water to create a supersaturated solution. All the seed is thrown into it and mixed. Seeds with an embryo inside will sink to the bottom, empty ones will float up and are discarded. The remaining seed is washed and placed for half an hour in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection. Then soak in warm water with the addition of a growth stimulant (for example, Epin).

Caring for “Bull's Heart” tomatoes

Sow the seeds in soil that has been previously spilled with boiling water. You can use peat cups. The planting depth is 1-2 cm, the distance between the seeds is 2 cm. Cover the seeds with glass and place in a warm place. It is removed daily, leaving the ground open for half an hour to prevent the seeds from becoming moldy. When the seedlings hatch, the glass is removed and the seedlings are transferred to the windowsill, where there is the most sun. If the weather is cloudy or the windows only face the shady side, you will have to buy a phytolamp to provide additional illumination to the plants.

When 2-3 true leaf blades appear, the seedlings are picked to develop lateral roots. If it is grown in peat pots, this need not be done. Once every 2 weeks, fertilizers are applied for seedlings of tomatoes and peppers. 2 weeks before planting in the ground, seedlings are hardened. To do this, it is taken out to the balcony every day or left by a slightly open window. They start with half an hour, if it is not very warm outside, gradually increasing the hardening time until a full day.

In mid-April, plants are prepared for planting in the greenhouse. By this time they should reach a height of at least 20 cm. The greenhouse should be warm and have enough light. The soil is first disinfected by pouring boiling water over it or treating it with Fitosporin or Baikal-M. Holes are formed with a depth of 15 cm, according to the diagram, they are placed every meter. They put humus in them. Seedlings are planted, covered with soil, carefully pressed down and watered with warm water.

Diseases and pests

Proper care makes Ox's heart resistant to most garden diseases. The only significant danger to the variety is infection with late blight. A fungal infection can affect greens and fruits. Symptoms appear as follows:

• darkening of flowers;
• the appearance of brownish-brown spots on leaves and tomatoes;
• leaf lethargy;
• weakness of shoots and central stem;
• plant rotting.

If signs of disease appear, it is necessary to remove all affected parts and burn them away from other plantings. Spray tomatoes with targeted chemical fungicides.

Prevention of late blight includes:

• compliance with the rules of agricultural technology and care;
• disinfection of seed material;
• disinfection of soil, containers for seedlings and greenhouses;
• spraying bushes with fungicides after replanting and flowering.

Most insects find the aroma of tomato leaves unattractive. Among the dangerous pests are wireworms and mole crickets. Pests gnaw at the roots of the Ox's heart and damage the stems.

The larvae of whiteflies and night cutworms feed on leaves and flowers. To combat insects, insecticides or folk remedies are used.

Pros and cons of the variety

Advantages

• High taste characteristics. The pulp is juicy, but not watery, aromatic. The taste is sweetish with pleasant sourness. Some people call the Oxheart tomato the king of salads. The fruits of the varieties Staroselsky, Zagadka, and Sugar Giant have similar taste properties;
• Productivity. With proper care, 10 kg of selected fruits are collected from the bush. A similar harvest is produced by the varieties Gina, Red Giant;
• Summer residents adore the variety for its large fruits. Huge tomatoes are easy to pick. Having picked 5-10 fruits, you can easily fill a small bucket. A salad of one or two tomatoes with a small onion will be an excellent side dish for meat for a family of 3 people. Relatives of the Bull's Heart in size are the varieties Budenovka, Wild Rose, Babushkin Secret, Heavyweight of Siberia, etc.;
• The leaves repel common pests. Because of this feature, the variety is practically not eaten by harmful insects;
• This is not a hybrid. The seeds of Ox's Heart, as well as the seeds of the Sanka and Ox's Heart varieties, are stored for quite a long time (about 7 years) and have excellent germination. Seeds from the harvest can be planted for the next season;
• Like Siberian shangi, Bull's heart can lie in the refrigerator for several weeks without losing its marketable qualities.

Flaws:

• The variety, like other large tomatoes (for example, Rosemary, Ace), tends to crack;
• Quite demanding of care. It needs to be constantly watered and mulched, otherwise the fruits will crack. The greenhouse or greenhouse needs to be ventilated, the bush must be carefully shaped and fed. The varieties Budenovka, Siberian Giant, and Golden Belyash require similar care;
• The height of the Bull's Heart tomato bush is about 1.3-1.9 m. Therefore, it must be tied to a support. In this case, not only the stem is fixed, but also the branches with fruits;
• Ox heart is immune to many diseases, but is susceptible to late blight.

It is not for nothing that the Oxheart tomato is a favorite of many generations of gardeners. Its large, very tasty fruits will please even the most demanding summer resident. Of course, to get a decent harvest, you need to devote time to tomatoes. It is better not to plant the variety for people who do not often visit the dacha.

Harvesting and storage

You need to pick tomatoes as they ripen, without waiting until all the fruits on the bushes have ripened. The first vegetables are ready to eat in mid-summer, and fruiting can last until September. The shelf life of Ox's Heart is about 2 weeks, so it is better to use the tomatoes for food or process them soon after harvest.

To prolong the freshness of the fruit, the crop is harvested before the night temperature drops to 8°C.

Tomatoes should be picked in dry weather, when there is no dew or condensation on the skin. Vegetables retain their properties best at 5-12°C and a humidity of about 80%.

General information about culture

The tomato is a member of the Solanaceae family. The culture is annual. The peculiarity of the plant is its rapid growth. It has a highly branched taproot. It penetrates into the ground to a depth of 1.5 m. The seeds ripen in the berries (fruits) of the plant. Long before the tomato itself ripens, the seeds have already reached physiological maturity. They are stored for a long time. They can lie in a dry, dark place for 6-7 years, and sprout after planting.

Varieties are divided into:

1. Early (from the first shoots to harvest it takes from 3 to 3.5 months);
2. Mid-early (ripe fruits can be collected 3.5 months after germination);
3. Medium late (the growing season lasts about 3.5-4 months)
4. Late (their growing season is more than 4 months);
5. Very late (harvesting occurs only 4.5 months after the first shoots).

The fruits are very useful. They contain a large number of vitamins and nutrients, including mineral salts, calcium, chlorine, potassium, sulfur, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, sodium, iron, iodine, vitamins (groups B, P, C), lemon, tartaric, glycolic , malic acid, etc.

Due to such a rich composition, tomatoes have various beneficial properties. For example, they are useful for diseases of the heart, digestive organs, kidneys, and increase immunity.

Tomato Oxheart

Additional Information. You can often hear tomatoes called apples of love. This is no coincidence. It has been scientifically proven that tomatoes increase potency.