Many gardeners prefer early-ripening tomatoes over all others. At the beginning of summer, you want to quickly get a fresh harvest of delicious fruits from your garden. The Early King variety will help with this. It is one of the best early ripening tomatoes.
| Height | Landing location | Ripening time | Fruit color | Fruit size | Origin | Fruit shape |
| short | Greenhouse, Open ground | Early ripening | Reds | Large | Variety | Flat-round |
Description and characteristics of the variety
The Early King tomato was bred a little over a decade ago in Russia. It is recommended to plant it in a greenhouse in the middle zone and cold regions, and in open ground only in the southern regions: Krasnodar Territory, Astrakhan Region. Also in the middle zone, a greenhouse can be replaced by a film shelter.
Characteristics of the bush: determinate, but sometimes they are classified as semi-determinant. They can reach 70 cm in height, but usually 50-60 cm. Fruit ripening occurs in the greenhouse already on the 85-90th day after seed germination, in open ground - on 90-95 days.
Description of the fruit: large, weighing about 200 g, round or flat-round in shape and red in color. Individual tomatoes reach 300 g. The skin is strong, but quite thin, the flesh is fleshy. There are a maximum of 7 chambers with seeds inside. The taste is excellent, especially for an early tomato. Tomatoes are suitable for fresh consumption, cooking, sauces and pastes.
Early King tomatoes contain a lot of dry matter, so they are well stored and transported, which, coupled with their yield, makes them suitable for sale.
Advantages and disadvantages
The positive characteristics of the King of Kings variety include:
- large fruit;
- beautiful appearance and excellent taste of the fruit;
- disease resistance;
- tomatoes do not crack;
- good keeping quality (for a large-fruited variety).
The King's fruits are very tasty and large
Disadvantages of a hybrid:
- demands on fertilizing;
- the need for tying and shaping the bush;
- large and sweet fruits often attract pests;
- tomatoes become wrinkled during transportation.
Low transportability is the weak point of many of the most delicious and large-fruited varieties. For transportation over long distances, the fruits of such varieties are harvested at the stage of blanzhe ripeness.
Landing
Before planting seeds for seedlings in March, prepare the soil and the seed itself.
The soil is purchased ready-made (then it does not need to be disinfected) or equal parts of turf soil, peat, humus and sawdust or sand are mixed. A little mineral fertilizer and wood ash are added to the mixture, and then spilled with a solution of potassium permanganate.
Seeds are also pickled in a solution of potassium permanganate, and then in a growth stimulator. Then they plant and care for the seedlings:
- Having planted the grains to a depth of 1.5 cm, the soil is moistened, covered and transferred to a warm room until the sprouts appear.
- When the seedlings hatch, move the containers to the light. If necessary, turn on phytolamps, since in poor lighting the bushes weaken.
- The temperature should be +18-22.
- Pick seedlings into peat pots when 2 leaves appear.
Plant bushes in a permanent place according to a pattern from 50 by 70 to 70 by 100 cm.
Typical mistakes when growing
When growing this variety, gardeners most often make the following mistakes:
- placing the greenhouse in a low-light area (tomatoes do not grow as sweet);
- too infrequent feeding or the use of one type of fertilizer (King of Kings tomatoes need both organic matter and mineral complexes);
- non-compliance with the watering schedule - because of this, the plant sometimes gets sick with blossom end rot, and very often the risk of late blight increases;
- tying only the stems, and not the fruit clusters - large fruits are pulled back and the branches are broken, as a result of which they do not ripen.
Growing and care
The bushes need pinching. They cut off excess shoots and some leaves. Branches with heavy fruits are tied up.
Water generously, but not excessively, at the root with warm water. Drip irrigation is also suitable. The soil is mulched and periodically loosened.
Tomato requires generous feeding:
- Young bushes benefit from organic matter, for example, infusions of manure or bird droppings.
- When flowers appear, and then the first ovaries, water the bushes with solutions of mineral fertilizers according to the instructions (complex fertilizers or superphosphate with potassium sulfate).
- Periodically spray with a solution of boric acid.
Fresh manure cannot be added; it is diluted with water in a concentration of no more than 1:10, and bird droppings - 1:20. Otherwise, you may burn the roots. Also, you should not apply such fertilizing too often.
Pests, diseases and prevention
As a preventive measure, you can use a number of traditional methods:
- Garlic infusion works well against pests . Take 2 cups of garlic for 10 liters of warm water, press through a press, stir, filter and process the tomatoes. Process every 10 days;
- ash solution;
- planting marigolds and nasturtiums near the site will repel the Colorado potato beetle;
- onion peel infusion;
- dusting the bushes with ash mixed with black pepper will repel aphids.
Also sprayed with copper sulfate or Bordeaux mixture. And if the pests do attack, then only chemical preparations such as “Aktara”, “Ratibor”, “Tomato Rescuer”, etc. will help.
Video: Proper care of tomatoes
You need to get used to this variety. The first year things didn’t work out for me with him. On the other, I planted one stem, watered and fertilized it thoroughly, and finally got decent fruits, 300 grams each. I picked them first, this is indeed an early variety, ripe tomatoes appeared at the end of July. This is a good indicator for our region, but we also had to close the greenhouse at night, open it during the day, loosen the soil, and water it a little every other day. While you live in the country, you can do this. Make an effort. I liked the bush because it is not tall, very strong, but it needs tying up. The top flowers were removed.
I'm not happy with this variety. This is an early tomato that ripens 2 weeks earlier than the others, but it is very capricious! It needs plenty of nutrition, watering and loosening. It also does not tolerate weather conditions well. It does not tolerate temperature changes and greenhouse heat particularly well. I wanted to get an early harvest, so I planted several bushes in a greenhouse and in open ground under arches. I received the harvest at the same time, no matter whether it was in the greenhouse or in the garden under spunbond, in 95 days. The bush has grown 70 cm, but there are a lot of stepsons! There is also plenty of foliage. I had to cut off the leaves and shoots at least once a week. The bush takes up a lot of space; the greenhouse is already cramped. Planted in a checkerboard pattern at a distance of 70 cm! I tied the bush to pegs to make it easier to care for. Not enough tomatoes were produced. A pair of the largest ones at the bottom and a pair at the top. The flowers were sterilized by the heat and no fruit was produced. In the open ground, the flowers fell off, I still didn’t understand the reason. The care was standard: watering, fertilizing, loosening. I didn’t like the taste of the tomatoes themselves: they were hard, like from a store. The skin is tough, the chambers are large.
I bought my first seeds in a store, and in subsequent years I collected and dried them myself. Those that I collect myself, I usually check for germination by immersing them in salted water. Then I make sure to disinfect them by immersing them in potassium permanganate. After each procedure, the seeds should be thoroughly rinsed with running water. I plant seeds for seedlings in mid-March, when they are a little stronger, I dive into separate pots. I make pots from plastic bottles. In mid-May, I transplant the tomatoes into open ground, but first I harden the seedlings for a week, exposing them to the sun. After disembarking, I constantly monitor the temperature. If frosts are expected, then cover the bed with film - stretch it over the pegs along the edges of the bed. The distance between bushes is 50-70 cm, between rows - 70-80 cm. Bushes should begin to be tied up from the moment they strengthen and grow. The ovary should not lie on the soil - it is affected by slugs. Planting is also required so that the tomatoes do not grow, but begin to ripen. As the tomatoes ripen, you need to pick them - overripe ones crack right on the bushes. Juicy, meaty and tasty - we use this variety both for salads and for preparing juice for the winter.
I have long wanted to plant tomatoes like “King of the Early” on my plot. Because the variety is both large-fruited and early-ripening - a rather rare combination. Summer here in the Volgograd region begins in mid-May and lasts until October, so the climate is favorable. The first ripe tomatoes can be picked already 2.5 months after the seeds germinate, and not after the traditional 3-4. The bushes of this variety are strong, downright stocky, with thick straight stems, so they hardly need support, unless an unimaginable number of fruits are produced. There is no need to worry about pollination and monitor whether there are flying insects on the site or not. Since the flowers are bisexual, they do without outside help in this regard. Tomatoes ripen uneven in size. Those that are tied on the lower branches are huge - 300-400 grams each. Those on the top are never heavier than 100-150 grams. This is not bad - the “top” tomatoes are used whole for wraps, the bottom ones are used for salads, ketchups, and adjika. It is better to plant bushes further away from one another, because if they grow end to end, they may begin to suffer from fungal diseases.
How to grow tomatoes
After 2 months, the seedlings are ready for transplanting. They are transplanted into protected structures 2 weeks earlier than into open beds. The soil temperature is 15-17 °C. If the soil has not warmed up to this point, replanting should be delayed. In cold soil, seedlings will not grow, and the root system may suffer.
Landing
Planting pattern: 50-70 cm is the distance between seedlings, 70-90 cm is left between rows. For 1 sq. m place no more than 3 plants. Tomato branches are spreading, so it needs a lot of space. If the bushes are planted more densely, they will require more attention in the future.
They are transplanted into pre-prepared holes 15-20 cm deep, at the bottom of which wood ash and a pinch of mineral fertilizers are first placed. After transplantation, the holes are compacted, watered with warm, settled water and left to adapt to the new conditions for 7-9 days.
Further care for the King of Early tomato
Regular watering is established no more than 2 times a week. If the crop is not watered for a long time or, conversely, the soil is over-moistened, then the fruits will crack when ripe. Water with warm water, at the root, in the morning or evening. The culture responds well to drip irrigation. To do this, place a regular plastic bottle without a bottom in the root zone and fill it with water, which gradually penetrates to the roots of the tomato.
After watering, the soil is loosened and weeds with roots are removed. Removing weeds is an important step in tomato care. Bacteria, spores and many insect pests multiply in weeds. And since plants are poorly protected from fungal diseases, timely preventive measures are crucial. In addition, loosening ensures better penetration of oxygen to the roots, which strengthens and improves immunity.
To keep the beds moist longer, use mulching. Peat, straw or sawdust serve as mulch. Mulching is also a protective measure: it protects bushes from insects living in the ground.
The variety requires feeding in large quantities. Fertilize once every 2 weeks. With weak growth, the amount of fertilizing is increased, making priority with a predominant nitrogen content. Conventional fertilizers consist of a full range of mineral fertilizers or organic matter. As organic matter, use mullein infusion or bird droppings infusion in a ratio of 1:15.
On hot days, tomato bushes are shaded to avoid burns of the leaf blades.
Features of care and possible difficulties
Due to the large number of side shoots, determinate bushes require regular pinching. Unnecessary shoots not only create shade and prevent air penetration, but also take away a large amount of nutrients. It happens that too many ovaries form on fruit-bearing branches. If they are not removed, then all the vegetables will not be able to ripen.
Despite the strong stems, the bushes require obligatory garter, otherwise the branches will break from the multitude of vegetables. In addition, the weight of the fruit bends the hands to the ground, which leads to contact with the ground. Ripening vegetables can rot and cause the spread of fungal infections.
Diseases and pests
The Early King tomato variety is not resistant to fungal diseases. When planting this variety on your site, you need to take preventive measures in advance, for example, treat the beds with copper sulfate before planting tomatoes. It is also necessary to observe the temperature regime in greenhouses, regulating it by ventilating the premises, and do not forget about weeding the beds, timely and moderate watering and loosening.
For prevention purposes, the drug “Fitosporin” is used. The plants are sprayed with it three times a season. “Fitosporin” is used not only for prevention, but also for the treatment of diseased plants. You can replace it with the drugs “Barrier” or “Hom”.
The most dangerous pests are mole crickets, slugs and spider mites. Spider mites live in greenhouse conditions and cause the main damage to greenhouse bushes. Regular ventilation destroys the pest’s usual habitat, but if there is a lot of it, then you cannot do without using more effective methods. The mite is destroyed either with the Karbofos insecticide or the affected plants are sprayed with an infusion of garlic and pepper.
Fish heads and crushed cloves of garlic saved from mole crickets are repelled by pungent odors.
For slugs, use ground pepper or a solution of lime, which is used to water the holes. Treating the stem with soapy water also helps.
Pros and cons of tomato
Advantages of the hybrid King of Kings:
- excellent taste of fruits;
- size size;
- ability for long-term storage;
- high level of transportability;
- excellent yield indicators;
- keeping quality;
- strength of immunity to diseases;
- unpretentious care and cultivation;
- there is no need to first plant seedlings in a greenhouse (before diving into open ground);
- the ability to grow in closed conditions, which ensures a year-round harvest;
- weakly expressed ribbing;
- fast survival.
The list of advantages is quite wide, but there are also many disadvantages:
- high yield requires plenty of sunlight and warm climate conditions (but can be grown in a greenhouse);
- there is a need to purchase new seeds in the store every year (at home, seeds cannot be prepared so that there is a harvest);
- susceptibility to attack by pests;
- Canning is prohibited.
