Variety “Loving Heart”: what are its advantages and disadvantages?

Siberian breeders never cease to amaze their consumers. In principle, they took the best path: why create a hybrid if you can take a popular variety and create an even better one? Just which variety is suitable for selection?

Such a variety was quickly found: the Bull's Heart tomato. The basis was taken from a popular variety of tomatoes, which is famous for its unsurpassed size and strong immunity. Any summer resident and gardener knows that Ox's heart is practically in first place in cultivation. There is not a single gardener who does not grow it for seedlings. The new variety, which absorbed all the best qualities of its predecessor, was called Beloved Heart tomatoes.

How the Loving Heart tomato variety was created

This variety is a new selection. It was approved for use in 2022.

Unfortunately, there is no official data on the origin of tomatoes yet. There is only information about varietal characteristics. The year of creation of the variety is not indicated, and it is also not included in the State Register. This may be due to the fact that the tomatoes of the Loving Heart variety are still quite young. For a variety to gain a foothold on the market, it must be tested for several years. During this time, it will become clear: how strong his immunity is, whether the yield indicators correspond to the declared characteristics, etc.

Pest and disease control

For prevention, seedlings should be treated with a fungicide a week before transplanting into the greenhouse. You can use any drug:

• "Fitosporin";
• "Ordan";
• "Tattu";
• "Fundazol";
• Bordeaux mixture.

You can kill insects using insecticides:

• "Match";
• "Fufanon";
• "Confidor";
• "Decis";
• "Aktelik";
• "Biotlin."

Pests can also be controlled with folk remedies - for example, a decoction of potato tops, an infusion of orange zest, chili peppers, garlic, onion peels or a solution of baking soda, tobacco dust.

Important! Processing of Loving Heart tomatoes is carried out in the evening, in the absence of precipitation and wind (when grown in the garden). If chemicals are used, fruits can only be harvested after a few days.

Description of the tomato variety Loving Heart with photo

Description of the tomato variety Loving Heart is practically no different from the standard characteristics of any tomato. It is also no different from the Bull's Heart, except for growth indicators. If the Oxheart is a determinate plant, then the Loving Heart is an indeterminate plant.

Characteristics of the Loving Heart tomato variety indicate that it can be grown almost everywhere. This variety is allowed to grow in both types of soil: greenhouse and open. Moreover, productivity indicators in the greenhouse are significantly higher than in open beds.

Therefore, we can say that the Beloved Heart tomato is intended primarily for greenhouses. When a tomato bush bears fruit, it will delight you with an excellent harvest and beautiful juicy fruits. Below you can see a small selection of photos of the variety:

Green tomatoes in a greenhouse

Ripening fruits on a bush

Ripe fruits

Fruits close up

Description of fruits

Description of the Loving Heart tomato says that it got its name because of the unusual shape of the ripe fruit.

Ripe fruits have a rich red color and weigh quite a lot: from 300 to 600 grams. Other specimens (of course, subject to the conditions of agricultural technology and proper feeding) grow up to 1 kg!

The skin of the fruit is thin but dense, so ripe tomatoes hold their shape well and do not crack. When cutting a ripe berry, you can see a small number of seed chambers: 5-6. Summer residents note that tomatoes taste sweet. The bright tomato taste is preserved even during heat treatment. But the Loving Heart will delight you not only with its sweet taste, but also with its delicious juicy pulp. It maintains an optimal balance of sugars and acids. These tomatoes are perfect for those who like to eat tomatoes with sugar: one fruit is enough for a person.

Area of ​​application of fruits

There is no product or fruit that cannot be reused. Ripe fruits will be used to prepare fresh salads. And since they are large and meaty, they will produce a lot of tomato juice or paste. What else can you cook using Loving Heart tomatoes:

• Preparation for borscht for the winter.
• Adjika.
• Lecho.
• Crap and much more.

Tomato yield Loving heart and fruiting

The yield indicators of the Loving Heart tomato, based on the description, are slightly different from growing in open and closed ground. To understand better, take a look at the comparison table:

Fruiting usually begins at the end of July and ends at the end of summer. If the summer weather has let you down and not all the fruits have ripened, don’t be upset. Tomatoes Loving Heart red, based on reviews, ripen perfectly at home. To speed up the process, place a ripe tomato or banana in the boxes with green fruits. Thanks to the ethylene released, they ripen faster.

Tomato varieties with similar characteristics

Naturally, the very first one that comes to mind is the Bull's Heart tomato. But among the achievements of selection there are some that are in no way inferior in terms of ripening and productivity. These are varieties such as:

• Ox heart.

• Grandma's secret.

• Budenovka.

Particularly similar (even in the shape and color of the ripe fruit) are Ox Heart and Budenovka.

Pros and cons of the variety

Like any other variety, this tomato has positive and negative sides.

The benefits include:

• high productivity;
• adaptation to any weather changes;
• disease resistance;
• possibility of growing in a greenhouse and in open beds;
• ease of care;
• excellent taste;
• large fruits;
• versatility in cooking.

In addition to the above advantages, you can add one more, which is important for gardeners. The culture is not a hybrid and retains the parental genes in the next generation. This means that each gardener will be able to prepare seeds for the next planting on their own.

Disadvantages of the variety:

• obligatory garter;
• regular stepsoning;
• short shelf life of ripe vegetables;
• poor transportability.

Despite the last 2 points, the crop is grown on an industrial scale due to its high yield. Tomato is in considerable demand in markets.

Characteristics of tomatoes of the Loving Heart variety

Sometimes you want more concise information than reading numerous descriptions. Just read the excerpts. The characteristics and description of the loving heart tomato are as follows:

• Bush type: indeterminate.
• Growth indicators: in open ground - no higher than 180 cm, in a greenhouse - up to 200 cm.
• Growing regions: everywhere.
• Ripening period: mid-early (90-115 days).
• Sewing and tying: required.
• Origin of the variety: natural.
• Preferred formation: 2 stems.

The Loving Heart tomato bush has medium foliage and regular tomato leaves. The leaves themselves are quite large, with faint pubescence. During the formation of ovaries, there are 4-5 fruit clusters on the bush, with 5-7 ovaries.

Resistance to diseases and pests

Like many indeterminate varieties, Loving Heart has a fairly strong immune system. So far, there have been no cases of tomatoes being affected by nightshade diseases. Moreover, thanks to the average ripening period, it does not have time to be affected by typical “tomato diseases”. That's what the description says. But if you want to grow strong and healthy tomatoes, carry out preliminary procedures, which include pre-sowing treatment, caring for seedlings and visual inspection of seedlings.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

There are no ideal berries and fruits. Everyone has their own tastes and preferences. There are practically no downsides to the Loving Heart variety. The advantages include:

• Good taste.
• High yields.
• Large fruit.
• Good immunity.
• Can be grown in both types of soil.
• They don't crack.
• Almost universal application.

The disadvantages of the variety are minor. This is only unimportant keeping quality and transportability, and that is only because of the juiciness of the fruit. It is also impossible to preserve them as a whole, due to the large size of the berries. Growing seedlings need staking and pinching, but this is a standard property of indeterminate varieties.

Watering and fertilizing

When watering, moderation must be observed. To prevent the soil from drying out, it is recommended to mulch the soil. During fruit set and growth, the volume of watering is increased. At the same time, you must try to prevent water from stagnating.

Advice! Green manure can be used as mulch.

The green mass of mustard will simultaneously protect the soil from drying out, protect the bush from pests and increase soil fertility.

Feeding tomato bushes

When choosing a fertilizer, you must not allow the plant to direct all its forces to the growth of green mass. Therefore, nitrogen fertilizing is used only at the stage of young seedlings, when they have recently been transplanted into open ground and the plant requires nutrition for growth.

As soon as the ovaries appear on the bushes and fruits begin to form, they move on to superphosphates and potassium chloride. It is best to thoroughly fertilize the area in the fall, when the soil is being prepared for future plantings of tomatoes.

Important! When applying any fertilizers, do not allow the solutions to come into contact with the stems or leaves of tomatoes.

When growing tomatoes in open ground, foliar feeding of bushes is practiced. The nutrient solution is made weakly concentrated. You can use superphosphate, which prevents flowers from falling off, increases the number of ovaries, and increases productivity. When spraying Loving Heart tomatoes, microelements are better absorbed.

You can spray the bushes with a solution of ash with the addition of boric acid (take 2 liters of ash and 10 g of boric acid per 10 liters of water). This composition not only helps the ovaries to form faster, but also effectively fights pests (black aphids).

Advice! To dilute mineral and organic fertilizers, only warm water is used.

Features of growing the variety

There is no secret here: before planting a plant in open beds (with the exception of the southern regions), they need to grow up. And all gardeners grow any fruit and berry crop through seedlings. This is the most reliable method. After all, how strong and healthy your plants will grow depends on how you prepared the seeds and how you cared for the young seedlings.

Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out according to the standard time: approximately 2 months before planting the seedlings in the ground. For tomatoes, this usually occurs at the end of February or beginning of March. What needs to be done to make seedlings grow strong? To do this, you must strictly follow several important procedures:

• The first stage is preliminary, including calibration, disinfection and treatment of seeds with a growth stimulant.
• A germination procedure that allows only strong seeds to be selected at this stage.
• Actually sowing, which consists of sowing seeds in the soil (purchased or your own).
• Growing and caring for seedlings.
• Hardening. And only then - planting the seedlings in a permanent place.

Let's take a closer look at several stages (before sowing). As already written above, the very first stage is preliminary, including calibration, disinfection and stimulating treatment. Calibration is a procedure that allows you to identify dummy seeds that may not germinate. To identify them, it is enough to place the material in an aqueous solution of salt (1 teaspoon per glass of water) for 20-25 minutes. The water should be warm. After a certain period of time, empty seeds will float to the surface: feel free to collect them and throw them away. Those that have sunk to the bottom are good. Rinse them under running water and dry.

Next comes disinfection. If you do not want your seedlings to get sick often, pay attention to seed disinfection. To do this, soak the dried seeds after calibration in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate and leave for half an hour. Next, also rinse and dry.

After everything is done, soak the seeds for 3-4 hours in a growth stimulator. But this is only if you did not perform the germination procedure. Seeds need stimulating treatment just before planting in the container.

Sowing

Now let's start sowing. It also includes several stages:

1. Purchase or preparation of soil and its pre-treatment . If you don’t want to bother, buy soil. Everything you need is already contained there. Just steam it in a bucket of boiling water for about an hour. The packaging must not be torn. If you are a DIYer, mix river sand, humus or compost and peat in equal parts. Homemade soil also needs to be treated by placing it in the oven at 180 degrees for an hour.
2. Preparation and processing of planting containers. Wooden boxes or plastic containers are suitable for sowing. If you don’t want to pick up the seedlings, sow the seeds in peat tablets. Treat the container with boiling water or a hot, strong solution of potassium permanganate.
3. Sowing seeds. The soil is poured into the planting container, leaving 2-3 cm to the end. Before the soil, place drainage at the bottom so that excess moisture comes out. The soil mixture should be loose and breathable: this way the seeds will have enough air. Small grooves, 1.5 cm deep, are made in the ground, into which the seeds are placed. The distance between the seeds is 1 cm. Between the grooves is 2 cm. After sowing, sprinkle the seeds with a centimeter layer of soil. Water the seeds, cover with transparent film or glass and store in a warm, dark place for a week.

Seedling care

Caring for seedlings is not difficult, because they actually grow in greenhouse conditions, where it is warm, light and dry. When you are waiting for the first shoots, periodically ventilate the seedlings.

The air temperature should be about 26 degrees Celsius.

After the seedlings have hatched, transplant them into the light. Most often, this is an ordinary sunny window sill. The temperature should decrease slightly: no more than 20-22 degrees. But growing seedlings need light. If the young animals do not receive enough light, they will stretch out. And the seedlings will become weak and fragile. To avoid this, compensate for the lack of light by providing additional illumination at night with special lamps.

Watering the seedlings is done as the soil dries. Moisten the soil only with a spray bottle, as it is so easy to damage young and green stems! The water is only warm. If you use cold or ice water, it will stress the roots and cause them to rot.

When 2-3 true leaves appear on the seedlings, you can pick them: transplant them into separate containers.

This is necessary so that the seedlings develop more independently and develop roots. Plastic or cardboard containers with a capacity of no more than 300 ml are suitable for this. Remove the seedling from the soil carefully, with a lump of earth, trying not to damage the roots.

When the seedlings are 25-30 cm tall, they can be hardened off. Many people neglect this procedure, but it is very important. If you do not harden the seedlings, they will take much longer to take root in a new place. And perhaps he will get sick. What you need for hardening: fresh air. Take the seedlings outside for a certain period of time. Every day the interval increases little by little. The duration of the procedure is 2 weeks. The initial interval is 20 minutes.

Transplantation into the ground

Each type of soil has its own replanting time. For a greenhouse - when the outside temperature is already warm enough. For open soil - only after the soil has sufficiently warmed up (end of May).

Planting density per 1 sq. m. - no more than 2 plants, this will prevent excessive thickening. The planting pattern is 30 * 50 cm, with a distance between rows of approximately 1 meter.

Tomato care Loving heart

Although this variety of tomato practically does not get sick and is unpretentious, you should not neglect standard procedures: watering, fertilizing, loosening, weeding, removing weeds. Mulching and protection from diseases and pests.

Watering and fertilizing

Any tomatoes love water, but do not tolerate excessive amounts of it, so watering should be rare but plentiful. Watering frequency - 2 times a week. The water must be settled (most often in the garden it is a tank) and in no case cold.

Fertilizing bushes. An important part. At each stage of the growing season there is a different type of feeding. So, when you have just planted seedlings, apply nitrogen fertilizers. They will help to further increase the green mass.

Ammonium nitrate (2 tbsp) diluted in a bucket of water is suitable for this.

Pour half a liter of it under each bush, avoiding getting it on the greens. When to do it: two weeks after planting in the ground.

The second feeding is also done a couple of weeks after the first. Organics are already used here. The most natural organic fertilizers are litter or manure. It is best to use chicken manure and cow manure.

To obtain a nutritional composition, dilute 1 kg of manure or half a kilogram of litter in a bucket of water.

Add half a liter to each bush.

When the plant begins to grow stronger and develop roots, as well as bloom and form ovaries, add superphosphate and potassium to the soil. One of the most popular fertilizers is wood ash, which is also diluted in a bucket of water.

Shaping and garter

As soon as the seedlings begin to actively grow, tie them to a support. Wooden pegs and ribbons that are used to tie up stems and fruit clusters are suitable for this. This procedure will help avoid breakage of the stems under the weight of ripened fruits.

Pinching is a mandatory procedure for tall varieties.

If this is not done, the tomato will spend its energy not on the formation of fruits, but on the growth of green mass. Form the plant into only 2 stems, remove the remaining stepsons. Leave small stumps. The optimal time for the procedure is early morning. Also, removing excess ovaries will help for a good and rich harvest. Enough quantity to leave - 3-4 pcs.

Disease prevention and pest control

The very first stage in disease control is pre-treatment of seeds. It was described above. Before planting seedlings in the ground, treat them with one of the following preparations:

• Ordan.
• Fundal.
• Bordeaux mixture.
• Fitosporin.

To control insects, inspect your plants regularly for egg laying or damage. You can use both special preparations and traditional methods: crushed eggshells, infusion of onion or garlic, chili pepper. If you grow plants in a greenhouse, do not forget to regularly ventilate the room to maintain moisture balance.

Harvesting

Tomatoes of this variety ripen quickly, so they are harvested every 3-4 days. Collect them in dry morning weather, before the sun has time to heat the soil and air. You can cut the fruits, you can remove them, but only together with the stalk. If you leave the stem on the bush, the fruit will begin to rot faster.

If you grew tomatoes in a greenhouse, remove them as soon as the room temperature drops below 10 degrees.

Helpful care tips

A rich harvest of a Loving Heart cannot be obtained without proper care. The variety is unpretentious, but the bushes need to be grown correctly.

Watering

Water the beds every 3-4 days. The recommended method of watering is under-bush irrigation. The water should be no colder than +23°C.

Important! The bushes are watered in the evening, strictly after sunset. During the day, the plant may get burned.

Feeding

After planting the seedlings, continue to feed the bushes. A loving heart responds well to complex nutrition. Before flowering, rely on nitrogen products. After flowering, eliminate nitrogen and apply potassium and phosphorus based fertilizers. There will be a lot of harvest if you fertilize the bushes every 2 weeks.

Stepsoning

Form a bush with 1-2 trunks. The best results are obtained by farmers who grow Loving Heart in 1 stem. To prevent plantings from growing, remove shoots as they appear. This way the plant will spend energy on fruits, and not on unnecessary shoots.

Soil care

Tomato bushes are affected by soil conditions.

Don't forget to care for the soil by doing the following:

• mulching with natural hay, leaves or pine branches after planting;
• weeding as weeds grow;
• loosening every time after watering or rain;
• double hilling - 10 days after planting and 2 weeks after the first hilling.

Tying up a bush

The fruits of the Loving Heart are large, and there are many of them on the branches. The weight and number of tomatoes may cause the bush to break. To prevent this, tie up the plants. The easiest way is to drive a peg 2.2–2.5 m high near each bush. As the fruit grows and develops, tie the shoots to the peg.

If there are a lot of plantings, farmers resort to trellis garters. In this case, pegs of the same height are driven in at the beginning and end of the bed. Wire is pulled over them - it is important that it is at different heights. When the bush grows to the level of the wire, tie the stem to it.

Preventative treatment

The variety is relatively resistant to diseases and pests. Proper care is enough for prevention. To increase the chances of a healthy harvest, Ural farmers recommend additional processing of seedlings.

During the period of active growth, treat the plantings twice with systemic fungicides - Bordeaux mixture or Fundazol. Preventative treatment prevents the appearance of fungus.

Important! Carry out processing in calm weather. Be sure to use protective equipment - gloves and safety glasses.

It is also recommended to spray with a solution of potassium permanganate. The drug is prepared at the rate of 0.1 g of potassium permanganate per 10 liters of water. Tomato bushes are sprayed with the solution 2-3 times during the growing season. Potassium permanganate simultaneously disinfects and nourishes plants.

Buying seeds

You can purchase seeds at a good price in the Ural Summer Resident online store, where you can find a wide selection of vegetable and flower crops and new varieties of your own selection.

For each name there is a characteristic and description of the variety, showing its main properties. A detailed catalog allows you to find the plant you need and select the appropriate variety. Then the order is placed, payment is made, and delivery terms are discussed.

Durable double bags will allow you to deliver seeds anywhere in the country in good condition. Seed germination rate is more than 90 percent. Reviews of the presented varieties can be found below.

Marina V., Chelyabinsk:

“I traditionally plant Bull’s Heart tomatoes, but this year I read the description of the new variety Red Butter Heart and decided to try it. I sowed a few seeds and then planted the seedlings in a separate bed. I was quite pleased with the result: the fruits grew large, and I collected about 4 kilograms of tomatoes from one bush. The taste of tomatoes is pleasant, juicy and sweet; the whole family enjoys eating them in their pure form without any additives. I think I’ll plant more bushes next year.”

Andrey V., Troitsk:

“The conditions of the Southern Urals are not very suitable for gardening, and many heat-loving plants simply do not have time to produce enough fruit in a short period of warm summer days. I always use only local, Ural or Siberian varieties, which are more resistant to frost and drought and have a shorter growing season.

I liked the new tomato variety Loving Heart due to its combination of high yield and adaptability to local conditions. From two beds we managed to collect more than 40 kilograms of tomatoes, which were successfully processed and stored for the winter. In my opinion, this is one of the most successful varieties, excellent for growing in the Ural conditions.”

Svetlana D., Kamensk-Uralsky:

“I tried to plant the Red Butter Heart variety a couple of years ago and immediately upgraded it to the category of my favorite. The plant produces a bountiful harvest with a large number of large and beautiful fruits. Of course, in order for all the flowers to form an ovary and bear fruit, you need to try and create the most favorable conditions, but the result is worth it. The juicy, tasty pulp of tomatoes is so pleasantly different from the plastic store-bought varieties. My grandchildren eat this variety with pleasure, picking tomatoes straight from the bush. And I really like tomatoes in salads; with the addition of a small amount of cucumbers, pepper and vegetable oil, it’s simply impossible to tear yourself away. Now every year I buy seeds and plant the Red Butter Heart variety for future salads and autumn preparations.”

Growing and care

The “Broken Heart” tomato is intended for growing in greenhouse conditions or under an agrofibre film. This is also allowed on open ground only if you live in southern (warm) regions and latitudes. Sowing of seeds takes place 60-65 days before planting in the ground. If you are ready to plant tomatoes in permanent places, then take care not to place more than 3 plants per square meter. Don't forget to do the stepsoning.

Among the growing features are:

1. Choose a sunny area protected from north winds. And also a place where the soil is fertile.
2. The optimal density for planting sprouts is 3. But the maximum allowed is 4.
3. You should not form the stems in one time, it is better in two, or even three.
4. As soon as the tomato bushes begin to grow upward, prepare the spatulas. You will need a garter in a horizontal position.
5. Make sure that there are no more than 6 tassels of vegetables on each bush. If there is more, it will lead to chopping the tomatoes into their size.

You will also need to water Broken Heart tomatoes frequently and abundantly, especially if you grow the variety in greenhouse conditions. As for fertilizing, it is also better to add it, but this must be done during the active growing season of vegetables. Add complex fertilizers, minerals, and potassium-phosphorus solutions to the soil. It is better to fertilize according to the rules indicated on the packaging from the manufacturer.

Important! To speed up the ripening of tomatoes and increase their sugar content, it is necessary to remove the lower foliage from the plants from time to time.

How to get a good harvest

Growing indeterminate tomatoes has its own peculiarities. Reviews from experienced gardeners will help you recognize them. Proper application of the advice of agronomists will provide seven tomatoes for the whole summer. The following should be remembered:

• seeds from reputable producers are ready for sowing: no stimulation required;
• your own material should be checked for germination and disinfected;
• seedlings need to be taken care of 50-60 days before the intended planting in a permanent place;
• plants dive when they grow 2 true leaves;
• seedlings are illuminated, hardened, fed;
• the beds are prepared in advance (mature compost is laid in the fall, a mineral complex is laid in the spring);
• the use of calcium nitrate will strengthen plants and increase productivity;
• tomatoes should be shaded 3-4 days after planting on the ridges;
• plants need moderate watering;
• Ripe fruits should be collected regularly (the bush will give strength to those that ripen).

The flaming heart requires the formation of 2 stems. It is recommended to lighten the plant until the brush becomes full. A garter to the support is required.