Of course, in order to grow a rich harvest of tomatoes in open ground, you need to grow early varieties. To achieve good and strong seedlings.
The most important thing for good seedlings to grow is to have excellent, proven seeds and to properly prepare the soil for sowing:
The best option is to grow tomatoes in high, warm beds, in good compost soil, with mandatory soil mulching, preferably dark mulch for better warming.
So, in mid-May, if the weather is warm and the forecasts do not promise a sharp cooling, you can plant tomatoes in open ground, of course, with the possibility of covering them with film or covering material.
So I decided to plant tomatoes on the 20th of May. And I will plant them in two ways, depending on the variety, in warm beds.
The beds should be built no more than 70 cm wide, from west to east and with a slight slope to the south.
I plant tomatoes in a checkerboard pattern, two rows in the garden.
And, of course, despite determinant varieties, form and limit the number of inflorescences and the number of ovaries in the inflorescence.
Covering at night with different covering materials can also extend the season.
But still, the main difference compared to growing in greenhouses is the need to get an early, healthy harvest. Stretching out the season as in a greenhouse is much more difficult due to the inability to maintain a comfortable temperature and humidity, which occurs only in July and early August.
Planting tomatoes on a collective farm
I remember this method from my distant childhood, when southern tomatoes appeared on the shelves in the fall, and even then not always.
So, in relation to beds, this is done like this: low-growing super-determinate varieties bred for northern territories are taken and planted on a prepared bed in two rows in a checkerboard pattern, with a distance of 40 cm from each other. The tomatoes are not tied up, and the entire bed between the plants is covered with a thick layer of straw or hay.
Subsequently, the tomatoes lie on this litter and grow and ripen well without being subject to disease.
Such varieties are usually not formed, but I do some restriction of the brushes and remove all the stepsons up to the first flower brush. This method is good for those who have little time, because... requires minimal care.
Growing tomatoes
Planting tomatoes is very simple; you need to regularly remove the shoots that form in the places where the leaves connect to the main stems. Regularly is the main word here, since we must not allow the outgrowth of stepchildren, which are more difficult to remove and which, as they grow, will draw upon themselves most of the nutrients destined for the entire bush.
Another very important point is to monitor the top growth point on both branches, because growth may end when the flower brush is thrown away. To do this, it is necessary to leave the upper stepson for some time, waiting for the growth of the upper point, and if this does not happen, then the upper stepson will continue to grow the entire shoot.
On each shoot I form 4-5 flower clusters. For our band, the ripening of all of them is a great success, but on average, tomatoes have time to fully ripen only on 6-7 bunches from the entire bush, which can amount to 6-8 kg of ripe tomatoes, which, you agree, is very good, pinching tomatoes helps me with this.
I pinch the stepsons with my hands, leaving a small stump of 2-3 mm. Tomatoes of my variety form them quite often, so regularity and regularity again...
I also include gradual pruning of the lower leaves as part of the formation of a bush. I start doing this in the middle or end of June, when I see that the first cluster of flowers has already formed. I trim the lower leaves with pruning shears, about one lower leaf per bush once a week, and from the end of August, two leaves at a time, and at the same time remove the flower clusters from which the harvest is completely harvested. That's all the wisdom...
How to plant taller determinate tomato varieties
Seedlings of such varieties usually reach 50-60 cm in height at the time of planting, and if they are planted as usual, then literally after 2 weeks they will rest against a film or covering material. Therefore, in order to prolong the growth of tomatoes under covering material, I plant such varieties in trenches dug at an angle, thus reducing the above-ground part.
Which in turn makes it possible to cover tomatoes until mid-June, when the risk of returning cold and frost disappears.
These varieties are planted at a greater distance of 50-60 cm from each other and are subsequently tied to stakes or to a trellis. They are formed into 2-4 shoots depending on the variety and are also limited in the number of brushes; I usually leave no more than 5 brushes if the fruits are larger than 150-200 grams. After the tomatoes take root, the bed is mulched with sawdust or forest litter.
In both methods, the goal is to obtain and harvest the crop before mid-August, because... at a later date, the likelihood of tomatoes being affected by various diseases increases.
Tomato seeds from Valentina Goncharova
Valentina Goncharova has been a gardener for a long time who has been working with tomatoes purposefully. She lives in the Elbrus region of the Stavropol Territory. The farming that flourishes there is quite risky, but thanks to the agro-industrial technology used there, Valentina obtains environmentally friendly products.
However, the woman is engaged not only in breeding domestic varieties of tomatoes, but also types of tomatoes from all over the world. Valentina preceded us for a long time and brought home tomato seeds from every corner of the earth.
However, the woman is engaged in breeding and collecting not only the most popular varieties, but also more rare ones. Valentina began her passion for seeds a long time ago and precisely with what interested her most - she liked to find ancient varieties of vegetables and different flowers. Later, she finally decided that her vocation was growing vegetables. The seeds she offers are suitable for those who love something exotic and unusual.
To purchase such seeds, you need to go to Valentina’s website, where you can find any tomatoes of any taste and color. Among them, the following should be noted:
- Hawaiian pineapple;
- Babushkino;
- Royal Martin and others.
Care and formation of open ground tomatoes
We mainly plant determinate and super-determinant varieties of tomatoes with early ripening and preferably uniform yield. Stretching out the harvest over a long period, as I do in greenhouses, will not work due to the cold nights with heavy dew that occur from mid-August. Hence the conclusion - the harvest should preferably be harvested before this date. Despite the characteristics of these varieties, they still require some care and partial formation. It is easier for everyone to deal with super-determinate varieties - we remove several of their lower stepsons (if any) and one or two lower yellowed leaves. But the return on such varieties is not very great, because... Tomatoes are generally small in size, although the bushes can be completely covered with them. And they are inferior in taste to larger tomatoes.
Medium-growing determinate varieties require completely different care. They generally release stepsons very violently, which need to be limited. Naturally, we remove all the stepsons up to the first flower cluster, and then we divide the bush into 3-4 shoots with the possibility of ripening 4-6 clusters (depending on the size of the fruit). This should be done carefully, making sure that you have already tied such a number of brushes. And still, after this you need to let the bush develop for some time. And closer to mid-July, remove all excess inflorescences and pinch off the tops. removing the lower shoots. In open ground we can also grow taller varieties, but in this case they need to be formed into no more than 2 stems, and then follow the same scheme: we make sure that at least 5 good clusters are formed and also limit growth from mid-July. Of course, on such varieties all stepsons are completely removed. And also the lower leaves up to ripe clusters.
Indeterminate
Tomatoes of the indeterminate group grow throughout the growing season. They are raised mainly in heifers. Bushes must be formed into 1-2 stems. The remaining axillary processes are removed. The stems are tied to trellises. 1-1.5 months before the end of the gardening season, the crown of the bush is cut off.
Gradually remove all leaves, small ovaries and fruits that will no longer have time to ripen. This growing technique is aimed at accelerating the ripening of tomatoes:
- Collective Farm Queen - fruits are flat-round, raspberry-colored, and large. The lower brush sets up to 20 fruits. The weight of each berry is 200-300 g. A cross section reveals many seed chambers. The tomato is fleshy, with juicy pulp. This is a salad type variety, but it is well suited for canning and making sauces. Zoned in all regions;
- Rockfall - for the middle zone. The berries are pink, round, slightly flattened. The surface is smooth, not ribbed. Average weight 200-400 g. The pulp is juicy and moderately dense. Fruits of different sizes ripen on the bush. Small berries are canned. Up to 15 pcs are tied on one brush;
- Stone flower - in the middle zone and in the northern regions it is grown in greenhouses. In the southern regions, seedlings are brought to open ground. The fruits are flat-round, red, slightly ribbed. The average weight of a tomato from Medvedev is 300 g. Fruits of 600 g are formed on the lower clusters. The yield is high. Up to 2 kg are collected from one brush;
- Whist - berries 300-600 g, flat-round, red. The plant does not like intensive watering. The fruits may crack. The variety is recommended for greenhouse cultivation and greenhouse cultivation;
- Kum is a red, flat-round, slightly ribbed tomato. Average weight is 300 g. On the lower clusters the berry gains 1 kg. Grown in all regions. The Kum variety is classified as a salad type, but it produces tasty and sweet juice and sauces.
More on the topic: How to grow tomato 4012 F1?
Gardeners value varieties not only with red, pink and crimson fruits, but also with yellow berries. The Medvedev family offers the following yellow-fruited tomatoes, which are distinguished by increased yield, sweet taste, and large fruit:
- Janet's pearl is yellow-orange, flat-round. With light ribbing. The pulp is bright orange, aromatic, juicy. Tomatoes 300-500 g; There are no small berries on the bush. Grown in all regions, under film;
- Memory – flat-round, ribbing near the stem, not prone to cracking. Tomatoes on the lower cluster - 800 g. On the main part of the bush - 400 g;
- Melon of the North - the berry does not look like a small melon. Peduncles are normalized. Up to 3 ovaries are left on the lower hands. In this case, you can get a tomato of 1200 g. Average weight is 400 g. The shape of the berry is round, ribbing in the upper part;
- Donetsk Orange - round, orange tomato. Weight 300 g. The fruits are sweet, tasty with berry notes. There are 4-5 ovaries on the hand;
- Yellow Marble – the main color is yellow, but bright orange vertical stripes are formed on the surface. Weight 300 g. There are 4-5 ovaries on the lower hands. They can gain up to 800 g.
Among the indeterminate varieties of tomatoes from the Medvedevs, a group with exotic colors is distinguished. Gardeners grow Frankenstein tomatoes with brown flesh. The stalk remains with a dark green pattern. The ovary grows to 500-800 g.
The amateur breeder recommends growing all tomatoes of indeterminate varieties from seedlings 45-60 days old.
Planting is carried out when the first flower cluster is formed on the bush. It is not recommended to overexpose seedlings. When growing seedlings, additional lighting must be provided.
Tomatoes of the Ivanovsky Green variety look beautiful in salads. The tomato color is beautiful. On a green background there are yellowish stains and dark green stripes. Weight 400 g. The tomato is flat-round, with a smooth, glossy surface. The pulp is very sweet.
The Dark Tiger will decorate not only the salad, but also the garden plot. The fruits are bright. The main background is pink. It has dark stripes running down from above. There is a dark purple spot near the stalk. Each cluster has 4-6 ovaries with 150-200 g of berries.
More on the topic: How to grow Lazy Tomato?
Rationing the number of open-ground tomato fruits in order to achieve uniform yield
Already in the first ten days of July, they must decide on the number of brushes and fruits on them for each variety separately. By this time, all bushes should be formed and fully developed. But July is the warmest month with warm nights, so you need to make small adjustments, namely, the fruits will fill and ripen faster by 30-40% than they did in June. For example, if in June it took 3-4 weeks from the ovary to the technical ripeness of the fruit, then in July it will take 2-2.5 weeks.
Having taken into account all these arguments, we will be able to approach our tomatoes with scissors in our hands and, like barbers, remove all that is unnecessary, giving our bushes a “hairstyle.”
Usually, my wife cannot watch this procedure; she always feels sorry when I remove the inflorescences, and even more so if they have already started bearing fruit.
But if you don’t do this, then at the beginning of August you will still have to pick off all the green, unripe tomatoes and watch them try to ripen at home, acquiring a wrinkled, pale appearance.
Remember that only tomatoes that have reached technical maturity on the bush, or as they are usually called “brown,” ripen fully.
And now about the most important thing, what to delete?
Of course, remove all inflorescences that do not bear fruit.
It often happens that several full-fledged tomatoes are formed on the hands, and one or two seem to stop developing and do not grow over time; such embryos should also be removed.
Some long brushes should be shortened; you can see that at the beginning there are already medium-sized tomatoes hanging, but the end of the brush is still blooming.
Be sure to remove stepsons that may form on the hands.
Remove all unset inflorescences
and pinch off the tops.
In general, you should leave only those ovaries that, according to our calculations, will reach technical maturity by the beginning of the cold period.
Tomato seeds from Ilya Korolev
Ilya Korolev is a gardener with extensive experience. His personal collection includes a huge variety of not only domestic, but also foreign varieties of first-class tomatoes. Ilya grows tomatoes in a specially built utility room in the north-east of the Moscow region. Korolev’s seeds are of very high quality, and orders on the website are processed very quickly.
In addition to the main sections, the site has a special catalog in which tomato seeds are presented in a clear gradation, through which any gardener or gardener can find seeds to suit his own taste.
Next to the selected variety you can find its characteristics (taste, fruit color, bush height). In addition, you can read a short instruction containing basic recommendations on how to properly plant and care for tomatoes.
In addition, you can contact Ilya Kornev yourself by writing him a message with a question you are interested in. The period when you can place an order lasts from October to March, and the site itself is called “Royal Garden”.
Ilya’s collection is really very rich, so making a choice will be quite difficult. After you have placed your order and paid for it, it will be sent to you within the next week. Tomato seeds are sold on the website only at retail.
If you have any doubts about whether it is worth purchasing seeds on this site, you can go to a special tab, where a huge number of detailed reviews about the product offered are presented. Before placing an order, be sure to read this section and study the information provided there.
Protecting tomatoes from diseases in open ground
Now we should mention the necessary protection against possible diseases. Naturally, at first, when there are cold nights, tomatoes should be covered with film or covering material. Mulching is a must. Tomatoes should be watered taking into account external precipitation, so it is necessary to maintain an irrigation calendar that takes into account all rains. Well, harvesting is also a little different. It is advisable to pick tomatoes half-reddened, without waiting for full ripening, so as not to provoke them to various rots and other diseases.
September: end of season
Online seed stores:
"Russian vegetable garden"
– I’ll start with this company, since it was the first time I ordered there myself. Everything seems to be good (it was) - a good website, a large selection, fast delivery, more positive reviews, although there are also negative ones (with large volumes, defects and re-grading are common), BUT for some time now the company’s website has been unavailable. Perhaps the reasons are technical or temporary, we'll see.
"Russia Gardens"
is a large company with its own landing and testing facilities. It is located in the Chelyabinsk region, so their planting material is suitable for many, even not very favorable, territories of Russia. The online seed store presents the products of the Scientific and Production Association “Garden and Vegetable Garden”.
– a large selection of products (seeds of a wide variety of plants, seedlings of fruit, ornamental trees and shrubs, onions, strawberries, raspberries, green manure...);
– a convenient modern website with good navigation, search and order form;
How and what to feed tomatoes during flowering
At the beginning of the blooming of the second flower cluster, dilute 0.5 liters of chicken manure in 10 liters of water, add 1 tbsp. superphosphate and 1 tsp. potassium sulfate. Stir the resulting solution well and pour it over the tomatoes, using 1 liter for each bush.
The following feeding options have also proven themselves to be quite good:
1 tbsp. Agricola Vegeta, 1 tbsp. superphosphate, 1 tsp. Potassium sulfate or potassium chloride is diluted in 10 liters of water.
1 tbsp. Signor Tomato fertilizers are dissolved in 10 liters of water.
When the third flower cluster is blooming, dilute 1 tbsp in 10 liters of water. liquid potassium humate (it can be replaced with sodium humate or Ideal fertilizer - in the same dosage) and nitrophoska. The fertilizer consumption rate is 5 liters per sq.m.
Seeds: buy or order?
Buying seeds is not a problem. It can be done:
– in a seed store (in a garden store);
- in a department store with vegetable garden sections;
A big city has it all, you just need to get your bearings. But in villages and small towns there are few such places, and the choice there leaves much to be desired. In addition, you don’t know exactly who the producer is, how the seeds were stored and delivered, etc. Therefore, when I took up gardening seriously, I decided to use the miracle of time - the Internet. And now I’m sure: it’s better to order seeds.
The choice is huge, you can immediately look at reviews (preferably on forums) about sellers and manufacturers, look for information about varieties, chat with sellers...
First, I went to the websites of large companies selling seed and planting material. And this is not surprising: many of them have been doing this for a long time, there are many links, reviews, advertising. Gradually I discovered that there are also private sellers, many of whom have also been known to gardeners for a long time. And it turned out to be even more interesting to cooperate with them. In this article I will talk about the sellers where I bought myself, or about those about whom I have accumulated enough information. I’ll say right away: I don’t have any commercial relationships with the sellers represented, so there’s no advertising, just my own impressions.
How to feed tomatoes after cold weather
In the unstable climate of the middle zone, night frosts and sudden temperature changes are frequent “guests”. Tomatoes grown in unprotected soil can suffer greatly from them.
To “reanimate” plants, their leaves and stems need to be sprayed with Epin-Extra in the morning or evening. This drug increases the immunity of tomatoes and stimulates their natural physiological processes.
ADVICE: If Epin-Extra is not at hand, you can try to save the tomatoes using the drug Zircon.
Also, damaged plants need additional nutrition. Under each bush you need to pour a small handful of crystalline urea, and after 7-10 days add a solution of chicken manure to the soil.
To prepare it, fill a barrel or other fairly capacious container with bird droppings halfway, then fill it to the brim with water and let it brew for 3 days. After this period, dilute the concentrate with water in a ratio of 1:15. Then feed the tomatoes at the rate of 3 liters of solution for each bush.
Collection of tomato seeds from Valentina Redko
According to the latest news, the largest collection belongs to Valentina Redko, who currently lives in the Kurgan region.
There are a huge number of different types of tomatoes, differing in different colors. Among them there are yellow, red, green, and even orange. Among others, there are tomatoes of a uniform color, spotted or even striped.
Currently, Valentina Radka has about six hundred varieties of tomatoes, as well as more than one and a half thousand already tested species. Among other sweet peppers, Valentina has about four hundred types.
Radko has added Minusinsk varieties of tomatoes to her collection. All the seeds you need and are interested in can be purchased on its website, and information is updated annually in mid or late September.
There are usually five seeds in one package. Your order will be delivered anywhere in the country or brought to you by courier - the store will be happy to fulfill any whim.
How to feed tomatoes with boric acid to protect them from late blight
To prevent late blight and other fungal diseases, treat tomatoes using folk remedies - potassium permanganate, boric acid and iodine. As soon as the ovary begins to form, spray the plants with a weak (pink) solution of potassium permanganate. Then, after a week, treat the tomatoes with boric acid (1 tsp per 10 liters of water). And a week later - with an iodine solution (1 teaspoon per 10 liters of water).
You can also use ash infusion, prepared at the rate of 2 tbsp, against late blight on tomatoes. wood ash per 1 liter of water and aged for 2 days.
Caring for tomatoes in September
Of course, in September you should adhere to several different growing rules compared to summer. They are very simple, it is to ventilate the greenhouse only at a very high t = 35-40*C, the rest of the time the greenhouse should be closed. Limit or stop watering; well-mulched soil is easily able to accumulate moisture from the air during this period. Promptly remove all shoots and yellowed leaves. And limit the growth of upper shoots and inflorescences (pinch).
It’s simple, but many gardeners pay little attention to this, believing that they have already had their fill of tomatoes over the summer. This syndrome also happens to me, but the trick is that literally two weeks after the end of the season, we still go to the store for tomatoes, because it turns out that the fresh tomato salad has not been canceled. Already now all my neighbors feed from my greenhouse, even those who had plenty of their own tomatoes in their garden, but the season ended before the first of September.
Therefore, extend the season until the last, it always makes sense.
Why do you need foliar feeding of tomatoes?
Foliar feeding (spraying on the leaves) of tomatoes helps speed up the setting and ripening of fruits. It is carried out during the flowering of plants.
At the beginning of flowering clusters, spray the tomatoes with a 0.5% superphosphate extract. To prepare the extract, pour 50 g of superphosphate into 10 liters of hot water and stir several times. Let the solution brew for 24 hours, strain before use and use 10 ml of fertilizer for each young plant, and as the bushes grow, increase the dose by 1.5 times.
In addition, this foliar feeding is useful: dilute 1 tbsp in 10 liters of water. urea or fertilizer Ideal and treat the leaves with the resulting solution.
We continue caring for tomatoes in August
We remove the stepsons and unnecessary lower leaves, we also remove the stalks from which all the tomatoes are completely collected, and we tie up the branches.
Therefore, a fairly voluminous mass of cut and removed unnecessary parts of the tomato has accumulated along the passage (they do not need to be removed from the greenhouse).
So, all this suggests that caring for tomatoes is required constantly in order to get the greatest harvest of high quality.
If you stop caring for the bushes in August, you will most likely lose a significant amount of fruit.
Now large tomatoes weighing from 200 to 350 grams are already forming.
