Unique tomatoes that look like logs - the Firewood tomato: description of the variety and cultivation characteristics

Description of the tomato variety Firewood

Each type of tomato has its own differences: some varieties are suitable exclusively for fresh consumption, some for pickling; some are grown only in greenhouses and greenhouses, while others are grown in open ground. The characteristics and description of tomatoes of the Drova variety make it clear that this very exotic type of vegetable is universal.

Description of the variety:

• the height of the decorative bush is 35 cm;
• the crop is suitable for growing not only in greenhouses and open ground, but also at home on the balcony;
• the variety is classified as early ripening;
• The shape of the fruit is oblong, has a fork at the end;
• the length of the fruit reaches 10 - 15 cm;
• tomato weight is 70 - 80 g;
• ripening time - 90 - 95 days.

Reviews

Svetlana

I have been growing the Drova tomato in my garden for several years. I am attracted by the shape of the fruit, as well as the excellent taste. Tomatoes grow juicy, very tasty, and sweet. Each bush is strewn with a large number of fruits. I'm pleased with the variety's minimal care for plantings. The plants themselves grow small. Therefore, it is not necessary to tie them up. The main thing is to feed it on time, and then the variety will delight you with amazing results. Firewood bears fruit well in any weather. This is their big advantage. You can be sure that even in rainy and cold weather you will not be left without a harvest.

Love

The first time I met this variety was from a neighbor. Seeing the unusual shape of tomatoes, I also wanted to grow them on my plot. When ripe there are a huge number of them. They completely weigh down the bush. From one bush I collect up to 2 kg of tomatoes. They are very sweet and juicy. Stores well for a long time. Ideal for canning. Very tasty tomato sauce and ketchup. My family enjoys adding them to salads. The main thing is that Firewood requires virtually no maintenance. The main thing is to water and plant.

Pros and cons of Drova tomatoes

Tomatoes of the Drova variety, their descriptions, photos and reviews allow us to say that the vegetable crop is endowed with many positive qualities. But, like all plants, this type of tomato has its own advantages and disadvantages.

The strengths of the variety include:

• simultaneous ripening of fruits;
• high taste qualities;
• interesting appearance;
• increased resistance to diseases and pests;
• ease of care;
• the opportunity to grow tomatoes on Siberian lands;
• high yields.

The variety has practically no disadvantages. There is only one important condition: constant application of fertilizing and fertilizers: the variety needs beneficial microelements more than other varieties.

Transplanting to a garden bed

Typically this procedure is carried out in late spring - early or mid-May. By this time, the plants will get stronger, reach a length of 25-30 cm and form 5-6 leaves.

Site preparation

In an open garden for tomatoes, choose a sunny place with the possibility of shading during lunch hours. The soil should be light, loose and neutral acidity. Before planting tomatoes, the area is cleared of weeds and last year’s vegetation, and sprayed with a solution of copper sulfate for disinfection (1 tbsp per bucket of water).

Tatyana Orlova (Vasilidchenko) (candidate of agricultural sciences):

No shading is needed, especially in areas of central Russia and to the north. The more sun a plant receives, the sweeter its fruits will be.

A day after treatment, sprinkle with humus - 10 kg, ash - 3 kg and superphosphate with potassium salt - 100 g/m². The soil is dug up, leveled with a rake and watered.

Tatyana Orlova (Vasilidchenko) (candidate of agricultural sciences):

Digging and fertilizing are carried out in the fall, so it is strictly forbidden to level the soil with a rake after this, much less water it.

Planting scheme

Tomatoes need to be fed

Drowa tomatoes have a compact bush shape, so they do not require much space on the site - the optimal planting pattern is 40x50 cm.

Each hole is spilled with water, then the plants are planted, pressing the soil around the stem and covering it with garden soil.

Care requirements

In the first days of adaptation, tomatoes need to be covered with any material from the sun, and at night - from the cold.

Aftercare consists of several activities.

1. Plants begin to be watered a week after planting. To avoid burns and rotting of bushes, watering is carried out on cloudy days in the evening or in the morning. Water is poured under the root, and after the moisture is absorbed, the soil is mulched.
2. Every other day, loosening, weeding and, if necessary, removal of weeds are carried out.
3. During the entire growing season, tomatoes need to be fed at least three times. The first fertilizer is applied three weeks after transplanting the bushes to the garden bed. Use nitrophoska or azofoska - 1 tbsp. l. on a bucket of water. At the beginning of flowering, the bushes are watered with a liquid complex composition of superphosphate (15 g), potassium nitrate (10 g) and 10 liters of water. Each bush uses 0.5 liters of fertilizer. This fertilizing is also applied at the stage of fruit filling. To protect against diseases and improve the quality of flowering and fruiting, you can feed the bushes with boron - 0.2 g of the substance per liter of warm water (60°C). Irrigate the garden bed before and after flowering.
4. This plant does not require pinching or staking, as it is small in size and compact in shape. But if you want to get a larger harvest of tomatoes, you should pinch the main stem after 2 flower clusters appear. You can also pluck all the foliage at the bottom of the bush so that the tomatoes can devote all their energy and nutrients to the formation and ripening of vegetables.
5. To attract bees to the garden, tomatoes are sprayed with honey solution - 1 tsp. per liter of water. This will increase the amount of harvest.
6. Vegetables are harvested 1.5-2 months after transplanting the seedlings to the garden bed. You can pick both ripe and unripe (brown) fruits. They ripen well indoors and are stored in a cool place for several months.

To prevent diseases and pests, seedlings are sprayed with a solution of Bordeaux mixture three weeks after transplantation. Repeated treatment is carried out a week before flowering.

Growing tomatoes Firewood

Proper plant care and compliance with tomato planting rules will help ensure a high yield. The Drova variety does not have any special requirements for breeding. Therefore, seedlings are grown according to the generally accepted algorithm.

Landing rules

Tomato Firewood can be planted as seedlings from mid-February. To do this you need:

1. Choose a container of suitable size so that the young shoots are not too crowded.
2. It is advisable to disinfect the soil. This can be done by spilling the substrate with a manganese solution, or by calcining the soil in a water bath.
3. The seeds also need to be soaked in water with a small amount of potassium permanganate.
4. Place the planting material in the ground, lightly sprinkle with earth (no more than 3 mm).
5. Humidification should be carried out from a spray bottle.
6. To create a greenhouse effect, pots with seeds must be covered with glass or film.
7. There is no need to water before the first shoots appear; the tomatoes have enough moisture, which accumulates in the form of condensation.
8. When the bushes have 3 leaves, it is necessary to pick the seedlings.
9. Planting in open ground should take place no earlier than warm weather outside (at least +15 oC).
10. Before planting, seedlings should be hardened by daily exposure to fresh air, increasing the time the plant spends outside each day.

After the bushes move to their permanent place of residence, the seedlings will need to be provided with additional care.

Watering and fertilizing

The description of the tomato variety Drova indicates that the tomato is an unpretentious representative of this crop. However, it still has minimum requirements.

The intensity of watering vegetables depends entirely on the period of tomato development:

• immediately after planting the seedlings in the ground, it must be shed with warm, settled water;
• further watering should be carried out based on the condition of the soil: for example, if mulch was added during planting, it will retain moisture at the roots for a long time, which will help reduce the frequency of watering;
• it is necessary to increase the supply of water at the moment when the tomato begins to bloom and gain fruit. It is forbidden to overwater the vegetable, but the soil should always be slightly moist.

Fertilizers are applied according to the usual scheme:

• during strengthening of seedlings;
• at the moment of flowering;
• during the process of fruit ripening.

Attention! Tomatoes cannot tolerate excess fertilizer, so all fertilizing must be carried out strictly according to the schedule and in the doses indicated on the package.

Pinching and tying

Cultivation is carried out in order to distribute the load on the plant and increase the amount of harvest. Drova tomatoes are low-growing, so you can leave 2 - 3 sprouts, which will bear fruit.

Despite their short stature, Drova tomatoes are distinguished by an abundance of fruits. Therefore, it will be difficult for small bushes to hold a large number of tomatoes without proper support. It is recommended to tie the plant when planting seedlings in the ground, so that the young shoots stretch along the support, which is used as wooden stakes, rods, etc.

Formation

Some gardeners advise not to shape the Drova tomato, but do not forget about removing the root shoots. They will consume too much of the plant's vitality, which will negatively affect the quantity of the harvest and the quality of the fruit.

Protection from diseases and pests

Reviews about Drova tomatoes are mostly positive. And many gardeners note that this tomato representative has a good immune system. Thanks to this, many diseases to which nightshades are susceptible are not afraid of it.

In fact, there is no 100% protection against pests and pathologies. Therefore, you need to know how to protect or save a plant from disease.

• Late blight: leaves and fruits become brownish. Increased moisture levels contribute to the development of the disease. Therefore, it is important to follow the watering regime or ventilate greenhouse specimens;
• Macrosporiasis: formation of dry dark spots on fruits and leaves. Infection can occur from potatoes, so it is not worth planting the crop next to this plant or in its place. Copper oxychloride will help cope with the disease;
• Anthracnose: The upper leaves of the plant begin to wilt and sunken spots appear on the fruit. The development of the disease can be facilitated by the remains of old plantings, rotted piles of weeds, and even manure piled in the garden. Such remedies as Quadris, Strobi and Flintom can get rid of the problem.

Attention! It is easier to prevent all diseases by following the rules for preparing the soil before planting.

Pest and disease control

As the main preventive measure in May, it is recommended to treat Drova tomato seedlings with a fungicide (one to choose from):

• Bordeaux mixture;
• "Skor";
• "Maksim";
• "Tattu";
• "Fitosporin";
• "Profit".

Insect colonies can be destroyed using insecticides:

• "Vertimek";
• "Match";
• "Karate";
• "Aktara";
• "Decis";
• "Fitoverm".

Folk recipes also help well - for example, a decoction of potato tops, a solution of tobacco dust, shavings of laundry soap with wood ash, mustard powder, an infusion of onion or garlic peels. Colorado beetles can be lured into buried jars with pieces of potato, and to repel slugs, crushed chili peppers, eggs or nut shells can be scattered along the beds.

Warning! Spraying of bushes is carried out only in the evening, in the absence of strong winds and rains. After using chemicals, you should wait a few days: it is dangerous to start harvesting right away.

Further care

The Firewood tomato does not require special care. The same measures are carried out as for any other variety of tomatoes.

Watering

Plants do not like heavily waterlogged soil. Therefore, watering is carried out as the top layer of soil dries. It is enough to water the plants 2 times a week. Watering is carried out strictly at the root so that the plants do not get late blight. Use only settled water. Cold water can lead to rotting of the root system.

Feeding

Tomato feeding is carried out according to the following scheme:

1. The first fertilizing is carried out 3 weeks after planting the plants in open ground. For this, it is recommended to use organic matter. The ideal option is to use a solution of ash, a liter of which is diluted in a bucket of water. Up to 1-2 liters of liquid are added under the bush.
2. The next feeding is carried out during the flowering period of tomatoes. It is recommended to use mineral fertilizers.
3. The third time, fertilizers are applied during the period of fruit ripening. Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are used. They will allow the fruits to develop qualitatively, increase their size, and give them juiciness. After applying such fertilizers, the crop will be stored for a long time after harvesting.

Bush formation

To increase the yield of the variety, it is recommended to carry out the formation and pinching of the bush. Firewood, when properly cared for, produces a very large harvest. Pinching will distribute the load on the bush and will promote the growth of larger tomatoes.

It is recommended to leave 2-3 main stems during the formation of the bush. It is recommended to pinch out the remaining side branches. It is also worth removing the lower tier of leaves. This will allow plants to develop better.

Basic care

To obtain strong sprouts, it is necessary to create certain conditions:

• cover the crops with transparent film or glass;
• place in a warm place with diffused light;
• the optimal temperature for germination is 25-27°C, humidity - 60%;
• You need to periodically ventilate and irrigate the dried soil.

5-7 days after the sprouts appear, the shelter is removed and the seedlings are placed in a well-lit but cool place. For a week, the seedlings are kept at a temperature of 18-19°C to prevent them from stretching and stimulate root growth. Then the sprouts are returned to their original location.

When two true leaves are formed, the sprouts are planted. Before planting in a larger container, the crops are watered abundantly and then removed along with the earthen clod. The voids are filled with fertile soil - garden soil mixed with humus (1:1).

For better survival, the sprouts need to be fed with an azofoska solution (1 tbsp per 5 liters of water) or a urea solution (1 tbsp per bucket of water). Consumption per plant - 50 ml.

Tatyana Orlova (Vasilidchenko) (candidate of agricultural sciences):

During picking, the root system of a seedling consists of almost one root, which during picking breaks off on its own or is pinched specifically to stimulate the growth of lateral roots. There is not and cannot be any “clump of earth” on the roots of the seedlings.