Tomato Beefsteak: the best varieties with descriptions and characteristics. Tomato Beefsteak: reviews, photos, yield, nuances of cultivation

Description of the Beefsteak tomato variety

Judging by the description of the originators, breeders from Moscow, Beefsteak tomatoes are a mid-season variety that produces a consistently rich harvest. It begins to bear fruit 105-110 days after sowing the seeds. This is not a hybrid, which makes the Beefsteak tomato even more popular, since you can collect the seeds yourself.

Important! Varietal qualities are fully preserved.

Bush

The plant belongs to the indeterminate varieties due to the absence of a growth point limitation. That is why the bushes grow powerful, up to 1 m in width. This fact must be taken into account when planting so that Beefsteak tomatoes have enough feeding area. Only in this case can you get a sufficient number of large fruits.

Thick stems grow up to 2 m and require tying, otherwise they may break. The bush is lush due to the large number of stepsons. They must be removed in a timely manner so as not to weaken the plants.

Attention! The bushes are grown with two, rarely three stems.

The juicy green leaves are ordinary, tomato-type, with a pronounced odor. They are quite large. Since there are many leaf blades, they will have to be removed throughout the growing season. Otherwise, problems with fungal diseases cannot be avoided due to lack of ventilation.

The brush of the Beefsteak tomato is simple; as a rule, there are about 5-6 inflorescences on it. The first of them is formed in the axil of the eighth leaf, and then through 2-3 joints. Almost all flowers are set, but if you need to get large fruits, then it is best to leave no more than 2-3 green tomatoes.

Fruit

The Beefsteak tomato, if you follow the norms of agricultural technology, has an impressive size. The weight of the fruit varies between 260-290 g. There are also record holders that grow over 350 g.

Tomatoes have a round shape, slightly flattened horizontally. Ribbing is observed in the area of ​​the stalk, but it is insignificant. When ripe, tomatoes turn deep red.

Comment! Under the same name there are tomatoes with a yellowish color; they are also called white.

Yellow tomatoes are considered dietary, since fruits with this color do not cause allergies.

The fruits of the Beefsteak variety have a sweetish pulp. It is the same shade as the skin. On the cut you can see 6-8 seed chambers. The fleshy fruits have thin skin, so it is difficult to transport them when ripe. You can pick blanc tomatoes, as they ripen well.

When cutting, Beefsteak tomatoes do not leak juice, since they contain little liquid.

Attention! On an industrial scale, due to the thin peel and short shelf life (no more than 4-5 days in the refrigerator), the Beefsteak tomato variety is practically not grown.

Application area

Fleshy Beefsteak tomatoes are highly valued by chefs. Fruit drinks and juices, tomato paste and ketchup, various salads, and adjika are prepared from them, in which slices are used or the fruits are ground in a meat grinder.

But the most important purpose is fresh salads.

Due to its massiveness, the Beefsteak tomato is not used for whole-fruit canning.

Large, meaty and sweet

The variety is registered in the State Register of the Russian Federation and is recommended for cultivation both in shelters and in open ground. It requires heat, so even in the middle zone it is better to grow it in film or glass greenhouses.

Tomato Beefsteak indeterminate, tall. He requires a mandatory garter. The ideal option for a greenhouse is tying it to trellises.

There is little green mass on the bush, internodes are rare. The leaves are small, medium in size, and light green in color. Plants are formed into one or two stems, here everyone decides for himself which option is better. The plant forms simple inflorescences, stalks with articulation.

The fruits are large, fleshy, and bright red when ripe. The tomatoes are slightly flattened in shape and have slightly pronounced ribbing. Beefsteak tomatoes reach a weight of up to 280-300 grams.

This variety is an example of the right balance in everything: both in visual appeal (note the photo of the tomato) and in taste. Beefsteak tomato. Beefsteak tomato

Beefsteak tomato

The pulp is juicy, sugary, the taste is excellent. The fruits are used in salads, fresh, and for juice.

Beefshakes is a mid-early productive tomato, so it is important to correctly calculate the timing of sowing the seeds. From the moment the first shoots appear until the ripe fruits are harvested, approximately 80-85 days pass

If you follow all the rules for tomato care, you can harvest up to 8-11 kg from one square meter

If you follow all the rules for caring for a tomato, you can harvest up to 8-11 kg from one square meter.

To get a good harvest, you need to use high-quality seeds. The most productive varieties are possible. Large selection of varieties for every taste.

Characteristics of the variety

When choosing a variety, you need to know its characteristic characteristics. This applies not only to the characteristics of cultivation, but to other parameters:

• yield and fruiting time;
• pros and cons of tomatoes;
• ways to use it in cooking.

Productivity and fruiting

Mid-season Beefsteak tomato can be grown in open ground, but only in the south. As for the Northern regions, it is best to use a greenhouse or film shelters for planting.

Tomatoes grown from seedlings ripen in mid-summer. Harvesting continues until the first frost. In protected soil, one plant produces up to 4 kg of tasty fruit. On ordinary ridges there is a little less. The main culprits for yield reduction in open ground are rain and fog, when not all anthers crack. This leads to the appearance of barren flowers. The number of fruits is also affected by non-compliance with agricultural technology.

Comment! If frosts are expected at the beginning of September, the fruits can be picked at ripeness and ripened in a dark place.

Advantages and disadvantages

Like many varieties of crops, the Beefsteak tomato has its advantages and disadvantages.

One cluster may contain ripe and greenish fruits

pros

• excellent taste of fleshy tomatoes;
• beautiful appearance;
• large fruit;
• almost 100% flower setting;
• stable and high yield;
• variability of culinary uses of fruits;
• high resistance to diseases and pests.

Minuses

• defeat of bushes by late blight;
• short shelf life and impossible transportation of ripe fruits.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

Let's summarize what is so remarkable about the Pepper-shaped tough guy:

• the growing technology is as simple as possible compared to other tomatoes;
• the fruits can be eaten fresh, stuffed and canned - the dense structure of the pulp does not allow it to fall apart during cooking;
• when preparing tomato juices and fruit purees, a large yield of the finished product is obtained due to the fleshiness of the fruit;
• under appropriate conditions, they retain not only their taste, but even their smell for a long time;
• tolerate transportation well.

The disadvantages include the relatively low yield per unit area.

Varieties from the “Beefsteak” series

This group of tomatoes is very diverse. They differ in color, size, vigor and ripening time. But they have one thing in common: all beef group tomatoes have many seed chambers, therefore, the amount of pulp significantly exceeds the total mass of juice and seeds. Most tomatoes in this group have few of them. It’s not for nothing that when translated from English, the name of the group – beef – means meat. All of them have an excellent taste, in which sweetness predominates. They contain more dry matter, vitamins and everything useful, for which these vegetables are valued: lycopene, beta-carotene, and in dark-colored tomatoes also anthocyanins.

Use in cooking

Due to their size, the fruits of the Beefsteak variety are mainly used for preparing products from it. They look very beautiful cut into slices, and serving them with white tomatoes will become an original decoration for any holiday table. As for preservation, it can be done by cutting them into slices, since such large tomatoes simply will not fit into a jar.

And in conclusion, we can say that, in addition to many main advantages, this tomato variety has a large amount of nutrients, as well as vitamins, especially groups A and C.

Features of cultivation

The Beefsteak tomato loves acidic soil; it needs quite a lot of free space for its “place of residence.” It is relatively resistant to diseases and suffers from them only when the rules of crop rotation are not followed. Anyone wishing to try this variety of tomato must remember a mandatory rule - no other tomatoes should be grown in the selected area for more than three years in a row.

Not only people love crispy tomatoes, but also some pests. Fruit worms are especially partial to them. Don't be so quick to use chemicals to repel them. It is enough to create a bed with onions or garlic nearby and you can avoid the problem.

The variety is productive, but it is possible to obtain a bountiful harvest only if loose soil is provided, crop rotation rules are followed, proper protection from pests is carried out, as well as timely fertilizing. It consists of adding compost or compost tea during the period of planting seedlings in open ground, when the first flowers appear, as well as during the period of active fruiting.

Planting a beefsteak tomato

In order to get a good harvest of tomatoes. You need to take care of high-quality planting material. Often, when buying young plants second-hand from amateur gardeners, you may end up with a variety that is not at all what you expected. And since no one wants to waste their energy and time on who knows what, it is recommended to start growing seedlings yourself

Terms and rules of sowing

Sowing of seeds begins in late February or early March. The timing depends on the climatic conditions of the region. It should be borne in mind that high-quality seedlings should be 56-60 days old with a strong, thick stem.

Seeds are sown in furrows located at a distance of 3 cm. Planting depth is no more than 1.5 cm. After sowing, irrigate the soil with a spray bottle and cover with film so that the seeds germinate faster.

Any container can be used for sowing

Preparation of soil and containers

To sow Beefsteak tomato seeds for seedlings, you will need nutritious soil. You can use a ready-made mixture or make your own soil. To do this, take the following components:

• peat;
• leaf soil;
• humus;
• river sand;
• wood ash.

Warning! It is prohibited to add fresh manure to the soil.

Before sowing, the soil is scalded with boiling water and potassium permanganate.

The containers are also prepared. To do this, wash them with hot water and soap, then rinse. Pour over boiling water with potassium permanganate. You can use boric acid or hydrogen peroxide for treatment.

Sowing seeds

In order to get good seedlings, you need to use only high-quality seeds. They can be purchased in specialized stores or collected independently from the best fruits of the previous harvest.

The seeds are planted in a special substrate. It can be purchased at any gardening store, but it is easier and cheaper to prepare it yourself. To do this you will need:

1. Peat absorbs water well during watering and due to this, the earthen ball remains moist longer and does not dry out. Also, the presence of peat in the substrate makes it more loose.
2. Leaf soil is the soil collected under a deciduous tree. Every year, falling and rotting leaves form a special composition that is useful for seedlings. You cannot use soil taken from willow, walnut and oak.
3. Well-rotted humus is the source of most of the nutrients the plant needs. Not completely rotted manure will destroy young shoots.

After the soil is prepared, you can proceed to preparing the seeds. Before planting, they are soaked for several hours in warm water. Seeds that float to the surface are discarded, as they will be of no use.

Growing seedlings

Young shoots are very sensitive and therefore require special care. For normal development and growth of tomato seedlings, it is necessary to maintain the air temperature in the room at 22-25⁰ C, as well as its normal humidity.

It is recommended not to water the tomatoes too often as the earthen ball dries out. Overwatering can provoke the development of fungal diseases. It is also worth paying attention to the amount of sunlight. If it is deficient, the seedlings must be illuminated with special lamps.

Picking

As soon as 3-4 true leaves appear, the Beefsteak tomato seedlings need to be plucked, that is, transplanted one at a time. The soil composition should be the same as when sowing seeds.

Tomato seedlings are not afraid of transplantation, this makes the root system more powerful

Transplanting seedlings into the ground

When the seedlings reach the age of 55-65 days, they are planted in open ground or a greenhouse. Before planting, it is recommended not to water the tomatoes for 1-2 days, and after transplanting, water them generously.

The soil in the garden bed should be loose and light, and also free from weeds. It is best to plant tomato seedlings in the place where cabbage, beets, carrots or peas grew last year.

How to plant in a greenhouse

In the beds, dig holes 40 cm deep, fill them with compost, 1 tbsp peat. l. wood ash. Sprinkle with plenty of water.

The planting rate is 2-3 bushes per 1 m2 due to the powerful vegetation.

The shoots are tied to the trellises in a timely manner. Grow the plant in 1-2 stems. Leave no more than 7-8 fruiting clusters, which are supported with twine.

They are fed with potassium and phosphorus fertilizers; if there is a lack of nitrogen, urea and saltpeter are used. Organics are used in the form of solutions diluted 1:10.

Water 3 times a week with warm water directly under the root, avoid getting on the leaves and stems. Loosen and mulch with straw and hay.

Landing in the ground

Tomatoes are placed at a permanent location at the age of 55-60 days. The variety is suitable for growing on any soil. The best yields can be expected in light, fertile and slightly acidic soil fertilized with organic matter.

Planting sites are pre-prepared by loosening and disinfecting the soil. This procedure is especially necessary when growing varieties on viscous clay soil or heavy, fatty black soil. Planting sites are prepared in the fall.

Soil:

• insulate with rotted sawdust;
• saturate with leaf compost;
• diluted with fine sand;
• enriched with humus.

As for organic fertilizers, vegetable growers who grow an unusual variety of tomatoes in their reviews recommend using horse or cow manure with the addition of dolomite powder and wood ash. The soil is pre-leveled with a rake. The planting density should not exceed 3 plants per 1 m2 of area.

In the greenhouse, tomatoes are placed in a checkerboard pattern. The bottom of each planting hole is covered with a layer of wood ash mixed with humus. The soil is then mulched to prevent it from drying out and to create an optimal microbial balance.

Caring for Beefsteak tomatoes

Young plants are very sensitive to the sun and can easily wither or burn. Therefore, at midday, the bed in the open ground should be covered with non-woven material. At night, cover with film to protect against freezing.

Watering

In the first two weeks, so that the tomatoes take root faster, they are watered every other day. Then the frequency is reduced - every 4-5 days. During the period of flowering and filling of tomatoes, the bed is moistened after two days.

To prevent the stem from rotting, water is poured at the root in the morning or evening.

The next day, they loosen the soil around the bushes, weed the rows, and remove weeds.

Feeding

High yields can be achieved with regular and balanced nutrition.

Brief information about the variety

• Fruits and bush:
  tomatoes are red, flat-round, weight - 300-400 g; indeterminate bushes (in a greenhouse - up to 2 m, in open ground - 1.5 m).
• Productivity:
  4 kg per bush.
• Resistance:
  the plant is moderately resistant to cold and has low immunity to diseases.
• Distribution:
  Southern zone, Northern, Western, Central part, Far East.
• Application:
  consumed fresh, used for preparing salads, juice, main courses and soups, canned in pieces.
• Planting:
  seedling method of cultivation, transplanted into open ground in early June, into a greenhouse - in mid-May, scheme - 60x70 cm.
• Soil:
  loose, fertile.
• Care:
  watering every 4-5 days, loosening, weeding, fertilizing 3 times a season, shaping, tying.
• Ripening period:
  after 85 days. Vegetables are stored for about a week.

Diseases and pests

The Beefsteak tomato variety is resistant to a number of diseases, however, with excess humidity, especially in cold summers, the bushes may be at risk of late blight. There is no radical cure for this terrible nightshade disease, but preventive measures will help reduce the risk of its occurrence:

1. When planting tomatoes, add biological preparations Glyokladin, Alirin or their analogues to each hole.
2. Systematic watering of plants with Fitosporin solution.
3. Spraying tomato bushes with folk remedies: diluted water, serum with iodine or a solution of the pharmaceutical product Trichopolum (20 tablets per 1 bucket of water).

At the first signs of late blight, you need to remove suspicious leaves and treat the tomatoes with any available chemical: from ordinary copper sulfate to elite Previkur. In case of severe damage, diseased bushes must be removed from the area and burned. Preventive measures against late blight are also effective against other diseases caused by spore-bearing fungi.

The most common pests of tomatoes are: whitefly, spider mites, aphids, Colorado potato beetles and root-knot nematodes. When they appear, supporters of folk remedies usually turn to their favorite methods: infusions of wormwood, garlic, hot pepper, tobacco, celandine, etc.

Chemical preparations are selected based on the presence of a specific pest: acaricides - against ticks and bedbugs, insecticides - against the vast majority of insects, hand collection and traps - against beetles and their larvae, mole crickets.

Preventive measures

It is much easier to prevent any nightshade disease than to treat it later. In order to reduce the risk it is necessary:

• remove diseased plants and fruits in a timely manner;
• do not use affected parts of tomatoes to make compost;
• moderately water seedlings and adult plants;
• do not use planting material of questionable quality;
• in the fall, burn the shoots left from the tomatoes;
• spray the bushes with a solution of copper sulfate;
• observe crop rotation.

Following these simple rules will help preserve the harvest and also avoid contamination of neighboring crops. Many tomato diseases cannot be treated.

Tips and tricks for growing

To obtain high yields, it is necessary to adhere to the rules of crop rotation.

According to reviews from vegetable growers, the following are bad predecessors for the variety:

• potato;
• pepper;
• peas;
• physalis;
• eggplants.

"Marsha's Beefsteak" grows well after white cabbage or cauliflower, pumpkin crops, and carrots. Regular sanitary and hygienic pruning of bushes is important. It allows the plant to rationally use nutritional resources and not lack sunlight.

The practice of growing unusual heat-loving tomatoes shows that if there are a large number of ovaries on the stem, the fruits reach a maximum weight of 200 g. The Beefsteak March variety requires regular removal of weeds. Otherwise, the plant suffocates, weakens, and stops developing.