Fruits for the most sophisticated - Honey King tomato: characteristics and description of the variety

With the Honey King tomato, you don’t have to worry about yield. The King is rightfully one of the best varieties in the golden group. Among its bonuses are excellent taste, high endurance to weather changes, and resistance to disease-causing pathogens.

Description and characteristics of the variety

The Honey King tomato is the result of Russian selection.

Features of the hybrid variety:

• bushes are indeterminate, medium-sized, non-standard;
• shoot height 1.4-1.5 m;
• stems are moderately leafy;
• 4-6 tomatoes ripen per bunch.

Ripening time is average - 110-115 days from germination.

Characteristics and description of the fruits:

• average weight 400-500 g;
• there are few seed chambers and seeds;
• the pulp is fleshy, sugary;
• the skin is thin, tender;
• sugar level 4-5%;
• The taste is dominated by sweetness, the sourness is barely perceptible.

Due to the thinness of the skin, tomatoes are not pickled or salted whole.

The hybrid should be distinguished from a variety with a similar name, but with a different word order - Honey King. This is a tomato with bright red round fruits weighing 200 g.

Features of agricultural technology

Honey king F1 is planted as seedlings. Preparation of bushes should begin in February-March so that seedlings at the age of 60-65 days get to the garden bed. Other agrotechnical recommendations:

• the seeds are placed shallowly in the soil (up to 1 cm);
• pick the pepper after the formation of the 2nd leaf;
• plants are placed in sunny beds or in partial shade;
• watering is combined with loosening the soil;
• peppers need to be fed every 14 days, alternating mineral and organic fertilizers;
• The garter of the bushes is carried out before the fruits reach technical ripeness.

Growing seedlings

Seeds for seedlings are sown in early March in all regions. This is due to the fact that the Honey Salute tomato in the central and northern part of the country is planted only in a greenhouse. Picking in protected ground is possible much earlier than in open ground

Working with planting material

Before starting to grow seedlings, prepare planting material. This reduces the likelihood of plant infection and speeds up seed germination.

Before purchasing seeds, be sure to check their expiration dates. Expired planting material will have a low chance of germination.

To select the most viable seeds, they are soaked in saline solution for half an hour. To prepare the product, stir 1 tsp in a glass of water. salt. Specimens that float up are thrown away, and those that sink to the bottom are washed and used for planting.

Due to the instability of Honey Salute to tomato diseases, its seeds must be treated with a disinfectant composition. Some manufacturers sell already treated planting material, as evidenced by the inscription on the package and the orange or green color of the seeds. In other cases, the seeds are disinfected independently.

To do this, they are soaked:

• in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour;
• in a solution of soda for 12 hours;
• in aloe juice diluted in half with water for 12 hours.

After dressing, the seeds are treated with a growth stimulator. I often use Epin, in which the seeds are soaked for 3-5 hours.

Selection of soil and containers

Usually the seeds are sown in one common container. Stores sell special wooden boxes and plastic trays.

The following materials are also used for these purposes:

• disposable tableware;
• trays for semi-finished products;
• trimmed 5-6 liter bottles.

To pick plants into individual pots, use containers with a volume of 300-500 ml. For these purposes, special pots, cut-off bottles or disposable cups are used.

The containers are disinfected before use. To do this, they are soaked in a strong solution of potassium permanganate.

You can prepare soil for tomatoes yourself or buy it in a store. The soil for tomatoes should be light and nutritious. To prepare the soil, turf, peat and humus are mixed in different proportions. Spit substrate or river sand is added to the resulting composition.

The soil is disinfected. To do this, water it with a solution of potassium permanganate or boiling water. Another option is to calcine the soil in the oven.

Sowing seeds

Soil is poured into the container so that there is a distance of 2 cm to the edge. Grooves are made in the soil, 1 cm deep. The distance between them should be 3 cm.

Seeds are placed in the grooves at a distance of 1.5 cm from each other. They are sprinkled with earth on top without compacting it.

Boxes with seeds are moistened with warm, settled water. After this, they are covered with film and placed in a warm place. Depending on the room temperature, seed germination times vary from 3 to 7 days.

It is convenient to grow seedlings in peat tablets. To do this, such blanks are soaked until they swell, after which seeds are placed in the holes. Next, all the tablets are placed in one container and covered with film.

Seedling care

Caring for seedlings should be regular. Only in this case will it be possible to grow healthy and viable plants. Below are the main nuances that a gardener who grows his own tomato seedlings needs to know about:

Seeds do not need sunlight before germination. Therefore, they are placed in a dark, warm place. Sometimes gardeners cover the boxes with dark film to speed up germination. When the first shoots appear, containers with seedlings are placed in a well-lit place. If there was a dark film on them, it is removed. If the boxes are covered with transparent glass, then leave it in the first week after germination. Before the seeds germinate, the soil is moistened with a spray bottle. After the first shoots appear, water the plants with a syringe. Use water at room temperature. When the first true leaves appear on the plants, they are picked into individual containers. The root is not pinched. This slows down plant growth. After picking, the tomatoes are watered from a watering can

It is important that water does not fall on the ground part. During the entire period of growing seedlings, plants are fed 3 times. The first time fertilizer is applied 2 weeks after picking, the second time after 2-3 weeks, the 3rd time 3 days before planting in the greenhouse. 14 days before picking tomatoes to a permanent place, they begin to harden

To do this, they are taken out to the balcony, gradually increasing the time spent in the fresh air.

Care

During the season, the area with tomatoes should be weeded 2-3 times, combining weed removal with loosening the soil and cultivating bushes. When forming a bush, this variety does not need to remove stepsons. Additional watering is necessary in the absence of regular rain. It is enough to spend about 8 waterings for the entire season, from planting to ripening.

Watering should be combined with feeding. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers are used during flowering and fruiting stages. Closer to ripening, top dressing is carried out using potassium mixtures. In all other respects, growing General f1 tomatoes is no different from growing other early varieties of this crop in open ground.

How to grow tomatoes

Honey spas is grown anywhere - both in a greenhouse and in the open air. The main thing when landing is to follow all the rules.

Landing

A windless, cloudy day is ideal for planting Honey Spas in open ground. The bushes should be 10-12 cm apart from each other. The future plant needs a lot of light - otherwise it will get sick.

After planting the sprouts, water the beds generously with warm water. Direct the stream of water directly at the root - and in no case at the stem and leaves themselves.

Care

Do not forget to remove weeds in time, otherwise they will take nutrients from the tomatoes. Since the bush is tall, a mandatory garter is required. Monitor the formation of stepchildren - every week it is recommended to remove all excess.

It is best to do this with your hands - this reduces the likelihood of damaging the stems. Tomatoes require loosening of the soil - thanks to it, the soil will be airy and enriched with the necessary amount of oxygen.

As for fertilizing, here too you have the right to choose:

1. Use natural remedies. For example, treat the bushes with an ash-based solution. This simple recipe will protect the crop from possible ailments and increase the yield. Or you can use mixtures based on organic waste.
2. Buy professional products. Nitrogen-containing fertilizers are in greatest demand. For example, potassium-phosphorus solution. To ensure the plant develops harmoniously, alternate mineral and natural fertilizers.

Features of cultivation and possible difficulties

Like any tomatoes, Honey Spas has its own growing nuances.

Among them, pay special attention to the following:

• the need to systematically fertilize the beds;
• mandatory tying of bushes;
• removal of stepsons.

All these measures are necessary to avoid pests and diseases. Plus, proper care is the key to an excellent harvest. Otherwise, the Honey Spas tomato is no different from other varieties.

Diseases and pests

Top 5 most common varieties diseases:

• Late blight is a fungal disease that penetrates the inside of the stem and destroys the plant. Characteristic signs of late blight are the appearance of brown spots and white coating on the leaves. It is best to fight the disease with professional means;
• tobacco mosaic - looks like a yellow pattern on the leaves. The cause of the disease may be an excess of nitrogen in fertilizing. If tobacco mosaic is detected, infected bushes should be removed;
• powdery mildew - white coating on bushes. As a rule, people become infected with it in early summer. Favorable conditions are hot, dry weather, which is accompanied by fluctuations in humidity and temperature. For the fight, it is recommended to use the drugs “Tilit”, “Skor”, “Topaz”;
• anthracnose This disease spreads both to the bushes and to the tomatoes themselves. Characteristic signs are the appearance of dark sunken spots on tomatoes. It is recommended to combat anthracnose with the help of “Quadris” and “Strobe”;
• aspermia. Because of this disease, the flowers of the bush grow together, the leaves become small and change color. Aspermia is transmitted through insect vectors.

Top 5 common pests:

• mole cricket - has a harmful effect on the roots of tomatoes, can live both in a greenhouse and in open ground. Ammonia or garlic cloves will help protect you from mole crickets - place them in the holes when planting;
• Whiteflies are small white insects that are dangerous pathogens. Whiteflies should be combated using an infusion of ash;
• Spider mites are another worst enemy of tomatoes. It eats the leaves of the plant, which disrupts metabolism and causes the bushes to die. It is recommended to treat the bushes with Aktara or Apollo;
• The wireworm damages the roots and stem - the bush turns yellow, dries out, and stops growing. The drug “Bazudin” is excellent for combating wireworms;
• sprout fly. It feeds on plant sprouts and seeds. An effective method of control is a tincture of tobacco leaves.