Gardener's Diary, a blog about growing vegetables and flowers in the countryside

The tomato is a perennial evergreen tropical plant native to South and Central America. In our country, it is cultivated as an annual crop. Popular varieties ↓

• for open ground: Alpatieva 905, White filling, F1 Verlioka, Grotto, Malyshok, Moskvich, F1 Portland;
• for greenhouses strong> - F1 Bolero, Bull's Heart, F1 Vasilyevna, F1 Gamayun, De Barao, F1 Centaur, F1 Mithridates, Oksana, F1 Olya, F1 Russian size, F1 Northern Express, F1 Favorite, F1 Funtik;
• cherry-shaped - F1 Bead, F1 Winter cherry, Sweet million

Characteristics of culture

At a young age, the stem of tomatoes is herbaceous and erect; later it becomes woody. On the nature of branching of shoots and the duration of growth of the main shoot

There are several types of bush:

• indeterminate (branching, their growth is unlimited, usually one brush is laid 3 leaves from the other)
• determinate (weakly branched, the growth of the main shoot ends in an inflorescence)

A variety of determinate varieties are standard varieties with a thick, non-lodging stem and shortened internodes.

Starting from a young age, tomato plants form side shoots in the axils of the leaves - stepsons. Indeterminate varieties form stepsons from the axils of all leaves, which takes away the plant’s strength to set and ripen fruits, so they require pinching (removal of side shoots). Determinate varieties produce shoots from the axils of the lower leaves. They can produce a crop, so determinate varieties, as a rule, do not need pinching.

The tomato inflorescence is a raceme that can be short or long, loose or compact. In early varieties, the first flower cluster is formed above the 5-7th leaf, and in later varieties - above the 10-14th leaf, approximately 30-40 days after emergence. Flowering begins 40-90 days after emergence; 45-65 days pass from flowering to ripening.

Fertilization of the flower occurs at an air temperature of 24-32 degrees. Lower or higher temperatures result in delayed fruit set.

The shape of tomato fruits can be flat-round, round, plum-shaped, pear-shaped, cylindrical; by color - lemon, orange, pink, crimson, green, red, purple. When ripe, the fruits change color from milky (light green with a whitish tint) to brown or blazing (brown with a light pink tint), and finally to the color characteristic of the variety.

Based on size and weight, fruits are classified into:

• very small - less than 20 g.
• small - 21-50 g.
• average - 51-100 g.
• large - 101-200 g.
• very large (beef tomatoes) - more than 200 g.

Features of growing tall tomatoes

To get the desired result when cultivating tall varieties, skillful garden owners are advised to adhere to certain provisions. The soil for planting tomatoes should begin to be prepared in the fall - add manure.

In the spring, it is also necessary to continue feeding by adding potassium chloride. Before growing seedlings, the seeds should be prepared - moistened with a warm solution (1 teaspoon of wood ash per 1 liter of water), wrapped in cloth and polyethylene, and left in a cool place for a while. The seeds will be hardened in this way.

For seedlings, you can prepare a soil mixture: peat, turf, humus are taken in the same ratio and potassium sulfate and urea are added one tablespoon at a time. Indeterminate tomato varieties are better suited for cultivation in a greenhouse or under a film cover. Low-growing varieties are more suitable for cultivation in open ground.

Fertilizers

Before applying various fertilizers, you need to pay attention to the plant itself:

1. The seedlings are pale and weak - organic fertilizers should be added to the soil
2. Seedlings grow too quickly - you need to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizers applied
3. The leaves begin to turn yellow - this indicates an excess of phosphorus
4. If, on the contrary, there is not enough phosphorus, the leaves will turn purple.
5. Spots on the leaves may appear due to an excess of potassium
6. Foliage begins to curl and dry out due to a lack of potassium

Late blight is a common tomato disease.

When growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, late blight is a common disease. In the presence of high humidity, fungus develops quite often. A prerequisite for growing is ventilation of greenhouses. Also, seedlings should be treated with Bordeaux mixture. You can fertilize with superphosphate.

Useful tips

1. It is better to apply nitrogenous fertilizers to the soil on a sunny day, diluting them in water.
2. In hot weather, it is preferable to plant seedlings in the evening, when the sun is no longer so hot. When there is no hot sun, planting can be done at any time of the day.
3. For good tomato ovary, boric acid is used as foliar feeding. For faster flowering, you can use iodine.
4. To quickly get the first harvest, you need to tear off all the leaves below the first cluster on which the fruits have begun to ripen. This will enhance fruit ripening rather than plant growth. You can also cut off part of the ovaries, which will increase the weight of the fruit.
5. Tall tomatoes should be grown on one stem. If several stems are formed, fruiting of such seedlings will begin later than usual.
6. Ripe fruits need to be picked with the stalks on so that the remaining fruits ripen faster.

Selection of varieties and hybrids

More than 1,100 varieties and hybrids of tomato are included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements; in addition, many unregistered varieties are sold in garden centers. It is difficult for an amateur vegetable grower to navigate this sea of ​​commercial offers.

One of the main parameters by which you need to select a variety or hybrid for cultivation is its early maturity (the period from full germination to the first harvest of fruits).

Tomatoes are:

• ultra early ripening - 80-85 days
• early ripening - 85-110 days
• mid-season - 110-120 days
• late ripening - 120 days or more.

According to their purpose, there are varieties and hybrids of tomato

• salad
• for whole-fruit canning
• for long-term storage for 2-5 months
• carpal (they are removed with brushes)

Depending on how many seed chambers there are inside the fruit in a cross section, varieties and hybrids are divided into small-chambered (2-3 chambers) and multi-chambered (6-10).

In Russia, about 25% of tomatoes are grown in open ground, 60-70% in protected ground, so a number of varieties and hybrids are designed specifically for open ground (these are mainly early ripening varieties and hybrids), while others are intended for protected ground (they, as a rule, taller).

The popularity of old varieties, zoned back in the 40-70s. XX century, can be explained by several reasons. These varieties are highly cold-resistant and resistant to stress, diseases and pests. They are productive (4-5 plants can be placed per 1 m2), the fruits are dense, suitable for canning and fresh consumption, they are early ripening (fruits ripen on the 85-90th day from germination) and have time to form fruits before being affected by late blight, their can be grown in the northern regions of Russia.

Old varieties are intended for cultivation in open ground and do not require shaping, like varieties and hybrids for protected ground. Another advantage of old domestic varieties is that they are varieties, and not hybrids, therefore, seeds can be collected from plants that will retain the properties of the variety and will not cause splitting of characteristics.

In addition, the cost of seeds of tomato varieties is significantly lower than the cost of modern new domestic and foreign first-generation hybrids (F1).

Basic rules of my approach

There are several approaches to growing tomatoes. Let's divide them into two main ones: the technology of growing tomatoes in a greenhouse and growing tomatoes in open ground.

We will consider both of these approaches, but let’s first agree that we will be talking about natural farming in small greenhouses and our own plots.

First, let's look at the main goals that we will strive to achieve by growing tomatoes on our plot.

1. The first thing that should concern us is the opportunity to grow a tasty, healthy tomato, which in many respects is superior in quality to the tomatoes sold in the store.
2. The second is to grow tomatoes not of technical ripeness, but of table ripeness.
3. The third thing is to stretch out the fruiting period as long as possible.
4. And lastly, but for many the main thing is to get a large harvest per tomato bush. Now slowly from the very beginning.

Of course, seeds

It all starts with tomato seeds. And it is necessary to choose them, taking into account exactly the goals that we have set for ourselves. This means that we definitely won’t get by with just one variety. The best-tasting tomatoes come from pure varieties, called heirloom varieties. To grow tomatoes in open ground, you need early, most likely determinate, varieties that are resistant to late blight, the main enemy of open ground.

I would suggest choosing 5-6 varieties for open ground and 3-4 for the greenhouse, if there is only one.

We’ve figured out a little about seeds, carefully read reviews, look for experienced gardeners in your area and experiment more yourself, create your own seed fund. Remember that the germination capacity of tomatoes lasts up to 15 years.

Seedling

The second secret to success is good tomato seedlings. The thing is that tomato seedlings, unlike pepper seedlings, must achieve their optimal growth precisely by the time they are planted in a permanent place, this is the moment the first flower cluster budding. Both overgrowth and underdevelopment of seedlings do not have the best effect on the harvest. Based on this, seedlings for open ground should be started to be grown later than seedlings for planting in a greenhouse. And approximate dates can only be arrived at through experience. But for the Moscow region this is from March 5-10 for greenhouses and from March 20-25 for open ground, while making adjustments for the characteristics of each variety. See detailed technology for growing seedlings here.

Bush care

The third secret is caring for tomato bushes.

And here, if in a greenhouse you will most likely have to deal with the heat, creating conditions for good ventilation, then in the open ground, on the contrary, create conditions for preserving heat (protection from northern winds, dark mulching of the soil, ensuring good heating, etc.).

There are also differences in formation. If indeterminate varieties are mainly grown in a greenhouse, then they are formed into 1-2 stems. In open ground, determinate ones are more often used, which form 3-4 stems or do not shoot at all, leaving all the shoots. There is an article about formation with a visual illustration.

Priming

And of course, the main condition for good growth of tomatoes is the creation of suitable soil.

If we take it as a basis to abandon mineral fertilizers, then the main soil fertility should be high-quality compost, the soil should be loose and deeply structured, this is created by growing green manure in the autumn.

Another mandatory condition regarding the soil is the mandatory mulching of the surface.

Watering

And lastly, this is the correct watering of tomatoes.

If in a greenhouse we can control watering and draw up a schedule, then in open ground nature often interferes with our plans with its rains.

Here it is necessary to take into account the amount of precipitation, place an empty wide container, for example a basin, measure its diameter, and you can always measure how much water a particular rain shed, accordingly reduce or reschedule watering the tomatoes.

Growing tomato seedlings

Tomato is a light-loving and heat-loving crop, demanding on growing conditions. The brighter and more intense the light, the faster the harvest is formed. Prolonged cloudy weather extends the ripening period of fruits by 10-15 days and worsens their taste.

Optimal temperature for plant growth and development: 22-24 °C during the day, 16-18 °C at night. At temperatures below 10 °C, plant growth stops, pollen does not ripen, and the ovaries fall off.

In our climate, a tomato harvest can only be obtained if seedlings are planted in spring greenhouses or open ground at the age of 40-65 days. If the greenhouse is heated, then tall, late varieties of tomatoes are sown as seedlings in mid-February, and early-ripening low-growing ones, some of which will be planted in open ground, in the first ten days of March.

About a month before sowing, the fullest seeds are selected, soaked in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes, washed, wrapped in a slightly damp linen napkin, then in a plastic bag and placed on the top shelf of the refrigerator door.

2-3 days before sowing, the seeds are dipped directly into water in a napkin, lightly squeezed and placed in a warm place. It is important to ensure that the napkin does not dry out.

Without a good soil substrate it is impossible to obtain full-fledged seedlings. If the soil is of high quality, then a minimum amount of fertilizing will be needed, the plants will be strong, with short internodes and a branched root system.

Individual containers measuring 9x9x9 cm or a common sowing box are filled in advance with soil substrate (for 1 bucket of leaf soil - a half-liter jar of wood ash, a three-liter bag of peat and half a bucket of garden soil).

On the eve of sowing, the soil is lightly compacted and watered abundantly. Tomatoes are sown according to variety, containers are placed in pallets and covered with film. The seeds are sprinkled with loose soil, then the tray with containers is placed in a large plastic bag and placed in a warm place.

As soon as the shoots appear, the containers are transferred to a well-lit, cool windowsill and the bag is opened slightly. It is very convenient to use labels; they can indicate the variety, sowing date and time of emergence.

When sowing in boxes, make grooves 8-10 mm deep at a distance of 4-5 cm from each other, seeds are sown in them at a distance of 8-10 mm from one another, covered with a 10-15 mm layer of moistened soil mixture, and covered with film or glass.

Smaller planting leads to the removal of the seed coat at the ends of the folded cotyledon leaves, which injures the plants. The hard shell must be moistened several times a day with warm water from a pipette, and then carefully removed or wait for the plant to shed it itself.

The optimal temperature for seedling growth in the first two weeks is 20-22 °C (without sharp fluctuations at night), then 18-20 °C. In cloudy weather, additional lighting is turned on above the seedlings; on warm days, the room must be ventilated, but without drafts. Excess moisture is removed from the pan and the soil is mulched.

With the appearance of the second true leaf, seedlings are picked from boxes into individual containers and buried down to the cotyledon leaves. 25-30 days after this, the grown seedlings are transferred to large containers (12x12x15 cm).

It is possible to obtain good seedlings only if the seedlings are provided with a sufficiently large area of ​​nutrition: the leaves of neighboring plants should not touch.

Approximately 10 days after transplantation, the first feeding is carried out with an extract from wood ash, after 2-3 days - with an infusion of onion peels (a liter jar is filled with peels, poured boiling water and left for 3-4 hours, then filtered and diluted with water in a ratio of 1:5).

This infusion contains many trace elements, but its secret has not been fully revealed. But the effect is amazing: the tomatoes literally become sturdier before our eyes with thick stems and large dark leaves.

Very soon the first flower cluster emerges. This serves as a signal to plant seedlings in a greenhouse or open ground under light cover.

Growing tomatoes using the Mittleider method

When growing tomatoes using the Mitlider method, up to 9 kg of harvest can be harvested from each bush. This agricultural technology provides for the following conditions:

• use of complex fertilizers,
• use of high-quality agricultural technology,
• narrow soil ridges, if you plan to cultivate tomatoes in open ground,
• boxes-beds with soil if you plan to grow tomatoes in greenhouses or greenhouses.

At the same time, the Mittleider method has many advantages:

• versatility and efficiency,
• efficiency,
• sufficient simplicity.

Of course, not every soil and not every garden can use it. So, for example, the effect of using this method will be minimal if it is used on north-facing slopes, lowlands and wetlands.

Tomato beds according to Mittleider

1. If you strictly follow the method, then you need to observe the timing of fertilizer application, the recommended length and width of the ridges, and the passages between them.
2. The ridges need to be made 9 m long (although it can be less or more, it all depends on the site) and about 45 cm wide.
3. The passages between the ridges should be 90-100 cm. I tested the use of such wide passages from my own experience. In this case, it is very convenient to water or care for plants, and the tomatoes themselves, thanks to more free space, grow more intensively and produce more harvest.
4. It is better to form a bed using pegs and a cord.
5. Then, about a week before planting the seedlings, you need to add approximately 150 g of lime mixture, 50 g each of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus to 1 m².
6. After adding additional elements, the soil needs to be dug up with a shovel full and leveled. Then finally form the bed using a rake, increasing their height to 10 cm.

Remember that Mitlider fertilizers are applied in the spring!

Growing tomato seedlings according to Mittleider

Growing seedlings involves the traditional method of sowing and caring for seedlings. The main thing is that by the time of planting the seedlings are healthy and strong. To do this, you need to observe temperature conditions, watering and fertilizing regimes.

Time for sowing tomatoes for seedlings

Sowing seeds to obtain tomato seedlings should be done approximately 2 months before planting in the ground. For example, if you plan to plant seedlings in the first ten days of May, then the seeds should be sown in late February - early March.

If the seedlings are planned to be planted on the plot in the 3rd decade of May, the seeds should be sown at the very end of March - beginning of April.

Preparing seeds for sowing

Before sowing, I advise you to sort the seeds, select well-developed ones, disinfect them by immersing them in a 2% solution of potassium permanganate for 5 minutes, rinse with water and soak for a day in any growth stimulant.

Soil for seedlings

It is better to sow seeds for tomato seedlings in air- and moisture-permeable soil, light and loose, preferably calcined or steamed.

Seed sowing scheme

I advise you to sow seeds in rows with a distance of 4-5 cm between them. You should not bury the seeds very deeply into the soil - 1.5 cm is enough.

Care after sowing

After sowing, the soil should be moistened with a spray bottle, and the containers with the sown seeds should be covered with film and placed on a southern windowsill in a room with a temperature of 24-26 °C.

As soon as the shoots appear, the film from the boxes needs to be removed and additional lighting taken care of.

In this case, you should lower the room temperature to approximately 16-17 °C. Compliance with these conditions will not allow the seedlings to stretch.

Caring for tomato seedlings according to Mittleider

Caring for tomato seedlings includes watering, fertilizing, carefully loosening the soil surface and providing the seedlings with enough light.

Watering

Watering should be done abundantly, but rarely, preferably before noon, so that the moisture completely wets the soil.

Top dressing

I recommend carrying out the first feeding a week after picking the seedlings into separate cups.

You can use the following solution for mineral fertilizing (per bucket of water):

• 4-6 g potassium sulfate,
• 1.5 g ammonium nitrate,
• 2.5 g magnesium sulfate,
• 5-6 g of superphosphate.

For organic feeding, you can feed with bird droppings, diluting it 15 times with water.

Consumption rate: 100 g of fertilizer per container with seedlings.

When feeding, it is very important not to get it on the leaf blades of tomatoes. If you get it, the solution should be carefully washed off with water.

Planting tomato seedlings in the ground

Immediately before planting in open ground, seedlings should be hardened off, gradually accustoming them to external conditions. You can put it on the balcony first for a couple of hours, then for a day, and finally for a day.

Before planting, I advise you to water the seedlings well.

Plant seedlings in beds with a distance of 20 cm between plants.

After planting, the soil must be carefully compacted so that there is no air between it and the root system.

Caring for tomatoes according to Mittleider

Tomatoes in open ground require watering as the soil dries out; it is advisable not to let the soil dry out too much. Also, the Mitlider method for tomatoes involves generous feeding, mandatory garter

Top dressing

3 days after planting in a permanent place, the seedlings need to be fed. This fertilizing needs to be repeated every 11-12 days, finishing fertilizing 20-22 days before harvest.

Optimal mixture for feeding:

• 240 g ferrous sulfate,
• 15 g zinc sulfate,
• 5 g copper sulfate,
• 15 sulfate (namely sulfate, not the usual “potassium permanganate”) of manganese,
• 15 g of ordinary lime fertilizer.

Dissolve fertilizers in a bucket of water - this is the consumption rate per hectare of land with tomatoes.

Garter

1. As soon as the height of the plants reaches 35-45 cm, the tomatoes are tied up.
2. First, you need to secure the cords to the stakes so that they run along the row.
3. Then you need to tie the plants to them with a loose knot in a certain sequence - we tie all the even-numbered plants to the left cord, and all the odd-numbered ones to the right. Such a garter will allow the plants to receive maximum sunlight.
4. Next, every week you need to guide the tomato stems around the ropes tied to the cord.
5. When the stems reach the cord, the growing crown should be pinched off, which will complete the upward growth of the tomato.

Stepping and shaping

After gartering, I advise you to remove excess leaf blades.

1. First, you should pluck out those leaves that touch the soil, then those that greatly thicken the bush, if any.
2. Tall tomato varieties must be formed into 1 stem, therefore, those shoots that grow again must be removed.
3. This is not done with low-growing varieties.
4. In the future, you can trim or remove those leaves that shade the resulting fruits.
5. As soon as the fruits reach the varietal mass and turn brown, the leaves located below the fruits can be completely removed.

Disease Prevention

I don’t like using chemicals, so I spend more time on disease prevention.

When single affected leaf blades or fruits appear, I remove them immediately.

As soon as the likelihood of late blight increases, I treat the plants with 2% Bordeaux mixture.

Harvesting

If you grow tomatoes in a short climate, it is better to harvest the fruits when they begin to turn pink and ripen them indoors.

Planting seedlings in a greenhouse

Planting in solar-heated greenhouses, frames and film tunnels in the Non-Black Earth Region is carried out from mid-May, in the south a month earlier. To speed up the heating of the soil, ash, peat chips, and crushed coal are scattered on the snow.

The soil in the greenhouse is loosened, filled with humus (a bucket per 1 m2) and wood ash. The top spent layer is replaced in the fall, after harvesting. The prepared soil is watered with a solution of a biological product to activate the work of soil bacteria.

Mark the places for planting seedlings and sow compacting crops: lettuce, spinach.

The tomato responds well to proximity to basil, leeks, stalked celery, parsley and marigolds.

Film covering of unheated greenhouses saves plants from temperatures not lower than -2 ° C; at lower temperatures, additional shelter is required. Taking this into account, seedlings are planted when the threat of spring frosts has passed and the soil has warmed up to 14-16 °C.

The tomato is placed with row spacing of 70 cm or in a strip method (the distance between strips is 90 cm, between rows in a strip is 50 cm). Leave 35-40 cm between plants in a row. Trellis wire is pulled over the rows. It is better to plant plants on a cloudy day, and in sunny weather - in the evening.

The hole is made in such a size that the entire root ball and 3-5 cm of the stem can freely fit into it. Before planting, seedlings and planting holes are watered generously with warm water. Place 3-4 handfuls of loose humus in each hole.

The seedlings are buried down to the first leaves, the soil is pressed down and watered from a watering can through a strainer. It is necessary to ensure that the roots do not bend upward along the stem.

Then all the “bare” soil in the greenhouse is mulched first with a layer of humus, then with mown grass, which always contains dandelion and nettle leaves. After a week, the plants are tied to the trellises under the first or second leaves so that during the process of growth and thickening of the stem the twine does not cut into it.

Preparing seedlings for planting

2 weeks before planting in the garden, the seedlings are hardened off: they are taken out to the balcony at a temperature not lower than 10°C, first for 30 minutes, then the time is gradually increased and the plants are left for the whole day, and in warm weather - overnight. But keep in mind that the bright spring sun can burn the leaves. Therefore, during the day the plants need to be shaded.

A week before transplanting into the ground, stop watering the seedlings and lightly moisten the soil only if the leaves wither. Also, for better survival, before planting, tomatoes are sprayed with a solution of the Epin-Extra stimulant (1-2 drops per 100 ml of water).

Healthy seedlings should be stocky, 25-30 cm high. They should have 6-9 dark green leaves and a cluster of large buds.

By the time tomato seedlings are planted, the soil at a depth of 20 cm should warm up to 10-12°C. In the middle zone this usually happens at the end of May - beginning of June, in more northern regions - 1-2 weeks later, and in more southern regions - 1-2 weeks earlier.

Caring for tomatoes in a greenhouse

Seedlings planted in the ground are watered for the first time immediately after planting, and the second time after 5-6 days. Subsequently, watering is carried out every 7-10 days at the rate of first 1.5 liters, and then 1.6-2 liters per plant. Inexperienced gardeners water plants more often, but in small doses.

This is not recommended, since it is important that the root system develops as deeply as possible, and with frequent watering it forms in the surface layer of soil.

Soil moisture must be maintained constant, since an uneven supply of moisture leads to cracking of the fruit.

Indeterminate tomato varieties usually form one stem (if planted sparsely, two), determinate varieties - 2-3 stems. The second and third stems are obtained from stepsons growing in the leaf axils under the first inflorescence. The strongest shoots of tomatoes always develop in the axils of the leaves located directly under the inflorescence.

Polyethylene film transmits ultraviolet and heat rays well, which contribute to the rapid growth of plants. The moisture permeability of such a shelter is low, high humidity is created under it, so good ventilation must be organized in the greenhouse.

The most serious difficulty in growing nightshade crops is May frosts. Vegetable growers know that tomatoes tolerate severe short-term frosts more easily than weak, but long-term frosts. Frequent sprinkling can prevent the death of a tomato, even when the bush is covered with an ice crust. As soon as the sun comes out, the ice melts and the plants take on their normal appearance. Watering is carried out with cold water before sunrise.

The effectiveness of sprinkling is based on the fact that during morning frosts, plants suffer not so much from freezing, but from subsequent burns, which occur from a rapid change in temperature with sunrise. Watering helps the plant gradually thaw.

Further care for tomatoes in the greenhouse consists of regulating the temperature, watering, weekly addition of mulch from mown grass, fertilizing, and removing shoots. Tomatoes are planted when the shoots are no more than 3-5 cm. At the end of July, the growing points are pinched and ripe fruits are regularly collected.

In thickened plantings, the top of the stem (when grown in one stem) is pinched above the 3-4th cluster to get the earliest harvest. In indeterminate varieties, pinching is done over the 8-10th brush. In any case, 1-2 leaves are left above the flower cluster, which promotes good ripening of the fruit.

Pollination will be more intense if you create a draft in the greenhouse or shake the plants by hitting the support wire. Spraying flowers and buds at the beginning of flowering with approved growth regulators improves fruit set.

Experienced vegetable growers advise “feeding” plants in unheated greenhouses with a nutrient solution heated to 25 °C. This helps to increase the yield of the early harvest by 10-12%, and the harvest from the first three fruit clusters of plants - up to 200 g. 8-10 fertilizing can ensure a good harvest.

The first is carried out after the seedlings have taken root: for 10 liters of water take 15 g of ammonium nitrate, 50 g of superphosphate, 10 g of potassium chloride. Subsequently, before the start of fruiting, the doses are reduced: 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 25 g of superphosphate and 15 g of potassium chloride are dissolved in 10 liters of water. During the fruiting period, the amount of nitrogen doubles. If the soil is old, less fertilizing is required, if new, more fertilizing is required.

Tomatoes especially need phosphorus. If the seedlings were deficient in this element at an early age, then the leaves, first on the lower side and then on the upper side, acquire a purple tint.

Phosphorus makes the bushes strong, resistant to diseases and temperature changes. When planting seedlings in a hole, be sure to pour 15-20 g of superphosphate into it.

Tomato plants urgently need potassium fertilizers: when there is enough of this element, the fruits turn out to be sugary, beautifully colored, and shelf-stable.

There is no need to get carried away with nitrogen when growing tomatoes. Its excess leads to excessive development of the vegetative mass of the plant, numerous stepsons, and delayed fruit ripening. Phosphorus-potassium fertilizers help eliminate this problem: on a moderate nitrogen background, they contribute to smoother ripening of fruits.

Supporters of organic farming fertilize once every two weeks with mullein infusion, wood ash extract and green fertilizer. The latter is prepared mainly from nettles, quinoa and legumes. The barrel is filled 2/3 with grass, 500 g of onion peels are added, the finished infusion is filtered and used not only for watering at the root, but also for spraying on the leaves.

To prevent fungal diseases, use nettle infusion (500 g of herb per 10 liters of water). It is sprayed on tomato plants 3-4 times in June and July.

Growing and care

Pruning and shaping the bush

The first and most important activity is pruning and shaping the tomato bush so that all the strength of the plant does not pass into unproductive shoots, but is directed into the fruits. Pruning begins by shortening the main shoot above the second inflorescence. Then, the topmost side shoot is pruned in the same way when it produces a second inflorescence. All emerging branches are sequentially removed, and during the fruiting period care is taken to prune young shoots (stepchildren) growing from the leaf axils.

Pruning tomatoes will have a positive effect on fruit growth and will significantly improve their quality.

Garter

The next step is tying the tomato bushes to stakes, another support. This is possible when the tomatoes have grown enough - 2 weeks after planting. The garter is performed freely, the rope is placed below the inflorescence. To grow fast-growing tomato varieties, you need to prepare 1.5-meter stakes. Dwarf tomatoes are usually not tied to supports, although in small plantations, supports make the tomatoes easier to care for.

Growing tomatoes on a trellis

At a distance of about 10 cm from the plant, 1.5-meter poles are buried, and a trellis (wire) is pulled between them. The stems are not tied too tightly to the trellis. Most often, the method is used for fast-growing varieties, but there are no contraindications for gartering dwarf varieties.

Mulching

Caring for tomatoes includes mulching the soil. Mulching will speed up and increase the fruiting of plants. A few centimeters of mulch is spread between the rows. The operation is performed at the turn of May-June. The timing of mulching tomatoes is not chosen by chance - the soil must be adequately heated. If the cool season lasted a little longer, you might want to wait a few days. The litter should not be laid out earlier than in the last ten days of May, otherwise the soil will warm up more slowly.

For mulching, the soil is covered with:

• straw,
• sawdust,
• peat,
• leaves,
• black film (best choice).

Mulching helps limit weed growth by maintaining optimal temperatures near the roots and proper soil moisture.

Removing leaves and ovaries

Leaves that touch the soil surface, dry leaves and dried ovaries must be removed.

Trimming and removing excess ovary is carried out with a decisive movement, without tension - this treatment is carried out only in indeterminate varieties.

Watering and weeding

Tomatoes are harmed by both excess and lack of water. The harvest is adversely affected by too little rainfall during flowering, especially at the turn of July-August, which can lead to the fall of flowers and ovaries, and drying out of plant parts. Heavy rain during the ripening period can cause the fruit to crack.

During drought, tomatoes should be watered regularly and abundantly - once a week, using one dose at the level of 200-400 liters of water per hundred square meters.

How to save tomatoes from frost?

Irrigation of tomatoes is aimed not only at providing the water the plants need during the growth process, but also helps protect the bushes from hypothermia due to frost. It should be started when the surface temperature drops below 0°C. During this period, irrigation should be quite intense; a dose of 300 liters of water per hundred square meters per hour, poured through a sprinkler, is sufficient. If the temperature drops from -1° to -8°, the dose of water should be doubled. Sprinkling should continue until the air temperature at the surface of the earth rises above zero.

In warm weather, water the tomatoes with warm water at the base, carefully without wetting the leaves.

It is necessary to regularly carry out manual weeding; the use of herbicides in amateur cultivation of tomatoes is unnecessary.

Processing flowers to form an ovary

To speed up fruit set and increase yield, flowers are treated with a special solution. If the temperature during the flowering period is lower than the optimal growth temperature (18-25 °C) and is 10-15 °C, a special procedure is recommended. Treatment helps plants bear fruit better and increases productivity. To do this, in cold weather, flowers are sprayed with 0.5% Betoxone R or 0.2% Betoxone Super, nicotinic acid, thiamine. Treatment of tomato flowers should be repeated after 3-5 days.

Feeding

Before applying fertilizers, a chemical analysis of the soil composition must be carried out, but in the conditions of a summer cottage this is unprofitable. If the soil quality on the site is poor, it is worth considering the possibility of applying mineral fertilizers. During the growing season, tomatoes are fed using several ingredients or individual fertilizers.

Lack of elements has certain symptoms.

Pests and diseases

It is necessary to systematically inspect the plants in order to notice diseases and pests in time and carry out appropriate treatment.

Main diseases of tomatoes:

• brown rot;
• late blight;
• potato rot;
• tomato Alternaria;
• bacterial cancer;
• black bacterial spot;
• brown spot;
• macrosporiosis;
• septoria;
• mosaic;
• streakiness;
• stolbur;
• black rot of tomatoes;
• downy mildew.

Tomato pests:

• springtails, or springtails;
• aphid;
• Colorado beetle.

Growing tomatoes in open ground

Only low-growing, early-ripening varieties of tomatoes are planted in open ground. For them, you can set aside a bed adjacent to the south side of the greenhouse. Since autumn, it has been seasoned with humus, dolomite flour and wood ash. In early spring, a row of beans can be planted on three open sides of the ridge, which will initially protect the tomatoes from the wind and bright rays of the sun.

Prepare planting holes, fill them with humus and wood ash, and spread plastic film. The next day, water the tomato seedlings generously and plant them in the prepared holes, deepening them down to the first leaves. The soil must be mulched with humus, chopped nettle and dandelion leaves.

If the weather is cold at the beginning of June, arcs are installed over the tomatoes and non-woven material is stretched; when it warms up, it is removed. A thick layer of mulch from humus and mowed grass in the root zone makes the soil loose and moist, but during drought, watering is carried out with warm water.

Once every two weeks, feed the tomatoes with mullein infusion, green or mineral fertilizer. Before the onset of cold August nights, you can have time to pick the fruits from “street” tomatoes.

If the weather is cold at the beginning of June, arcs are installed over the tomatoes and non-woven material is stretched; when it warms up, it is removed. A thick layer of mulch from humus and mowed grass in the root zone makes the soil loose and moist, but during drought, watering is carried out with warm water. Once every two weeks, feed the tomatoes with mullein infusion, green or mineral fertilizer. Before the onset of cold August nights, you can have time to pick the fruits from “street” tomatoes.

In August, tomatoes are watered only in the mornings, no more than once every 10 days. In cool, damp weather, watering is not needed at all; it is better to loosen the soil once again and fill it with rotted sawdust or unripe compost.

If the days are cool, then the top of the mulched bed is additionally covered with black non-woven material or film. This will allow the soil to warm up better, because mulch is an excellent heat insulator. In addition, spores of pathogenic fungi remaining in the soil will not be able to get out.

If tomatoes are grown every year in a permanent place, then after harvesting the mulch must be removed and sent under the currant bushes.

The top layer of soil (approximately 10-15 cm) can be transferred to a compost pit or flower bed. Then pour one bucket of humus, a liter jar of wood ash, a half-liter jar of dolomite and bone meal onto 1 m2 of soil, mix everything well and loosen it. For the winter, the bed must be mulched with a thick layer of humus.

What varieties of tomatoes did I sow for growing at home?

Since I really love yellow and red tomatoes, I decided to choose these two varieties.

Tomato Button

An ornamental, determinate tomato variety, Button, is suitable for growing in pots at home and in greenhouses, since the plant grows to a height of 30-50 cm. The first tomatoes ripen on the 90-95th day after germination. Tomatoes grow small, weighing 10-15 g. Autumn tomatoes are tasty, sweet and aromatic. It’s precisely these taste qualities that I miss in the cold winter.

Tomato Ampel mixture

This variety is a mixture of early cherry tomatoes Vodopad and Thumbelina. Tomatoes of this variety are indeterminate, that is, tall. Such tomatoes will need to be tied up, since they grow up to 1.2-1.5 m in height. But despite this, this variety is perfect for growing at home and in greenhouses.

Ampel mixture tomatoes grow weighing 25-35 g, taste very tasty and aromatic. These tomatoes can be eaten fresh, salted or prepared into tomato paste or ketchup.

Soil preparation

I prepare the soil mixture for planting tomatoes in advance. Therefore, in the fall, all I have to do is mix soil from the garden, turf soil, and also add humus and wood ash. I mix everything well and pour it into a container.

For those who are afraid of infecting tomatoes, it is best to spill the soil with boiling water or a pink solution of potassium permanganate. This treatment will disinfect the soil.

Landing

I sow tomato seeds on the prepared soil. After that, I sprinkle them with soil and spray them with warm water from a spray bottle, wetting the soil. After this, I close the container with the planted seeds with film or a lid. I put the tomatoes on the windowsill.

When the first shoots appear, I remove the film. I water the seedlings and loosen the soil. When two true leaves appear, I pick out the seedlings. As the tomatoes grow, I will tell you and show photos of my favorite tomatoes.

Harvesting and storage

Fruits must be collected in dry weather, picking them off the stalk and placing them in rows in boxes lined with paper.

Ripe red tomato fruits can be stored at a temperature of 1-2 °C for about a month, pink and brown ones at a temperature of 4-5 °C - up to 2 months.

The optimal temperature for storing green fruits is 12-21 °C, for hard pink and red ones 8-10 °C at an air humidity of 85-90%. Late-ripening varieties and hybrids are best stored.

During the ripening process of tomato fruits at a temperature of 20-25 ° C and a relative humidity of 80-90%, pink fruits will turn red after 2-3 days, white ones - after 4-6 days, green ones - after 7-10 days. It has long been noticed that if you put red and brown fruits together with green ones in a dark room, the green ones will take on a red color.

Before frost, you can not remove individual fruits, but pull out the plants by the roots and hang them upside down for ripening.

Types and varieties of tomatoes

To properly grow tomatoes, a gardener needs to know about the type of growth and variety of the plant. Both future yield and susceptibility to diseases depend on the right variety. There are two types of tomato bush:

• Low-growing (determinate, whose growth is limited after the formation of the first flower cluster;
• Tall (indeterminate. Plant growth is not limited).

According to the ripening period, tomatoes are divided according to three criteria:

• Early ripening;
• Average;
• Late.

Early ripening varieties

Growing tomatoes with early ripening is simply a paradise for a summer resident: the bush grows quickly, practically does not have time to get sick with various diseases, and the harvest yields quickly. There are more than 70 varieties and hybrids in the state register of breeding achievements. As they say, for every taste.

As a rule, varieties with early ripening are distinguished not only by their low bush type, but also by excellent fruit characteristics: taste, weight and yield. Early ripening varieties do not require pinching.

The best representatives of the variety : “White filling”, “Iskorka”, “Gruntovy Gribovsky 1180”.

The best varieties of medium ripening

Mid-season tomato varieties produce a harvest in about 100-130 days. Such varieties have good immunity to most nightshade diseases: late blight, blossom end rot, brown spot and others. The fruit size of most mid-ripening varieties is average. Productivity is high.

The best representatives: “Fakel”, “New Transnistria”.

The best late-ripening varieties

Late-ripening varieties are grown mainly in the southern regions of the country. The fruits of this variety ripen late, but bear fruit until autumn. The first fruits from the moment of germination are given in 150 days. Immunity is high, the yield of some varieties is above average.

The best representatives: “Ermak”, “Tortila F1”.

There are also interesting and quite unusual varieties

Our breeders are constantly coming up with something new. The resulting varieties are distinguished not only by improved properties, but also by an interesting shape and color of the fruit.

Low-growing determinate tomatoes

How to grow determinate tomatoes: just like the rest. In principle, they are no different from others. There is one thing in common for most low-growing tomatoes: early ripening and high yields.

The best representatives : “Riddle”, “Crimson Vicante”, “Sanka” and others.

Tall indeterminate tomatoes

Tomatoes of this type reach a height of more than 1-1.5 meters. Other species (if the variety is hybrid) reach a height of two meters. The approximate ripening period for these tomatoes does not exceed 115 days. The size of the fruits is from medium to very large. Productivity and taste are excellent.

The best representatives : “Hybrid Tarasenko 2”, “Persimmon”, “Bear’s Paw” and others.

Dutch selection tomatoes

Tomatoes from Holland are practically no different from Russian ones. There are both early-ripening and medium-ripening varieties. The bushes are the same, with typical leaves. The weight and shape of the berries are also different. Sometimes they differ in color. The yield of Dutch tomatoes is good; up to 10 kg of berries are harvested from one bush.

The best representatives: “Manatee”, “Solarosso”, “Shady Lady”, “Tarpan” and others. Many Dutch tomatoes contain large amounts of sugar in their fruits.

Diseases and pests

The tomato is affected by late blight, blossom end rot, brown spot, gray rot, and is damaged by aphids, mites, thrips, whiteflies, and Colorado potato beetles.

Constant fight against diseases and spraying with all kinds of drugs increases the resistance of pathogenic fungi and bacteria to poisons. And chemicals that were effective last year may not work this time.

But many diseases develop rapidly, literally “burning” plants in a matter of days. Late blight, which affects nightshade crops, is characterized by such aggressiveness. When the first signs of the disease appear, it is already useless to treat the plants, unless, of course, you spray them with powerful drugs. But a tiny amount of poison remains in the fruit even after the waiting period.

So the main focus should be on disease prevention. A mandatory measure is to treat the seeds and disinfect the soil with a one percent solution of potassium permanganate.

Foliar feeding is carried out only in the morning, and the foliage is also sprayed once every 10 days in the morning with biological products that suppress the development of pathogenic fungi. These drugs can also be used during the fruiting period, since the longest waiting period is 3 days.

3-4 days after the first signs of late blight appear, the plants remain without green leaves

Copper preparations inhibit the germination of late blight spores, but they can only be used 20 days before harvesting the fruits. Instead, it is best to use traditional methods - infusions of wormwood and tansy, spraying the foliage with them once every 10 days. The substances contained in these herbs prevent the germination of late blight pathogen spores.

The working solution is prepared as follows: half fill a bucket with chopped fresh grass and leave for a day. Next, soap is added to keep the liquid on the leaves and the plants are sprayed. Garlic also has a fungicidal effect; for 10 liters of water you will need 1.5 cups of garlic minced in a meat grinder. You can also add a little potassium permanganate there.

If symptoms of the disease appear, you must urgently remove all the fruits, including unripe ones, and disinfect them for 1-2 minutes, immersing them in hot (60 ° C) water. Then, after drying, the tomatoes are placed for ripening in a warm room with a temperature of about 25 ° C.

By the way, gardeners often mistake cold burns of fruits, which form already at a temperature of 3-5 °C, for late blight. This crop spoils quickly. With late blight, the fruit first hardens and begins to rot only when it is almost completely affected.

Harvesting

Harvesting is done every 3-5 days as the fruits ripen. You can pick tomatoes at the stage of technical maturity, when the skin begins to turn red, brown or yellow. Lying in the sun, such fruits will fully ripen and will not differ in taste from those that ripen on the bush.

If you pick tomatoes green, it will be impossible to get the same taste from them.

• Early ripening varieties begin to ripen in the second half of July, and from mid-August the bushes begin to die off. If the weather forecast is unfavorable and a sharp cold snap begins, it is better to remove all the saturated fruits the day before.
• In mid-season varieties, the fruiting period shifts two weeks ahead.
• Late tomatoes and giants are harvested in August when grown in open ground. They can be left in the greenhouse until September.

Urgently remove the fruits if late blight symptoms appear on the leaves, otherwise you may lose the entire harvest.

Tomatoes can be stored in a cool room for up to 2 months, placed in wooden boxes. Of course, the fruits should not be overripe. Red tomatoes picked from the bush remain fresh for no more than 5 days. During this time, they need to be eaten or used for processing and preparation of canned vegetables.

On a note! Since tomato tops are often affected by late blight, it is better to burn them after harvesting.

Frozen tomato bushes

Closer to October, frosts come to the Urals. Until this moment, you need to collect all the tomatoes that remain on the plants.

These photographs were taken on October 2, 2022. Tomatoes in an unheated polycarbonate greenhouse, frozen at -10 degrees outside. It was about -8 degrees in the greenhouse.

After such freezing, all that remains is to cut the bushes and put them in compost. If the plants were sick, remove them as far from your site as possible. Burn if possible.

The tomato growing season can be considered closed.

Growing conditions

In order for the plant to produce normal fruits in the future, the necessary conditions for this must be observed: watering, loosening, mulching and other nuances. The first three are the most important in caring for tomatoes. But the most important condition is a suitable place with enough light.

Illumination

The tomato comes from hot places. If the seedlings do not receive enough light, they become stretched. And then it might break. If a mature bush does not receive normal light during the period of fruit formation, the fruits will take much longer to ripen. The beds should be open, sunny, and there should be no shadow on the site. To ensure that the plant receives light, do not thicken the planting too much.

The temperature should be high enough. Too low a temperature will cause the pollen to become unripe, and a high temperature will cause it to dry out. Such pollen will become sterile and will be unable to pollinate.

Soil moisture and looseness

Caring for tomatoes involves more than just regular watering and weeding. To ensure that the plant breathes normally and suffers as little as possible from pests, the soil is regularly loosened. Loosening is carried out after each watering, and not when a dry crust has formed on the soil. Why is loosening an important procedure?

Imagine that you are dressed in tight and tight clothes, and it is a hot day outside. You don't have enough air, you feel cramped. The heat makes your blood pressure rise. Now imagine how a plant feels when it grows in dry, dense soil. It withers. The leaves are turning yellow. Flowering and fruit ripening are slow. Weeding provides oxygen access to the stems and roots, and mulching retains moisture well.

How to make drip irrigation with your own hands

It is very good when the garden is small, only a few hundred square meters. But what to do if the garden reaches an area of ​​both 10 and 20 acres? This happens especially often in the countryside. Watering a bunch of plants with a watering can will be a pain in the ass. Therefore, our people constantly simplify their lives. One of the most effective ways to water plants is drip.

It can be done using a pressure reducer and supply water directly from the water supply. But some gardeners purchase a special container for water. For drip irrigation you will need several types of components:

• Special container for water;
• Pump;
• Other additional elements (taps, plugs, corners, tees);
• Hoses;
• Drip tape.

Watering tomatoes through tubes

Some gardeners have gone even further and water the plants using medical droppers. Only the drip tape is replaced with plastic pipes with a diameter of no more than 15-20 mm.

What should be done:

• Cut the pipe into small even pieces that are equal to the length of the beds;
• Close one end of the pipe with a wooden plug;
• On each segment, drill small holes that are equal in diameter to the diameter of the end of the dropper. The interval between holes is 50 cm;
• Lay the pipes along the beds and connect the open end to the main pipe using a fitting;
• Insert a medical dropper into each hole;
• Place the tubes themselves in the area where the tomato roots are located;
• Start watering. The feed speed is self-adjustable.

Underground irrigation

This method is not very popular, since it is associated not only with installation difficulties, but also with risk and high cost. In addition, it is used only for those regions where heat and drought do not subside. With this system, water is supplied directly to the roots.

Disadvantages of this method:

• Expensive;
• Installation difficulties;
• Difficulty in operating the system;
• Risk of pipe blockage;
• Periodic penetration of roots into pipes;
• Damage to pipes by rodents.

Is it possible to grow tomatoes without watering?

Growing tomatoes in open ground involves some nuances. Firstly, it's watering. In order for a tomato to actively grow and bear fruit, it requires a lot of water. But oddly enough, watering the tomato crop should not be too frequent. Many gardeners especially sin with this kind of watering, watering tomatoes all the time, even when they begin to ripen. As a result, the soil becomes too wet and there is a risk of late blight infection. And this disease is the death of the entire crop.

In some regions, in particular Western Siberia, heavy rains are frequent, so much so that a month's worth of rain falls in a day. Naturally, the question arises: is watering necessary at all? Can't a tomato grow on its own? The answer is: growing tomatoes without watering is quite possible if the climate of the region allows for frequent weather changes.

Usually this climate is in central Russia. The root system of tomatoes is very powerful and is capable of extracting moisture from the very depths. If the tomato grows in an arid region, watering is indispensable. To retain moisture in the soil longer, mulching is used. More about her a little later.

How to care

Proper care of plants involves timely watering, pruning bushes, and feeding.

Watering

Tomatoes are not a very moisture-loving plant. However, without high-quality and regular watering, you will not be able to get a good harvest.

Watering is carried out as the soil dries, but do not allow it to dry out. The soil should be moistened to a depth of 35 cm. In case of drought, areas are watered 1-2 times a week with 5 liters of water per bush, if there is precipitation - less often. It is especially necessary to carefully monitor soil moisture when the ovary appears. When the soil is dry, it falls off.

Scheme of a drip irrigation system for a plant, which you can do yourself

The most preferred is underground or drip irrigation . This reduces the likelihood of blossom end rot. You can add ash to water for preventive purposes - 2-3 pinches per bucket. The same product is sprinkled on the soil around the bush. When watering at the roots, the stream is always directed under the root, trying not to wash away the soil.

Attention! As soon as a crust appears around the bush, it is broken up by loosening. If mulch is used, this reduces the frequency of loosening.

When watering, you must follow the following rules:

• do not use hard tap water; rainwater is ideal for this;
• water in the evening, a few hours before sunset;
• the water is preheated;
• when the ovary is formed, the frequency of watering is increased.

Water is softened by settling or adding wood ash - 30 grams per bucket.

The watering regime also depends on the height of the tomato bush.

The frequency and abundance of watering during the ripening period depends on what variety of tomato is grown. So, low-growing bushes need less moisture after they begin to ripen; after a while, watering is stopped completely. This prevents cracks from appearing on the tomatoes.

Tall species are distinguished by the fact that the bush simultaneously contains ripe and unripe fruits. These bushes are watered once every 4 days, adding up to 10 liters of water for each.

Weeding and loosening

Loosening and weeding of bushes is carried out simultaneously with watering. With the drip irrigation method, this procedure is carried out more often, since there is no control over the condition of the soil. Loosening increases the flow of oxygen to the roots of the plant.

Attention! If the earthen crust is not removed, the root system will disappear.

Loosening the soil, weeding and watering are combined

Plant garter

Regardless of the height of the variety, gardeners recommend always tying up the bush when growing in open ground. This is useful for several reasons:

• the stem receives support, thanks to which it does not break when fruiting begins;
• vertical position allows access to sunlight;
• precipitation will not damage the crop;
• the bush is easier to spray and carry out other care procedures;
• watering is simplified;
• the risk of damage to fruits by rodents and slugs is reduced.

Tying tomatoes to stakes

The support is placed 2–3 weeks after planting the seedlings. During the season, the stems are strengthened at least 3 times. For gartering, take twine or fabric cut into strips. Natural materials are not used because they can rot under the influence of moisture and sun, and also become a colony for fungal infections and mold.

Attention! Wire is not used for this purpose. It can damage the stem and thereby lead to the death of the bush.

Garter of tomatoes to the grid

The stakes should be higher than the bush itself. They are deepened into the ground 25–30 cm at a distance of 10 cm from the root part of the stem. The garter is carried out quite freely. Instead of stakes, you can use cages, trellises, trellises, and caps.

Video - Tomatoes in open ground on a trellis

Tomato fertilizer

Tomatoes are fed several times during the season.

Table 2. Timing and sequence when fertilizing tomatoes.

Attention! Boric acid is first dissolved in boiling water, and only then poured into a bucket of cold water.

You can’t get a generous harvest without fertilizing

In addition, foliar (leaf) feeding during flowering. To do this, prepare a mixture:

• superphosphate - 5 grams;
• hot water - 10 liters.

Fertilizer is added to the water and mixed several times. The solution is infused for 24 hours and filtered. Use 10 ml of solution on a young bush, and 15 ml on an adult bush. The leaves are also treated with a solution of Ideal (1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water) or urea (same proportion).

Superphosphate prices

superphosphate

Growing tomatoes

On bushes, especially with heavy feeding, additional shoots are formed from the axils of the leaves, which are called stepsons. They also develop leaves, flower buds, and fruits. But they thicken the bush, reduce yield and slow down ripening, and can cause the development of fungal infections.

Stepchildren are formed after the beginning of flowering, and are located at the base of the flower raceme, under the first one is the most powerful of them. The stepsons located below are removed. Subsequent pruning depends on whether the variety is determinate or indeterminate .

You can learn more about the differences between these varieties of tomatoes from each other by reading a specialized article on our portal.

Removing stepchildren

Reference. There are varieties that do not require pinching at all. In particular, these include Cio-Cio-San, Rocket, Fighter and others.

Excess shoots are pinched off by hand or cut with a knife. The instrument is washed with potassium permanganate after each formed bush to avoid transmission of infection. Stepchildren are removed every week. Pruning is done in the morning, in dry weather. Under such conditions, the cut quickly tightens, and the infection does not have time to get inside the trunk. If circumcision is carried out in cloudy weather, then each “stump” is sprinkled with wood ash for disinfection.

Video - How to remove shoots from tomatoes

Why don't tomatoes turn red in open ground?

This happens for several reasons:

• strong thickening;
• low air temperatures;
• lack or excess of sunlight.

To aid maturation, hindering factors must be removed. In the first half of August, you can use a film covering over the bed to protect the plant from cold dew. On low-growing bushes, spacers are installed to direct the leaves towards the sun.

To speed up ripening, spray the foliage with an iodine (40 drops per 10 liters of water), and stop feeding and watering for a while.

An aqueous solution of iodine promotes fruit ripening

An effective method is to pinch the top. The lower leaves are removed to the shoots on which the fruits ripen. With this problem, on low-growing and medium-growing varieties, only 5 brushes with inflorescences are left, the rest are removed.

The following methods also help:

1. tightening copper wire rings on the stem;
2. cutting the stem with a sharp knife at a height of 8–10 cm; chips are inserted into the cuts to prevent the cracks from overgrowing.

Tomato diseases

Often, when growing tomatoes in a greenhouse and in the ground, gardeners encounter problems in the form of plant damage by pests and diseases. Therefore, to be fully armed, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with:

1. How to deal with diseases and pests of seedlings.
2. Tomatoes are turning yellow - what to do.
3. Folk remedies to combat late blight.
4. Tomato fruits are cracking - what to do.
5. What to do if the fruits rot on the bushes.
6. How to care for tomatoes when it rains and is cold.

Rules for sowing tomato seeds

This cultivation technology involves placing young seedlings both in open and closed ground. In these two cases, the seedling method is used, that is, vegetable seeds are pre-planted in small containers to obtain young seedlings.

Disinfection

Following some rules for growing tomatoes will help you grow a high-quality and healthy plant. Almost every plant undergoes special preparation before planting in the ground, and tomatoes are no exception. Before planting, the seeds are immersed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 10-15 minutes. During this period of time, healthy seeds will be separated from diseased ones: the good ones will swell and settle to the bottom of the container, and the empty ones will remain floating on the surface of the solution.

Germination of seeds

Selected tomato seeds are wrapped in a well-moistened cloth and left in this state for 5-7 days until the first shoots appear. The main rule is to keep the fabric moist, but you should not make it very wet, because this can negatively affect pecking.

When and how to plant seedlings

The seed is considered ready for planting in the ground when a sprout 3-5 mm long appears. To obtain vegetable seedlings, seeds are sown in early to mid-March, using special peat pots or ordinary small-volume containers for this process. Each of them is filled with well-moistened nutritious soil and planting material is immersed in it to a depth of one or two cm, sprinkled with a thin layer of earth on top. Cups with sown seeds should be covered with a piece of film or glass and placed in a warm, bright place where the air temperature reaches 21-22 degrees. Usually, 6-8 days pass before the first shoots of tomatoes appear, after which the film is removed from the surface of the cups.

For quick seed germination

To more successfully overcome the soil crust, it is recommended to mix tomato seeds with crops such as radishes, lettuce or oats. A good option for feeding when growing tomatoes is the use of granular superphosphate. Despite the hassle of using this method, such vegetable crops are more resistant to various diseases, tolerate drought conditions well, and also have a powerful root system.

Tomatoes for seedlings: when and how to plant correctly

Before you start sowing, read the instructions for seed treatment, as well as how to plant tomatoes for seedlings this year and when according to the Lunar calendar.

Note! There is no need to soak and germinate only planting material that has been processed by the manufacturer.

Today, many gardeners are growing tomato seedlings in Ulitka from a linoleum backing. Step-by-step instructions for this method will help you get good seedlings and save space for other seedlings.

Tomato diseases

Many modern tomato varieties are resistant to common infections. However, the possibility of their development cannot be excluded. Let's look at some of them:

Table 3. Tomato diseases and how to treat them.

Transplantation to a permanent place

Seedlings are transplanted to a permanent location only when the soil has warmed to the optimum temperature, approximately 15 degrees. For a greenhouse, the temperature is approximately 10 degrees. In addition, the beds are also dug up and the necessary fertilizers are applied: bird guano and ammonium sulfate. What kind of soil do tomatoes like? Of course, warm and non-sour. To reduce the acid level, add lime or sprinkle wood ash. But what does the planting process itself include?

1. The seedling is carefully removed from the temporary container, being careful not to damage the roots and soil;
2. Place in the center of the hole so that the lower leaves are located just above the edge;
3. The hole is lightly sprinkled with earth and the soil is compacted;
4. Watered.

If some seedlings are too tall or elongated, they are planted with a slight slope of the stem.

Preparing the beds

When planting tomatoes in open ground, all conditions must be met:

• The soil has been pre-prepared: disinfected, optimal acidity level, fertilizers applied;
• The beds are pre-dug and well watered;
• The seedlings are hardened.

For the beds, choose only well-hardened and mature seedlings, 60-65 days old. This usually happens in early May, and planting is done early in the morning, before the sun begins to actively fry. The distance between plants depends on the variety, or rather, on the type of bush: determinate or indeterminate. Tall plants are planted at a distance of 60 cm, low ones - at 40 cm. Do not forget to water the soil well before planting the seedlings.

Planting scheme

The density and distance between seedlings depends on the variety and type of bush. The standard landing scheme looks like this:

• Determinate - 40*50;
• Average height - 50*60;
• Indeterminate - 60*70.

Planting process

Planting tomatoes in open ground includes the following points:

• A suitable area has been selected: well ventilated and sunny;
• The seedlings have reached the optimal age;
• Plant seedlings when the first cluster of flowers appears;
• The holes are watered;
• Planting with deepening or tilting (if the seedlings are stretched);
• After planting, the seedlings are watered again and sprinkled with dry soil.

Preparing the soil for tomato princes

For a rich harvest, we need, first of all, to find a good place for our pets. Tomato plants love indirect sun and will thrive in sunny but sheltered areas.

• The best predecessors of tomatoes are carrots, cucumbers and onions. And if you plant your favorites next to strawberries, both crops will benefit from this. The yield of tomatoes and aromatic berries will increase several times, and the fruits will become larger.

But the places where potatoes, eggplants and peppers grew should be avoided by tomatoes. Pathogens of various diseases can accumulate in these areas.

Our country is huge. And the quality of the soil differs in all regions (even in different fields). And the tomato princes are very demanding and whimsical to the soil. Therefore, we need to find out the quality of the soil in our garden.

◊ Checking the acidity. You can purchase a test to determine the pH level at any garden department. The lower the indicator, the higher the acidity. Neutral ground has an index of 7.0.

• Tomatoes need soil with an acidity level of 6.0 to 7.0.

If the level is lower, add lime to the soil (0.5-0.8 kg per sq.m.), if the level is higher, add sulfur in the same amount.

◊ Assess the amount of nutrients. Analysis for the presence of microelements can be ordered and carried out in special laboratories. This is very necessary information for gardeners.

It is necessary to ensure that the cultivation of tomatoes in open ground occurs without losses and delights with a rich harvest.

♦ Compost is an ideal soil preparation product. It also attracts many earthworms, which do an excellent job of loosening the soil and, in turn, attract and create favorable conditions for the parthenogenesis of beneficial bacteria.

Preparing the land for growing tomatoes in open ground should begin in the autumn after thoroughly removing all previous plant debris. We dig up the area chosen for the plants to a depth of 30 cm.

• Autumn soil feeding. To a depth of 20-25 cm we apply organic (bird droppings, humus, peat or compost 5 kg per sq. m.) or mineral fertilizers (potassium salt 20-25 g, superphosphate 40-50 g per sq. m.).
• Spring fertilizing of the soil. To a depth of 15-20 cm we add a mixture of bird droppings 1 kg, wood ash 1.5 kg and ammonium sulfate 20-25 g per square meter. m. Or mineral fertilizing (superphosphate 55 g, ammonium nitrate 20 g and potassium chloride 15 g per sq. m).

To successfully grow tomatoes, the soil needs to be carefully dug up 2-3 times (preferably with a pitchfork) and harrowed. Tomato plants and humus will like it.

But it is better to refuse manure (tomatoes, having tasted manure fertilizers, begin to actively grow tops, while the growth of fruits fades).

• If the soil does not warm up enough, you can cover the area with black film or plastic. Black color perfectly attracts the light of the sun and absorbs it, warming the soil underneath.

On the prepared site, 5-6 days before planting, we form ridges (width 100-120 cm, height 15-20 cm) in the north-south direction. This will help to achieve uniform illumination of the seedlings.

Maintain a distance between beds of about 70 cm (for all varieties).

Tomato pests

Tomatoes are susceptible to attacks by underground pests - nematodes, mole crickets, beetles, and wireworms . Biological products are used against them - for example, Metarizin, Entotsid .

Metarizin and Verticillin are used for aphids and whiteflies . The cutworm caterpillar is destroyed by Actofit , and the spider mite by Aktarofi t. The latter remedy also helps get rid of the Colorado potato beetle .

The Colorado potato beetle is also dangerous for tomatoes

​​​​​​​Growing tomatoes in open ground is a troublesome task. But any gardener can get a good harvest. There would be a desire!

Pros and cons of growing indoor tomatoes at home

Growing tomatoes in an apartment is possible, and it is no more difficult than growing them in a garden.

The big advantage of this method is that planting is less dependent on the season of the year. Using additional lighting, you can get a harvest even in winter , when natural vitamins are so lacking. In addition, you don’t need to waste time getting to your garden - it is always at your side, and you can more carefully monitor and care for the plantings.

The negative side is that it will not be possible to grow a large crop indoors, and a home garden will take up a lot of space.