Many people, even without Ushakov’s explanatory dictionary, know the meaning of the word “tomato.” After all, it is this vegetable that most gardeners plant on their plots. Every year they have to choose the variety of tomatoes they will grow. Today, making such a choice is much easier, since there are a considerable number of new hybrids.
One of them is the Anastasia tomato. This variety is resistant to many diseases and temperature changes, as evidenced by reviews from gardeners who grew it.
Short description
Before you start growing the Anastasia tomato, you need to become more familiar with its features. The characteristics and description of the variety will help you learn a lot of useful information about the characteristics of such tomatoes.
This hybrid tomato variety is distinguished by the early ripening of the first fruits. Within one hundred days after planting, the first harvest can be harvested. If you grow tomatoes in a greenhouse, the ripening period will be slightly reduced.
Anastasia tomatoes have determinate bushes that grow up to 70-90 cm in open ground. To prevent them from breaking under the load of fruit, you will have to tie them to special supporting structures. In addition, you can also engage in pinching bushes. However, this is not necessary, since the plants will still have good yield.
Over time, small green fruits begin to appear on the bushes, which become burgundy as they ripen. Tomatoes are not very large, as their average weight is 130 grams. Sometimes at the first harvest this figure is slightly higher and is about 180 grams. The advantages of the fruits include the fact that they ripen quickly and can easily be transported over long distances.
Despite the small fruits, the yield of this variety is quite high. If you grow tomatoes correctly, you can collect more than 20 kilograms of fruit from one square meter of land.
Advantages and disadvantages
Anastasia tomatoes have a number of advantages, which include the following:
- Unpretentiousness. Throughout the entire growing period, it is not necessary to constantly care for the bushes. This variety copes without problems with lack of moisture, sudden climate changes and low temperatures.
- Fast growth. The bushes grow quite quickly to 60-70 cm.At the same time, growth and development are not affected in any way by soil fertility, since the plant grows well even in soils with a small amount of nutrients.
- Disease resistance. Many hybrid varieties resist most diseases, and Anastasia is no exception.
- High yield. A large number of clusters with several fruits on them are formed on the bushes. It is thanks to this that this tomato variety has good yield.
There are not too many disadvantages to such tomatoes. The most serious is that they have to be tied to supports.
Growing seedlings
Before planting Nastya in open ground, you need to start growing seedlings. This should be done in March or early April.
Seed preparation
You can plant both dry and soaked seeds. It is recommended to use the second method, since such planting material will be swollen and will be able to germinate faster.
Before soaking, the seeds are inspected in order to immediately get rid of defective material. To do this, all seeds are placed in a saline solution prepared from a liter of water and 40 grams of salt. After half an hour, seeds that are not suitable for planting will float to the surface.
To soak the seed, you need to place soaked paper napkins in a small container. Then the seeds are laid out on them and the container is covered with a lid. The seeds are soaked for 20 hours, after which they can be planted.
Soil preparation
Seedlings are grown in various soils. Some gardeners purchase ready-made soil mixtures, while others prefer to prepare their own mixture from humus and turf soil.The soil for tomatoes should be loose and light, so sawdust and peat are added to it.
Also sometimes seedlings are grown in coconut substrate. To prepare it, the soil will have to be mixed with crushed coconut fiber. It contains a large amount of nutrients that prevent plant rotting. In such soil the bushes will grow and develop quickly.
Planting and growing
First you need to choose the most suitable container for planting seeds. You can use small boxes or pots for this. Containers for seedlings should not be too deep, so their height should not be more than 10 cm.
The procedure for planting seeds is quite simple. It is enough to place them in the ground to a depth of 1-2 cm, sprinkle with earth and water. Then the container with the planted tomatoes is covered with film and transferred to a warm room with a temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius.
After the first shoots appear, containers with tomatoes should be moved to a well-lit place. Without enough light, the sprouts will grow slower and have very weak stems.
It is not recommended to water young seedlings frequently, as this may cause them to rot. You only need to spray the soil with water if it is completely dry.
Planting in open ground
The timing of planting seedlings in open ground may vary depending on the climate. Residents of the middle zone can start planting seedlings in the second half of May. Moreover, it is better to do this in the evening or in the morning.
Site preparation
It is recommended to start creating beds a week before planting seedlings. However, before this it is necessary to prepare the land.A solution of copper oxychloride or copper sulfate is added to it in advance. It is not recommended to use too much fertilizer. A liter of fertilizer will be enough for one square meter of land.
Organic and mineral fertilizers are also added to the soil. 4 kg of peat, sawdust, and humus are added to the soil. After this, the area must be carefully dug to a depth of about 35 cm and leveled with a rake. To disinfect the soil, the entire area under tomatoes is watered with hot water.
Landing
Seedlings are planted in the ground in a vertical position. In this case, the stem should be above the ground, and only the roots of the bush go deep into the soil. It is recommended to plant young seedlings in two rows. The distance between them should be about 50-60 cm.
Immediately after planting all the seedlings in the ground, you should begin installing the stakes. They will serve as a support for staking the plants. The height of each peg should be about one meter. If the bushes are too tall, you will have to install larger supports.
Conclusion
Tomato Anastasia is a universal variety that is ideal for experienced gardeners and beginners. To grow it and get a good harvest, it is enough to study the description of the variety with photographs and features of its cultivation.
