Vegetable names should not only convey certain characteristics, but also be memorable. The King Penguin tomato differs from its competitors in its large fruits, which contain a high content of vitamins. Breeders from several countries worked on developing the variety.
Description of the variety
The King Penguin bush reaches a height of 1.2 meters. The plant is determinate, standard. Forms about 12 clusters with fruits. The leaves are dark green in color and medium in size. Inflorescences are formed every pair of leaves. Increased resistance to major diseases.
The f1 king penguin is suitable for growing outdoors, but is only suitable for warm climates. With proper care it produces high yields of good quality. The tomatoes ripen at the same time.
The King Penguin variety has large fruits, slightly elongated in shape, each weighing about 200 grams. The pulp is dense and fleshy. The tomato is resistant to cracking. When unripe, tomatoes have a green color that darkens at the stalk. At maturity the color changes to deep red. The King Penguin has 3 to 4 seed chambers and few seeds. Due to the high dry matter content, the variety is suitable for long-term storage.
The taste characteristics of King Penguin fruits are simply excellent. The pulp has a light honey flavor, the sourness is practically not felt, tender and sweet. Tomatoes can be used for fresh consumption, whole fruit canning and processing. But this variety is not suitable for making juices.
Advantages and disadvantages
The king penguin has many advantages and minor disadvantages. The description of the variety indicates the following advantages:
- mid-early ripening (120 days from emergence);
- large tomatoes resistant to cracking;
- high productivity;
- increased resistance to diseases and pests.
The king penguin is a true king of the garden beds, with no drawbacks. Except for the fact that you can’t make juice from these tomatoes. But this can be easily compensated for by planting on the site, if necessary, another variety intended for juice production.
Features of cultivation
Seedlings are planted in March-April.But the King penguin is moved to open ground when the plants have 7 leaves. It is recommended to leave a distance of 40 cm between bushes. The soil should warm up to 26 °C. Tomato plantings should be watered infrequently, but abundantly. The frequency of irrigation is increased only during the period when the plants are flowering and fruit formation occurs.
Once every 10 days it is worth carrying out complex fertilizers and soil cultivation. With proper care, the royal harvest is harvested in mid-July. It is not necessary to tie up tomatoes, but if a lot of fruits have formed, it is better to install additional supports for the stem. In order not to damage the stems of tomatoes, they must be tied with only wide ribbons.
Diseases and pests
The hybrid of the King Penguin variety is resistant to the main types of diseases of nightshade crops. However, reviews from experienced summer residents and gardeners indicate that late blight can affect tomatoes. For the purpose of prevention, the plants are first treated before flowering with the drug “Oxyx” or its analogues. As soon as flowering is completed, re-treatment with Acrobat is carried out.
Do not neglect preventive measures, since late blight is a dangerous disease and is destructive for the entire crop.
During the period of ripening of the King Penguin fruits, you should not treat the plants with chemicals. If signs of disease appear, use exclusively organic products. To avoid the appearance of fungal diseases on the site, you can spray the tomatoes with Bordeaux mixture before the fruit begins to form.
In general, the King Penguin is an unpretentious variety that does not require special care.With minimal costs and effort, they get an excellent harvest of fruits that can withstand transportation and long-term storage without losing their marketable qualities. Thanks to the latter property, the variety is actively used by farmers for cultivation on an industrial scale.
