Even in a short summer period, a guaranteed tomato harvest is possible if you choose varieties that are maximally adapted to local climatic conditions. A successful combination of cold resistance and high yield is demonstrated by the description of the hybrid “Red Guard”, created by Chelyabinsk breeders for Siberia, the Far East, the Southern and Northern Urals. Gardeners are offered premium seeds with 100% germination and guaranteed properties of hybrid plants.
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The advantages of hybrids are obvious: stable quality, uniformity of products, resistance to diseases and unstable natural factors. But it is impossible to prepare their seeds for future use, just as it is impossible to obtain the variety yourself, in the absence of the original parent material.Hybrid seeds should only be purchased from legal distributors.
Main characteristics
Red Guard f1 tomatoes are first-generation hybrids, characterized by high yield, cold resistance, and resistance to most tomato diseases. The main characteristics of the variety look very impressive.
- The plant is low, up to 80 cm tall, of superdeterminate type. This characteristic suggests that the first inflorescence is formed already above the level of 7-8 leaves, and immediately after the formation of 3-4 flower clusters the plant stops growing.
- It is customary to grow a low-growing crop in its natural form, without cutting or tying up. But as reviews say, the Red Guard f1 tomato forms clusters with 5-9 fruits. The weight of tomatoes ranges from 150 to 250 g. Such a serious load requires strengthening not only the trunk, but often gartering the side shoots.
- The plant has medium branching and grows green mass well. The leaf is ordinary, smooth. It is recommended to partially plant the plant, removing all side shoots to the level of the first cluster.
- The hybrid is not afraid of temperature changes and low light levels, and is intended for cultivation in greenhouses, winter and summer greenhouses with natural solar heating, as well as for open ground. This is facilitated by high cold resistance, which is especially important during periods of return frosts in June.
- Another characteristic of the hybrid attracts attention. This is the plant’s resistance to fusarium, cladosporiosis, root-knot nematodes and a number of pathogens of viral diseases. This not only makes tomato care easier, but can significantly reduce crop losses.
- The fruits are round, with ribs at the stalk, dense, fleshy, with a red dense skin. The taste is sweet and sour, pleasant. Red Guard tomatoes have good commercial characteristics: they are suitable for transportation, can be stored for a long time without losing their consumer qualities.
- The fruits of the Red Guard tomato are quite versatile; they are used for making juices, pastes, and purees. Smaller, late-ripening tomatoes perform well in marinades and pickles. And, of course, the first, early harvest is used for side dishes and salads.
The tomato is interesting for its reliability, guaranteeing good productivity in any conditions of a short, rainy summer. Compact bushes do not take up much space, so they are suitable for cultivation in small garden plots. And even after transplanting into the ground, despite their unpretentiousness, they will not require much time and effort to care for.
Important! Limiting moisture can regulate the rate of tomato ripening. When the water balance is disturbed, the plant strives to reproduce seeds, directing all resources to feeding the fruits that have set. The process is accompanied by the fall of the ovaries.
Features of care
Hybrid varieties are distinguished by simplified agricultural techniques. The low requirements for lighting and the limited height of the bush make it possible to grow strong seedlings without any problems. And this is already half the success. After landing on the street, worries become even less. This is what the main stages of caring for a hybrid look like.
- Seeds for seedlings are planted in early April. Caring for seedlings comes down to regular watering and loosening the soil. Feeding is carried out once every 20 days. At the stage of 2-3 permanent leaves, the plants dive.
- Seedlings are planted in a permanent place in the greenhouse in the first ten days of May, placing up to 3-4 plants per square meter. m. Seedlings are transplanted into open ground in the third decade of May, maintaining a planting density of 2-3 bushes per square meter. m.
- The stem is strengthened by tying it to supports. Care is limited to watering, in the absence of rain, loosening the soil, weeding, fertilizing as necessary. The plant can be shaped, leaving from one to three stems. In the first case, a harvest of ripe fruits can be expected at the end of June.
- Among the recommendations of the seed manufacturer there is also a description of the simplest techniques for forming a bush. Side shoots are removed up to the level of the first ovary or, if desired, a second reserve stem is left. You should also promptly remove dying foliage.
- Under more favorable conditions, the bush can be taller and, accordingly, the timing of the first harvest is postponed to a later period. Anyone who has planted tomatoes knows that with the help of simple techniques you can regulate the speed of fruit ripening. One of these methods is to reduce soil moisture.
A short growing season reduces the amount of additional fertilizing. And the characteristics of a determinate variety free the gardener from the need to deal with stepchildren and monitor the excessive growth of the vine. But minimal care is still necessary. Such varieties are suitable for those who do not have enough time to work on the site. The high-yielding, weather- and disease-resistant variety fully justifies its unusual name.
