Even knowing English at the 7th grade level of high school, you can understand that the Long Keeper tomato is a tomato for long-term storage. The selection is old, domestic. The variety was included in the State Register at the end of the last century and has been undeservedly forgotten in recent years.
Description of the main varietal characteristics
Most summer residents strive to get an early tomato harvest, so varieties and hybrids of medium, mid-early, early ripening are in great demand.Description Long keeper is distinguished by timing; it is a late ripening variety (130-135 days).
The main varietal feature of Long Keeper can be considered that the fruits never ripen directly on the bush. This applies not only to plants grown in open ground. Tomatoes growing in a greenhouse are also picked green. More precisely, their color at the time of removal is white-green, pale.
Fruit characteristics
The shape of the fruit is classic round or regular flat-round. At the time of harvest, the skin is milky white, after 4 weeks of storage it turns orange-pink. The weight of the average-sized fruit is 130 g. There is no point in comparing the taste of Long Keeper tomatoes with the taste of other varieties that ripen in the summer. He is definitely inferior to them. Professional tasters do not score above 3 for taste.
The value of the variety is not in the taste, its advantages lie in something else:
- The fruits are stored at room temperature until January, in the basement until March.
- Subject to transportation.
- Suitable for fresh consumption and homemade preparations.
Bushes
The bushes grow in a greenhouse no higher than 1.5 meters. According to the type of growth, Long Keeper is a determinate plant, the growth of which stops after the formation of 8-10 clusters on the central stem. The first brush is formed above the 7th leaf, all others in every 3rd leaf axil. The bushes are covered with medium-sized leaves with a specific color; they are green, but have a metallic tint.
Planting scheme
The stated yield of 6 kg per square meter can be achieved with good care and compliance with the recommended planting scheme. When placing four plants per 1 m², form bushes with 2 stems. Remove all stepsons, plant the tomato plant in one stem with a denser planting - 6 bushes per square meter.
Advantages of Long Keeper tomato
The reason for choosing seeds may be their merits; the following varietal characteristics can be considered valuable:
- good fruit shape;
- preservation of presentation and taste for 3 months;
- immunity to TMV, cladosporiosis, fusarium;
- the ability to transport the crop over a long distance without losing its presentation;
- stable yield.
Tips for planting and care
For strong seedlings, you need to prepare a high-quality planting mixture consisting of garden soil, humus, and sand. Take 2 parts of soil and humus, 1 part of sand is enough.
Sprout in a room where the air temperature does not drop below 25 °C. After germination, move the boxes to a cooler, well-lit room. While the seedlings are growing, maintain the room temperature at 20-22 °C; at night it can be reduced by several degrees.
Sow seeds for seedlings in March, preferably in the first half. Transplant seedlings that have reached the age of 40-50 days into a greenhouse. Although the variety is recommended for cultivation in open ground and greenhouses, it is better to grow the Long Keeper tomato variety in greenhouses or under arcs.
Reviews
Inna, Perm
They collected pale, milky-colored tomatoes; there were no red ones. There were a lot of fruits on each bush; the height of the bushes in the greenhouse reached 1.5 meters. They put them in boxes for storage and lined each row with paper. It's March and we're still eating tomatoes. When ripe, their flesh is red and their skin is pale pink. The taste is quite tolerable for winter consumption.
Tatiana, Vyazma
Last season I planted one bush of this variety. I sown the seeds at the end of February to grow in a greenhouse. The bush was neat and beautifully shaped. The fruits ripened right on the bush, the last ones were removed in September.We ate everything before November, so we didn’t have time to evaluate long-term storage. Some had to be thrown away because they were spoiled. Apparently it was necessary to sow the seeds in March and remove the unripe tomatoes.
Conclusion
This variety is useful not only for amateur summer residents. Small farmers need to adopt it. Late ripening will extend the sales period of seasonal vegetables.
