Varieties of salad tomatoes are often distinguished by their unusual color. The Honey Salute tomato has golden-colored fruits with pink stripes and spills. Not only the skin, but also the rich yellow flesh is permeated with red and crimson splashes, reminiscent of bright fireworks. But the main advantage of the variety is its sweet, honey taste, with pleasant watermelon notes.
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It is the flavor bouquet that most often becomes the main selection criterion when purchasing seeds. But it should be borne in mind that the Salut tomato is a heat-loving, tall plant, with a fairly long growing season. It can be grown outdoors only in the southern regions. In central Russia, the variety can only ripen in a greenhouse.
Main characteristics
The “Honey Salute” variety is recommended for growing under film covers and in any type of greenhouse that can protect the tomato from possible drops in temperature.
This is what the variety description looks like:
- The tomato growing season is quite long, about 120 days from the moment of the first shoots;
- the plant is tall, with an indeterminate type of bush, reaching a height of 180 cm;
- this type of plant requires tying the trunk to a reliable support or trellis;
- the bush is medium-leafed, lays the first ovary above the level of 9-12 leaves, and each subsequent ovary is formed after 2-3 leaves;
- the bush is grown into 1-2 trunks, and after laying the required number of flower clusters, the growth point is limited;
- the cluster is formed from 3-4 large fruits, weighing 300-450 g, the yield is on average 6.5-8 kg per square meter. m;
- the fruits are rounded and flattened, ribbed near the stalk, and can vary significantly in size;
- the skin is thin, delicate, yellow-orange in color with stripes and spills of pink and crimson shades;
- the pulp is very juicy, dense, two-colored, honey-watermelon taste, sugary;
- fruits are used for cutting vegetables, preparing salads, juices, sauces;
- Ripe tomatoes are stored at a temperature of 5-8 degrees for 30-40 days and require careful transportation.
Large, sweet tomatoes have earned good reviews, despite the average yield and high maintenance requirements. Everyone notes the unusual appearance when cut and the pleasant sweetness, reminiscent of the taste of honey.
Agricultural technology and care
Varieties of indeterminate tomatoes require care.The duration of fruit ripening is influenced not only by varietal characteristics, but also by seed preparation, well-grown seedlings, watering and fertilizing regimes, timely topping of the plant, and temperature conditions.
- Varieties with long ripening periods are grown using seedlings. If the quality of the greenhouse is good, the seeds are sown earlier than usual, in late February, early March. Seedlings emerge with the appearance of 1-2 permanent leaves.
- It is important to prevent plants from stretching, maintaining light and temperature balance. Watering should be moderate, with subsequent loosening of the top soil layer. Additional feeding helps the plant form a strong stem.
- The plants are transplanted into the greenhouse at the age of 65-70 days, approximately May 10-15. Planting pattern 40 x 60. For single-stem cultivation, per 1 sq. m you can place up to 4 bushes. It should be taken into account that thickened planting lengthens the period of fruiting. Tomato stems are tied to supports, trellises or attached to a garden net.
- If the plant is formed into one stem, then it is necessary to remove the stepsons in a timely manner. It is also customary to thin out the leaves in the lower part of the bush to the level of the first brush. If you plan to grow two stems, leave a single shoot below the first flower cluster, removing the shoots as they grow. When the plant forms 4-6 flower clusters, pinch out the growing point.
- Care consists of watering, weeding, loosening the soil. The lower part of the stem is hilled to help form additional root mass. Fertilizing is carried out once every 2-3 weeks with complex preparations or formulations that take into account the individual condition of the plants.
- The long period of growth and ripening of Honey Salute tomatoes only in the second half of August does not allow us to avoid autumn frosts. To protect the fruits from possible late blight diseases, the bushes are treated with a systemic fungicide.
Simple agrotechnical techniques help to obtain ripe, high-quality fruits within the scheduled time frame. For the “Honey Salute” salad variety, excellent taste is a key characteristic. It is she who attracts the attention of vegetable growers to unusual tomatoes.
