Rio Grande tomatoes ripen 110-120 days after emergence, which makes them a mid-season variety. The vegetable bred by Dutch breeders is highly appreciated by summer residents and farmers. The taste characteristics of the fruits and their excellent keeping quality make one want to purchase Rio Grande seeds.
Main characteristics of the variety
The determinate culture is ready to grow both in open ground and in greenhouses. Compact bushes, reaching a height of sixty to seventy centimeters, have an average amount of foliage.They don't need gartering or pinching. Throughout the growing season, fruits are set on the branches of Rio Grande tomatoes. Their education ends by mid-to-late July.
Plum-shaped red fruits, similar to varietal Red, can reach a weight of seventy to one hundred and fifty grams. From one bush, when favorable conditions are created, four kilograms or more of Rio Grande tomatoes are harvested. The peculiarity of the fruit is the versatility of its use. They can stay fresh for a long time, right up to the New Year, if collected green. Varietal tomatoes are often grown for sale, as they do not wrinkle or crack when transported over long distances.
The fruits have a high dry matter content, so they are ideal for making sauces, juices, and pastes. The dense pulp of tomatoes is suitable for freezing and drying.
The peculiarity of the Dutch tomato is that compact bushes can be used in the design of a balcony or garden by placing the plant in flowerpots.
Features of sowing and growing
If the Rio Grande variety is grown in seedlings, then Grande Original can be directly sown in the ground. The optimal time for sowing seeds is from early to mid-May. The choice of sowing methods is square-cluster. Up to five to eight seeds are placed in the nest, planting them to a depth of one to two centimeters. The distance between nests should not exceed sixty centimeters. To prevent spring frosts from negatively affecting the development of seedlings, the seeds are cooled. When seedlings appear six days after sowing, thinning them begins, leaving two or four plants in the hole.
Seeds are planted for seedlings sixty days before planting in open ground.The description of growing tomatoes using seedlings is the same as for all determinants. It includes:
- sowing in boxes with nutrient soil;
- creating greenhouse conditions using plastic film to cover containers;
- moderate watering;
- regular ventilation of plantings;
- creating appropriate air temperature and sufficient lighting;
- picking seedlings.
Before planting, the seedlings are hardened for two to three weeks, taking the containers out onto the balcony or veranda.
The productivity of tomatoes depends on careful care of the vegetable crop.
Rules of care
In order for the plant to be healthy and begin to bear fruit, it is necessary to follow the rules of crop rotation. You should not plant the Rio Grande tomato in the same place every year. The best predecessors for tomato bushes are legumes, cabbage, and spicy herbs. The plant feels comfortable on loose, highly fertile, deeply cultivated soils.
In addition to moderate watering, it is necessary to apply fertilizers on time:
- It is advisable to carry out the first feeding using mullein diluted in water 1:5 or bird droppings 1:15.
- After two weeks, ammonium nitrate (25 grams), superphosphate (60 grams), and potassium salt (15 grams) are mixed in a bucket of water. It is also necessary to add boric acid, one gram of which is first dissolved in half a liter of boiling water.
- The third fertilizer for Rio Grande tomatoes consists of 30 grams of saltpeter, 40 grams of superphosphate, 70 grams of potassium salt.
- For the fourth and fifth procedures, take two hundred grams of wood ash per ten liters of water.
One liter of nutrient solution is poured under each bush.
Thanks to proper cultivation, the plant will be protected from diseases and pests.
The difference between varietal tomatoes and hybrids
Tomatoes that are similar in name differ in both external features and growing conditions. So the hybrid tomato Rio Sprint F1 is a later ripening species. A tall hybrid suitable for greenhouses. And the description of the variety and its fruits differs from Rio Grande. Indeterminate fruits are large, reaching a weight of more than three hundred grams. When purchasing seeds, you need to understand what you want to get, what fruits, and their purpose. If you need small ones like Red or Cherry, then choose the Rio Grande variety.
Reviews from gardeners about Dutch varietal tomatoes are the highest. Even though the fruits have a thick skin and not very juicy pulp, they are one of the best for canning. And they stay fresh for a long time.
It is difficult for tomato lovers to understand the variety of varieties. Many tomato names are similar to each other, but differ in many ways. You need to be careful when buying seeds, otherwise instead of plum-like Rio Grande, you can get yellow Chico.
