Tomato King Giant ix f1 is a relatively young variety, but has already been tried by gardeners in both the southern and northern regions of our country, which allows us to cover this issue from aspects of different latitudes. Bred by Russian breeders in 2010, the new species of giant tomatoes has proven to be a hard-working, but rather demanding variety, highly dependent on solar heat and light. For this reason, those who want to grow crops in the central or northern zone of our fatherland will have to acquire spacious greenhouses with artificial lighting.
Description of the variety
The height of an individual tomato bush can reach 180 cm, but the fragile stem is clearly not designed for such growth, so tying up the plant as it grows is necessary. The ovaries, which begin to form on the hand immediately after the release of the 9th permanent leaf, appear approximately 115 days from the moment the seedling is planted, which indicates the early ripening of the variety.
Ripe tomatoes fully justify their name - the average fruit weighs about 0.5 kg, and the most pronounced ones, located in the lower part of the bush, quietly ripen to a weight of 0.8 - 1 kg. However, the yield is determined not so much by the quality and weight of an individual tomato, but by the number of ovaries. The brushes are located quite densely throughout the bush - every 3-4 leaves. They even give a figure indicating the yield from one bush - up to 8 kg of fruit, but reviews from most gardeners suggest that this value is overestimated.
With good care, the real yield reaches 10 kg of fruit per 1 m2, that is, from two cluster units.
The characteristics of the fruit are impressive - tomatoes, when fully ripe, become red in color, their shape is flattened at the stalk and below. The taste is sweetish, with unexpressed sourness, and when overripe, sugary. The fruits have a very characteristic, rich pulp, divided into 6-8 chambers.
The main advantages of the variety are:
- high content of vitamins;
- immunity to many common diseases;
- high productivity;
- good keeping quality of picked fruits.
Among the disadvantages, one can note the whimsical nature of seedlings before planting them in the ground, the constant need to feed seedlings and tie up growing bushes.
There is one more feature, noticed by those who have been growing this variety of tomato for many years - it is better to pick the fruits a little unripe, or not to miss the moment when the tomato comes into full flavor and immediately remove it from the bush. Once overripe, King of the Giants tomatoes quickly lose their appearance and burst. Most often this cannot be avoided due to excessive watering.
Subtleties of proper care of seedlings
It is advisable to grow King of Giants tomato seedlings yourself, from seeds purchased from a trusted seller and having a shelf life of no more than two years. When purchasing, you need to inquire whether the planting material has been treated against fungal infections and insect pests, and, if not, carry out this treatment at home using a manganese solution. You should not leave the seeds in the solution for longer than half an hour, and even more so, you should not follow the advice to leave them there for 24 hours, even if your neighbor in the country has grown more than one generation of tomatoes this way.
For germination, only settled warm water without additives is used.
Standard black soil for indoor flowers, which is sold in gardening stores, is suitable as soil; seedling boxes or peat pots are suitable for containers.. Seeds are sown at a distance of 2 cm from each other to a depth of 0.5 cm. Picking is done only after the 3rd leaf.
Before being planted in greenhouses, King of the Giants tomatoes undergo a week-long hardening - the boxes are taken out to the balcony or placed near an open window, first for half an hour, then for one and a half, increasing the time to five hours a day. For the last two days, you can leave the boxes in the greenhouse for 7-8 hours. A prerequisite for this is that frosts on the soil must have stopped.
When planting seedlings, it is important not to be greedy in pursuit of a large number of bushes in a minimum space, but to follow agricultural practices that strictly warn against dense plantings. For 1 sq. m. there should be 2 bushes. The third plant would be relevant for a shorter variety, but in the case of the King of Giants such a planting would already be considered “clogged”.
Giant tomatoes need not only to be fed, but also to be kept in constant good shape by being adjacent to crops that have a beneficial effect on the soil. These include: sorrel, white cabbage, parsley and dill. A good harvest will be achieved by the housewife who planted tomatoes next to cucumbers.
As a top dressing, large varieties of tomatoes love superphosphate and nitroammophosphate, but you can also use organic matter diluted with water and nettle infusion. The main thing is to develop a feeding schedule from the very beginning and carefully adhere to it. It is equally important to observe the timing of loosening, which can be arranged in this way - after two waterings on the third.
Pests and diseases
Of the insects, gardeners are especially afraid of the whitefly, since the activity of this pest leads to the death of the entire bush. The composition of the Confidor product can interrupt its feast and force it to leave the greenhouse, and it requires very little of it - no more than 1 ml per 10-liter bucket of water. All plants are treated as a whole. Even if only one of them is affected, or there is a suspicion of the presence of a pest. The indicated amount of ready-made product is enough to treat 100 m2 indoor greenhouse.
Now, having familiarized yourself with the characteristics and description of the King of Giants tomato variety, you may also want to experiment with a new species, which is gradually winning the love of gardeners from all corners of our country.
