The salad tomato Golden Domes has firmly entered the annual “top list” of many vegetable growers. Heart-shaped tomatoes, like the old Ox's Heart, are especially loved by our gardeners. The fruits also look a bit like church domes.
In recent years, several interesting varieties with “church” names have appeared. The scarlet tomato Domes of Russia, the red-fruited hybrids “with a spout” Russian Domes and the Red Dome, the pink-fruited hybrid Obskie Domes are attractive in their own way. The latest hybrid of Russian selection - the Honey Domes tomato from the Premium Seeds company - has a rich orange color.
Golden domes are the largest-fruited tomato in the “dome” row. It stands out in light orange color, with a slightly more flattened shape. The taste is sweeter than hybrids, soft and less sticky, but sugary. Another advantage of this variety over hybrids is that the best fruits can be left for seeds.
Siberian selection
Golden Dome tomatoes are the result of the painstaking work of the experienced Siberian scientist-breeder V.N. Dederko. The researcher created this tomato variety together with his colleagues S.V. Ugarova and T.N. Postnikova.
The tomato underwent many years of testing for genetic stability, was included in the State Register in 2005, and received a patent as an outstanding breeding achievement. A team of Siberian breeders works closely with the Novosibirsk agricultural company “Sibirsky Garden”, which carries out wholesale and retail sales of seeds and guarantees copyright control. Other seed companies also package Golden Domes.
The notorious “Siberian character” is manifested in high adaptability. This makes it possible to grow similar varieties in many regions of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and Northern Kazakhstan.
Moreover, numerous reviews of the Golden Domes tomato indicate that the variety performs even better in open ground than in a greenhouse. This is confirmed by both the authors and the description of the variety in the State Register.
Unique fruits
Tomatoes of this variety have many positive characteristics.
Size range
The Golden Domes variety is famous for the size of its fruits. The average weight for all collections is almost half a kilogram. It is important that the tomatoes do not become too small, even in the very top bunches gaining 200 grams. The first inflorescences pour giants of 700 - 800 grams.
As a rule, each brush bears an average of 5 ovaries.The yield declared in the State Register is at least a bucket per square meter of planting. Experienced tomato growers harvest even more. For example, Petukhova Oksana Viktorovna from the Moscow region grew two roots in one hole, and each hole yielded 6 - 7 kilograms of large tomatoes.
Form
There are two types of tomatoes on one Golden Dome plant. The very first, largest, as a rule, are round, flattened above and below, moderately ribbed from the stalk. Subsequent ones have the shape of a dome or heart.
Ugly fruits are very rare; most are smooth, beautiful, and have an attractive presentation. Non-standard, gnarled ovaries sometimes form in greenhouses and in extreme heat. It is not in vain that the variety is recommended mainly for open ground, since it is adapted to cool temperature conditions.
Coloring
Unripe tomatoes have a dark green spot on top that gradually disappears as they ripen. The skin acquires a golden shine and a special color - first yellow, then light orange. Within one cluster, the fruits are not painted all at once, but one at a time. Being picked unripe, they ripen well in storage.
Diet pulp
When cut, the moist pulp resembles light honey in consistency and color. The description of taste sensations is varied.
Some people talk about honey sweetness, mention a fruity or grape note, others feel a slight sourness and citrus aroma, and for some the Golden Domes are a little bland.
The density is also characterized in different ways: from fleshy to starchy and loose, but it is never too watery.Obviously, plants planted in different climatic conditions exhibit a unique, complex range of tastes. The seed chambers are always small, there are not too many seeds.
We can say with confidence that the variety does not have high acidity, therefore it is suitable for dietary nutrition. In addition to lycopene, which is traditional for tomatoes, orange tomatoes accumulate large amounts of carotene.
It is important that biologically active compounds that are super beneficial to human health are not destroyed by heat treatment.
Usage
Golden domes are especially good in fresh salads. Tomatoes cannot be stored for a long time, but, being moderately juicy and dense, they perform excellently in preparations such as ketchup, lecho, and adjika. The juice turns out thick—reminiscent of fruit juice with pulp. Sterilized salads made from layers of different colors look original. For those who practice ancient barrel pickling, the large size of the fruit is not a hindrance.
Deadlines
“Siberian Blood” makes itself felt by its precocity, unusual for a “giant”. Producers and the State Register evaluate the variety as mid-season. However, many amateur vegetable growers would classify it as mid-early.
The harvest begins to ripen in open ground 110–115 days after germination. Anyone who planted this variety notes a pleasant feature: the growth of fruits occurs spasmodically, very quickly. However, tomatoes ripen gradually, providing long-term benefits.
The first ovaries form in the axil of the 8th leaf. Further, they are located quite often - through one or two leaves, which guarantees a high yield.
Unpretentious bushes
The valuable quality of the variety is the optimal height of the bush. The tomato is not so tall as to be difficult to maintain, and not so short as to be low-yielding.In open ground, the stems grow no higher than a meter, often even a little lower. They are easy to tie to pegs or small trellises.
In the greenhouse, the bushes grow up to one and a half meters. There is some violence against the original genetics of the variety, which is determinant in nature. At a certain moment, having formed several brushes, the stem itself stops growing and grows up - both in closed ground and in the open air. For vegetable growers, this quality is very convenient.
The leaf apparatus is not too large, slightly drooping. The bushes and ovaries are perfectly visible, absorb sunlight optimally, and are well ventilated. All this makes caring for plants easier.
Subtleties of agricultural technology
Characterizing a variety as unpretentious does not mean that you can ignore basic rules and be lazy. Anyone who has planted Golden Domes knows that this variety is very responsive to increased attention to it.
Sowing seedlings should not be too early. Overgrown seedlings lose their first cluster and take longer to take root. The optimal age of young plants when planting in a permanent place is 50 days.
The procedure for regular stepsoning is mandatory. The bush grows into two stems. Sometimes the trunks themselves bifurcate, telling the owner the best shape.
Interruptions in the supply of food and moisture lead to inadequate fruit filling and cracking. Regular, moderate fertilizing and watering, mulching are important components of proper care.
Preventative measures are necessary to prevent fungal infections.
