Tomatoes are frequent guests in country gardens. Tomato on its beneficial properties It is not inferior to citrus fruits, especially in terms of vitamin C content. Therefore, summer residents often call it “country orange.” Growing tomatoes is quite a demanding job, requiring a lot of preparation in order to grow a large, healthy crop of tomatoes. Increasingly, tall varieties of tomatoes can be found in garden beds. They are significantly superior to other varieties of tomatoes in terms of the growth rate of the main stem, and it can only be stopped if you pinch the top of the bush in time.
Some varieties of tall tomatoes can grow 5 m in just six months. Accordingly, you can get a huge amount of harvest from them. The main thing is to know when to plant tall tomatoes and how to do it correctly.
Technology of growing seedlings
Yielding tomato varieties should be sown in seedling boxes at the end of winter. And preparations for the next season need to begin in the fall. The plot of land on which the beds of tall tomatoes will be located and sowing will take place should be well dug up and fertilized with manure. The same procedure should be carried out in the spring, when the snow melts. Only for organic, you need to add 1 tbsp. l. potassium fertilizer and 5 tbsp. l. phosphates.
The seed manufacturer will tell you when to sow tall tomatoes for seedlings. He must indicate the exact dates on the packaging. Typically, tomatoes are planted approximately 2 and a half months before planting in open beds. The end of February is the best time for this. Plants will be able to grow and get stronger.
If you have already grown tall tomatoes on your plot, or your neighbors have shared several particularly successful fruits, you can independently collect tomato seeds for seedlings for a future harvest. Only the best varieties and the healthiest and most beautiful specimens are suitable for this.
Several of the best fruits should be placed on the windowsill and wait until they finally ripen and become soft. Use a spoon to scoop out the juice with the seeds and place it in a glass jar.
After they stand for a couple of days at a temperature of 22 °C, the juice will become light in color, and the seeds will be ready for further processing. They need to be washed and dried on a flat, smooth surface, for example, on a sheet of paper or glass.
But the preparation of seeds for planting does not end there.To strengthen and harden planting material, you need to soak the seeds in a warm solution using liquid fertilizers or wood ash. And after 24 hours have passed, you need to wrap them in plastic bags and put them in a cold place for a couple of days. This will help the seeds survive possible temperature changes.
Tomatoes for seedlings should be planted in previously prepared soil. To prepare it, you need to take humus, peat and turf in equal parts, saturate it with superphosphate, potassium sulfate and urea in the proportions indicated on the packages. The resulting mixture must be calcined in the oven at a temperature of one hundred degrees for 20 minutes. The soil layer should not exceed 5 cm.
The soil prepared for cultivation should be poured into wooden or plastic boxes in an even layer.
You can calculate when to sow seeds for seedlings yourself or follow the summer resident’s lunar calendar. We usually sow seeds from February 20 to March 10. If the plants are planned to be transplanted into a greenhouse, then the planting time may be slightly different. When the planting site is ready, it should be well watered, and you can begin sowing the seeds of tall tomatoes and growing them using time-tested technology.
It is necessary to make grooves in the soil at a distance of 5 cm from each other, and no more than 1 cm deep. Seeds should be sown one at a time, in increments of 2 cm, and then sprinkled with soil. This completes the planting of tall tomato seeds. You should not water from above, you just need to cover it with glass or plastic wrap to create a greenhouse effect. Boxes with seedlings need to be placed in a bright, warm place - on the windowsill of a south window.This is just the beginning of growing strong seedlings.
As the seedlings grow, they need to be periodically fed with copper oxychloride in the proportions indicated on the package. It is worth watering moderately so as not to ruin the plants even at the seedling stage. An excess of moisture can cause the root system to die, the soil to become acidic and a black fruit fly to appear, feeding on rot.
When the first two true leaves appear, the plant must be pruned. This happens at about 20 days of age, then the plants need to be transplanted into a larger container. Individual jars or even plastic cups are perfect for this. Seedlings should be replanted with their native soil so that the process of getting used to the new place occurs quickly and unnoticed.
Good strong seedlings will only grow if they have enough space to grow and sunlight.
Planting seedlings in open ground and care
Productive varieties need to be planted in a checkerboard pattern. To do this, prepare long rows with wide and deep holes, approximately the size of a spade, 15x15 cm in size. One bush should be planted in each hole to ensure good ventilation of the plants.
Fertilizer
The best yield is observed in plants that have enough mineral and organic substances. During the entire period of tomato growth, experienced agronomists recommend at least 3 feedings. The very first one will be 10 days after transplanting the seedlings into the garden bed. The best choice for this is bird droppings or manure, from which a 1:10 solution is prepared. It is best to combine it with watering. It is also possible to use ready-made fertilizer mixtures, for example, “Gumisol”.For better absorption, the soil for cultivation should be immediately mulched with sawdust or pine needles under the base of the bush stem. This will also prevent weeds from appearing.
When the second brush with ovaries appears on the bush, you need to wait 10 days and carry out the next feeding. To do this, you need to prepare a special solution, which includes manure, 3 g of potassium permanganate, 3 g of copper sulfate, 1 tbsp. l. ready-made fertilizer “Solution” - per 10 liters of water. 2 liters are poured under each plant. The third feeding procedure is carried out when the first fruits ripen. The same solution is prepared and 2.5 liters are added to each bush.
Watering
Tall tomatoes should be watered generously, up to 1 liter per bush. But there is no need to wet the fruits and leaves, and you should only water at the root of the plant. However, if the weather outside is cloudy and not sunny for a long time, watering should be reduced to 2 times a week.
Tall tomatoes like to be watered in the first half of the day. The water temperature should not be too low. Ideally – 24-26 °C. Therefore, it is best to paint a container with water in dark colors and place it in a sunny place, then you will not have to warm up the liquid before watering.
In too hot and dry weather, the soil between the bushes should be pierced with a pitchfork, and after watering it should be loosened well. In this case, you need to try not to damage the roots of the plant. And with the arrival of autumn, when only a few bunches of fruit remain, the tomatoes should be freed from their bindings and carefully laid on the ground. After this, watering should be stopped altogether.
Garter
Without support, such tall plants can simply break. They need good support, which will allow the bushes to grow not only in width, but also in height.Experienced gardeners use three types of garter - using rope, pegs or netting.
Along the edges of the bed you need to dig 2 high stakes, which can rise 3m above the ground. Between them you need to stretch a nylon cord, from which ropes stretch to all the plants. Synthetic materials that are not exposed to germs are best.
As the plant grows, the ropes need to be tightened so that the bush does not fall to the ground. When the tomatoes grow to 2.2 m, you can no longer pull them, but leave them freely hanging down with the fruits.
If it is possible to tie up each bush separately, then use individual pegs that are dug in near the bush. It should also be tied in several places, as the tomatoes grow, with synthetic or nylon rope. The same principle is used to use a net to which plants are tied in the required places. The higher the bush, the more often it needs to be tied up.
Stepsoning
After 1.5-2 months have passed, from the moment of planting the seedlings, you should begin to remove the growing leaves and shoots located closest to the ground. They interfere with air circulation and contribute to the occurrence of all kinds of diseases. In addition, too dense thickets attract parasites that can damage the fruits.
Shoots should be removed from the bush at least once a week. In this case, you can only pick 3 leaves at once. After this operation, a day later you need to water the plant well. As the bush grows, you need to remove excess shoots, and even new ovaries. To do this, you just need to monitor the plant. There should be at least 15 leaves and no more than 8 bunches of fruit on it. Only in this case will good productivity be achieved.
Varieties of tall tomatoes
The timing of tomato ripening will depend entirely on the choice of variety. All productive varieties will be early or mid-ripening. This is what allows good gardeners to grow large harvests.
- “Alyonushka” is an early variety, the fruits of which can reach up to 1 kg each. It is sown 100 days before the expected harvest, and the yield will be high.
- “Miracle of the Earth” is also an early variety. Its fruits weigh up to 500 g. It needs to be planted 90 days before harvest.
- "Midas" is a mid-late variety. Seedlings sown and planted in open ground will bear their first fruits in 120 days. Each tomato will weigh up to 100 g.
- "De Barao" is a mid-season variety. It should be planted 130 days before harvest, and the yield is high. As reviews from gardeners say, this variety bears fruit for 3 months, before the first frost, and each fruit weighs up to 70 g each.
All these productive varieties of tall tomatoes have visible advantages over other tomatoes. These vegetables require less space to sow and can be planted on a small plot of land. They produce many times more yield compared to their low-growing counterparts, while one plant can have up to ten full clusters of fruit.
In addition, their unusual appearance allows you to decorate the appearance of your garden. In addition, some tall, productive varieties, if planted correctly, can bear fruit until late autumn, before the first frost.
Each gardener chooses for himself which varieties of tomatoes to plant on his plot. Some are chasing high yields, others are trying to grow the biggest fruits, and still others simply love home-grown tomatoes.
