Early ripening tomato varieties are always valued by vegetable growers. If you really want to enjoy delicious juicy fruits at the beginning of summer, you should pay attention to the Leopold F1 tomato. A special feature of choosing a hybrid is its undemandingness to growing conditions. For beginners in growing tomatoes, this hybrid will allow you to get a large harvest of tomatoes with a minimum of care, 85 days after the first shoots.
Plant characteristics
The Leopold tomato hybrid is a determinate type of vegetable. The stem of the plant reaches a height of up to ninety centimeters. Therefore, there is no need to trim the bushes.It is recommended to cultivate the tomato crop in open ground, although it is suitable for growing under film covers in regions with short and cold summers.
Powerful bushes of the variety are well leafed with dark green leaves. The first flower clusters on the plant appear after the sixth or seventh leaf. And the next ones - in two or three.
The fruits of Leopold tomatoes set successfully even under unfavorable conditions: sudden temperature changes, drought, wet weather. A hybrid vegetable that shows excellent resistance to the development of diseases of garden crops - late blight, mosaic, cladosporiosis. Tomatoes take root well after planting in open ground and are distinguished by uniform fruiting.
Features of the variety fruits
Characteristics and description of Leopold tomatoes consists of the following qualities:
- roundness of shape;
- matte red color of the fruit with a green spot near the stalk;
- weight 85-100 grams;
- excellent presentation;
- excellent keeping quality of the crop;
- unity of maturation;
- good transportability.
What is appreciated in tomatoes is the same size of fruit, fleshiness, juiciness of the pulp, and the density of the skin, which does not crack.
The yield of tomatoes is high and, if grown correctly, amounts to three to four kilograms per bush.
Growing Requirements
The seedling method is the most reliable in growing tomatoes. The seeds of the hybrid must be planted in nutrient soil in mid-to-late March. Planting material must undergo a disinfection procedure. A one percent solution of potassium permanganate and baking soda is suitable for this. The growth stimulator Epin, in which the seeds are soaked for two hours, will speed up the emergence of seedlings.
Seeds planted in containers with soil require enough light and an air temperature of 25 degrees. Water Leopold tomato seedlings sparingly. Feed the seedlings as needed, adding a solution of mullein prepared in a ratio of 1:5.
After two true leaves appear on the tomato stems, the seedlings are picked and transplanted into individual pots.
As soon as the seedlings are 60-65 days old, they are prepared for planting in open ground in mid-May, and in a greenhouse at the beginning of the month.
If tomatoes are grown in accordance with the rules of agricultural technology, then in a permanent place they will actively develop and bear fruit. The description of tomato care includes the following procedures that are important for the vegetable:
- Water the bushes moderately, not allowing the top layer of soil to dry out. Before flowering begins, the amount of watering is slightly reduced to slow down the vegetative growth of tomatoes.
- Feeding begins with mullein diluted in water - proportion 1:5, or bird droppings - 1:15. The fertilizer rate for one tomato bush is a liter of solution.
- Among mineral fertilizers, superphosphate, potassium salt, and ammonium nitrate can increase the yield of vegetable plants. The optimal dose of nutrients per ten liters of water is from fifteen to forty grams. It is useful to add one gram of boric acid to a bucket of solution. Feeding should be done at intervals of two to three weeks.
- In order for the fruits to become ripe faster, the leaves that shade them must be removed or set aside.
- It is advisable to organize a garter for Leopold tomatoes, since the stems may break under the weight of a large number of fruits.
- It is better to form a determinate bush with two or three stems.
For those who planted the F1 hybrid vegetable, Leopold is the best in terms of yield.And tomatoes are suitable for pickles in general, and for summer salads and slices. They are used to produce sauces, tomato pastes, and juice. For the winter, you can prepare dried tomatoes. This harvesting method is most suitable for small fruits. And the weather during their ripening is suitable for drying: in the middle of summer it is most often hot, and it rarely rains. The variety is perfect for those who grow vegetables for sale.
Vegetable growers' opinion about the hybrid
Many people start purchasing Leopold tomato seeds when they read the description of the variety. What is attractive about it is the rapid ripening of tomatoes, uniform fruiting, and versatility of use. Reviews about hybrid tomatoes are only positive. The plant is resistant to many tomato diseases, of which the greatest danger to the vegetable yield is fungal and viral infections: late blight, fusarium, anthracnose.
Tomatoes are undemanding to growing conditions. They tolerate drought well. Farmers especially prefer to grow them, sowing large areas with tomatoes. Due to the average height of the stem, tomato plantings are easy to care for and can be harvested using special equipment.
