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All about tomatoes how to grow. The best varieties of indoor tomatoes

Pro proper cultivation each gardener has his own idea of tomatoes. However, the tomato, despite all its unpretentiousness, still needs close attention, because our climate is not quite suitable (both heat and cold are detrimental to tomatoes). Plus, a lot of fungal and viral diseases lie in wait for our plantings. But do not be upset: armed with knowledge, it is easy to overcome the main obstacles on the way to a rich harvest.

When growing a tomato, it is very responsive to simple agricultural practices, and when minimal cost for cultivation generously bestows a harvest.

Gardeners have adapted to grow tomatoes by planting seeds simply in the ground, under film shelters, greenhouses, greenhouses, tunnels. And there are even special varieties for planting in pots on windowsills.

Tomato bushes have a highly branched, developed root system. If there are enough nutrients, life-giving moisture in the ground, additional roots are formed in any part of the stem. Therefore, the tomato is propagated not only by the usual seeds, stepchildren (stem processes) are often used. The time from spitting of the first shoots to the formation of flowers is approximately 65 days, from the appearance of the first flowers to the ripening of fruits, another 50-70 days.

Types of tomatoes and proper cultivation, given the type of bush

The structure of the soil for tomato bushes is necessarily loose, filled with moisture and oxygen, constantly in a cultivated state.

According to the type of bushes, tomatoes are usually divided into determinant (having low and medium growth) and indeterminate (having high growth):

At undersized species the bushes are not large (65-185 cm). They no longer grow when 3-5 racemes appear on the main or side stem. The formation of stepchildren occurs at the bottom of the stem.
In tall greenhouse species, the growth of bushes is not limited. If a flower brush is tied on the main stem, then the stepson of the leaf closest to the brush will continue to grow, passing into the main stem.

In indeterminate varieties, bushes grow taller than 2 meters, the flowering period, fruit formation is much longer. A flower brush is tied on the main stem, the highest stepson at the apical brush will continue to grow as the main stem. This can occur before the end of the growing season, and will end with the first autumn frosts.
Since the tomato comes from a southern country, for successful cultivation properly ensure comfortable temperature for its development, it is 23-26 degrees. At 10 degrees, the pollen of the plant does not ripen, the flower does not pass into the ovary and disappears.

Bushes do not like excessive humidity, but they need abundant watering, as water is consumed for ripening, fruit filling. Also, with the growth of bushes, a lot of light is needed, otherwise photosynthesis does not occur, the plant is delayed in development, the stems are strongly drawn to the light source, the leaves are pale.

Therefore, when growing tomatoes, when the daylight hours are short, they need illumination. Proper care of crops, monitoring the condition of the soil, fertilizing with organic matter or complex mineral fertilizers have almost unlimited possibilities for growing tomatoes on any soil, except for solonchaks and very acidic soils.

Sowing and growing seedlings of tomatoes

Naturally, growing tomato seedlings is possible only indoors, in specially prepared greenhouses, on beds under film cover. Planting seeds begins around the beginning of March. To grow seedlings, it will take approximately 63-75 days. Sowing is carried out in seedling boxes filled with specially prepared soil, peat pots, paper or film bags, and liter containers from milk bags are also applicable for this. In such containers, you can plant two or three seeds.

For the cultivation of mid-season, late varieties, seeds are planted from the first days of the month of April. Seedlings germinate within 2 months. If the seeds are planted in nurseries, greenhouses or shelter beds, then the seeds are planted simply in the ground. The distance is not less than 6 x 6 cm. If pots are used to germinate seedlings, then the seeds are placed in them. However, amateurs and professionals for seed germination prefer to sow in seed boxes, and already, after the appearance of the first leaves, the seedlings are planted in the ground.

To ensure successful seed germination, they need to pre-sowing treatment. The seeds are checked for hollowness by placing them in a five percent solution. table salt, stirring vigorously for 8 - 12 min., heavy full seeds will settle to the bottom, pacifiers will float. Further, the selected seeds require a disinfection procedure. To do this, they are immersed in water heated to 45 - 55 degrees for several minutes, followed by cooling the air temperature.

For germination, tomato seeds are placed in a moistened gauze bag, which is filled with seeds by 1/2 volume. The bag should be moistened for about 2 days. We plant seeds by 2 cm, after which, carefully, through a strainer, water with warm water. After this procedure, the boxes are covered with foil and removed to a shaded place. The temperature in the room is maintained at 23 - 26 degrees. With the support of a constant temperature, the seeds will give the first shoots in 14 days.

Seeing the first leaves of sprouts, the boxes must be opened. To harden plants, the temperature in the premises should be gradually reduced to 15 degrees during the week. After again increase to 25 degrees.
When growing seedlings, it is important to maintain average soil moisture by watering up to two times per week. Top dressing for the first time is best done 9-11 days after planting.

Top dressing is being prepared in the following way: dissolves 9 grams per bucket of water ammonium nitrate, 13 grams of potassium chloride, 45 - 55 grams of superphosphate. If a second top dressing is necessary, then it is carried out after 2 weeks with a double concentration of the same fertilizers.

Who is against chemical compounds on the site, organic fertilizer can be prepared for top dressing. Usually a solution is prepared from slurry, diluted in water e: horse - 5 parts, cow - 10 parts, chicken droppings - 5 parts. Superphosphate 25-30 grams or a couple of handfuls of ash can be added to this mixture.

At the onset of 2 weeks before the planned planting, tomato seedlings must be hardened. To do this, the ambient temperature is reduced to 15 degrees. After five to seven days before planting, bring the temperature to the level of temperature at night. Seedlings are covered only if there is a risk of frost. Excellent, ready-made seedlings - up to 27 cm, a trunk from 6 millimeters thick, have several true leaves and one or two flower ovaries.

Planting tomatoes outdoors

The place where they are going to grow tomatoes must be chosen as far as possible from potato plantings.
The method of growing tomatoes without seedlings by seeds is called seedless. To do this, the seeds are planted immediately directly to the ground where they will develop.

This method is acceptable only in the southern warm regions. It is carried out when the land warms up to 15 degrees. For planting seeds, planting in ridges is used (ordinary method). Rows are made at a distance of 63 -73 cm, the grains are buried to a depth of a couple of centimeters.

The frequency of plant sprouts will be further formed by weeding poorly developed sprouts. The first thinning is carried out when 2 to 3 true leaves are formed at the entrances, it is necessary to thin out the plants by 22-25 cm. The second one is when 5-6 leaves are formed on the stems, the distance between them is 40 - 50 centimeters. In favorable climatic conditions, summer-autumn tomato cultivation is possible, which can be applied after harvesting ripe varieties.

How to grow tomatoes with a good harvest

Growing tomatoes should be carried out away from the planting of everyone's favorite potatoes. We observe crop rotation, be sure to grow tomatoes after "non-nightshade" crops. Remember: on the plots used in the cultivation of nightshade, planting tomatoes is possible no earlier than after 5 years. Failure to follow this rule when growing tomatoes can lead to infection with diseases, such as late blight and various rots.

In the autumn, a thorough digging of the earth is carried out manually or with a walk-behind tractor to a depth of 40 centimeters, embedding organic and mineral dressings. On chernozems, top dressing is practiced only from mineral fertilizers: 9-12 grams of nitrogen, 9-12 grams of phosphorus, 6-11 grams of potash, which are applied per square meter. m. Phosphorus and potash fertilizers are also applied when processing plots in the fall. Before planting in the spring, nitrogen must be applied. If the soil is poor, then during the autumn digging, organic matter of 5.5-6 kg is introduced into it. per sq.m.

If a seedless planting method is used on the site, it is important to remember that grass control is of paramount importance when growing tomatoes, tomatoes grow much more slowly than weeds, so cultural sprouts can be crushed by grown grass.

If the method of growing tomatoes with seedlings is chosen, then it is better to use an ordinary planting method, maintaining a distance between rows of up to 70 centimeters. When growing in open field it is preferable to use the tape method. This method allows you to choose a distance between rows of 65-85 cm. In this way, you can plant from 3 to 6 tomato seedlings per square meter. m. For tall varieties, the planting area increases by 1.5 - 6 times.

Before boarding tomato seedlings in the wells in them it is necessary to pour water in a volume of 1 liter. It is also a good idea to feed the seedlings by pouring a handful into the hole. wood ash. Seedlings are buried vertically in the hole, a little deeper than in the nursery. When potted planting, you need to plant deeper to close the long trunk to the first leaf.
Elongated or weakened stems can be planted in a slope, without falling asleep only the tops, fruit brushes with several leaves. Before planting, the leaves from the stem must be removed. On these parts, the stem forms adventitious roots. It is advisable to tie the stem to the supports as it grows.

Further care for seedlings and growing tomatoes includes watering, soil care in the form of loosening and application, bush formation (we produce using pinching and), disease and pest control. Watering is done when planting seedlings, as well as during the total time of growing tomatoes, taking into account the weather, the optimal watering is in the morning or evening after sunset. Loosening is carried out at least 3-6 times a season. Loosening may include hilling the stem, which will allow it to form additional roots.

For the first time, top dressing when growing tomatoes is needed a couple of weeks after planting the tomatoes. If the tomatoes are planted using seedless technology, then if there are 5-6 leaves per square meter on the stem, 11 grams of ammonium nitrate and 17 grams of superphosphate are added.
The second top dressing is carried out with the formation of the first fruits, while using 6-11 grams of ammonium nitrate, 17-20 grams of potassium sulfate. The introduction of 0.5% superphosphate has proven itself well.

By removing the lower leaves, you can prevent the development of diseases and remove the extra load on the bush.

Once in 7 days when growing a tomato is enough to perform pinching and removing new shoots. ( About the formation of the bush in detail). You shouldn't stepchild early maturing varieties with limited growth. If there are many flowers in the inflorescence, then if you want to get larger tomatoes, you can apply flower thinning.

In August, you can apply the pinching of growing points of tomatoes, since the fruits in new brushes will no longer have time to grow and ripen. Careful pinching will limit the growth of the stem, and the nutrients will go to the ripening of already growing fruits.

Harvesting is carried out after 4-5 days, and at the peak of ripening after 2 days. Fully ripe fruits are taken for consumption.

To increase the yield time, you can apply the method in which brown, milky ripeness tomatoes are collected.

During ripening, when laying out tomatoes for storage, it must be taken into account that ripened tomatoes emit gas - ethylene, which significantly accelerates the ripening of nearby hearths. In addition, the harvest of different maturity should be stored at different temperatures - more mature 3-5 degrees, brown 5-7 degrees, green and milky 10-13 degrees.

Getting seeds for sowing

The most practical way to grow healthy tomatoes is to use your own seeds. To get seeds, we take the most best tomatoes from the first or second maternal brushes, but not overripe. Selected fruits must be washed, dried and cut.

From the halves, select the seeds, put in glassware. Or take the cake formed when squeezing tomato juice with a juicer. Seeds for future cultivation are washed several times with water, draining the floating mass, and dried in the shade, distributing it in an even layer on paper. After thorough drying, they must be scattered in bags and stored in a room, not forgetting to sign from which variety the seeds were obtained.

Instruction

Read the information on the packaging carefully. If the seeds are not treated with a special compound, disinfect them in a solution of potassium permanganate. To do this, dilute manganese in clean water at the rate of 1 g of powder per 250 ml of liquid. After a day, dry the seeds to make them easier.

Make shallow grooves (1-2 cm) in the ground and sow the seeds. If you feel sorry for thinning, spread the seeds with tweezers at a distance of 10 cm from each other. The procedure, of course, will take a lot of time, but the consumption of seeds will also be significantly reduced.

Water plantings with water room temperature and cover the box with plastic wrap. As soon as shoots appear, remove the film so that it does not interfere with normal growth. Continue watering as the soil dries out, but try not to flood it.

Plant the seedlings in the greenhouse either in early or mid-May, depending on weather conditions. If you plan to transplant directly outdoors, wait until there is no threat of frost, otherwise the young plants will die.

Apply organic or mineral supplements several times over the summer to help the tomatoes grow better. But follow the dosage (indicated on the package), because excess fertilizer can cause the death of plants.

Remove stepchildren from plants. They appear from the axils of the leaves and interfere with the normal growth of the fruit, as they absorb all the nutrients. Harvest as the tomatoes ripen.

Tomatoes are a product widely used in canning, salads and other dishes. Growing tomatoes in your own backyard will allow you to enjoy juicy fruits throughout the year.

seed germination

Growing tomatoes in Russia involves seeds and transplanting sufficiently strong seedlings into the ground. Tomato seeds are treated with a solution boric acid or drinking soda, prepared from 2 g of the substance and 200 ml of water, as well as a solution of potassium permanganate (0.02 g of the substance per 200 ml of water). In each solution, the seeds are kept for 2 hours.

Then the seeds are washed in clean water and placed on a piece of felt. The fabric is pre-impregnated with water, in which ash was infused for 2 days. Take 2 teaspoons of ash per 200 ml of water. After 3 days, the seeds germinate.

Small paper cups or plastic containers are suitable for growing seedlings. It is best to fill the containers with a mixture consisting of humus, sod and garden soil in equal proportions.

The quality of seedlings significantly depends on the temperature regime. During the first 2-3 weeks after germination, it is recommended to maintain the temperature within 20-25 degrees during the day and 8-10 degrees at night. At lower temperatures, the development of tomatoes is much slower. Growing tomatoes later requires maintaining 16-20 degrees during the day.

Seedlings should be watered every other day, using snow or rain water. tap water it is desirable to defend until the complete disappearance of chlorine. From the second half of May, the plants are taken outside on warm days to accustom them to direct sunlight.

How to grow tomatoes: transplanting into the ground and care

If the seedlings were grown in paper cups, you can not remove the plants from them when transplanting into the ground. From plastic containers seedlings must be taken out with the utmost care so as not to damage the fragile root system.

The earth must be well loosened. For better penetration air, the bottom of the hole is lined with hay, branches and leaves. It is advisable to make an irrigation system by digging a small groove in the middle of the beds with tomatoes. It is filled with water, and all plants simultaneously receive water. In addition, with such watering, there is no need to constantly loosen the hard crust on the surface of the holes, which is formed during the top watering of each plant separately.

To protect against waterlogging of the soil as a result of rain, it is recommended to grow tomatoes in a closed greenhouse or under a transparent awning. Water the tomatoes with warm, settled water.

During pinching, you should cut off everything small flowers. In this case, it is possible to obtain larger fruits. It is undesirable to plant tomatoes next to potatoes, as they are prone to almost the same diseases.

Top dressing of tomatoes

During the growing season, 4-5 root dressings are performed. The first is done 2 weeks after planting seedlings. Use "Signor tomato", for 10 liters 1 tablespoon of fertilizer, infusion of bird droppings.

The use of mineral fertilizers is recommended in the absence of organic ones. You can fertilize with nitrophos. 1 tablespoon dissolves in water. 10 days after the formation of ovaries with a diameter of 1.5 cm, a second top dressing is carried out with "Kimer-universal" or "Mortar".

The third top dressing is shown at the first collection of ripe fruits. Use the same means as for the second feeding. In the absence of fruits and the rapid growth of green mass, nitrogen fertilizers are not used. The fourth feeding is carried out 2 weeks after the third with the help of Agricola-3, as well as superphosphate.

How to help tomatoes in a cold summer

To avoid such troubles, it is necessary to make adjustments to the usual agrotechnical measures. If a prolonged rainy season is not the norm for the area, and it was not possible to pre-create high warm beds, on which late blight-resistant tomato varieties are planted, the following methods are recommended:

when planting seedlings, it is important not to place tomato bushes too close to each other, because. this culture loves space and with a lack of space all the nutrients go into the leaves, leaving almost nothing for fruit growth. With a lack of heat, sunlight and excess moisture, crowding in the garden will only aggravate the unfavorable situation;

after rain, each bush must be carefully shaken off drops - it is most convenient to do this with an elastic long branch that does not damage the delicate foliage of tomatoes;

pinching lateral shoots, removing excess leaves and tops of the plant in the second half of summer contributes to the accelerated ripening of fruits;

small tomatoes save very well in cold summer semicircular awnings from a film stretched over the frame, leaving the lower part of the bushes open for ventilation. No less effective is a specialized covering material with a minimum density, which transmits light and raises the temperature in the garden to the desired level;

in rainy weather, not only tall, but also all other varieties need to be tied up in order to avoid fruit contact with wet ground and thus protect them from various diseases.

How to feed tomatoes in a cold summer

Properly selected fertilizers contribute not only to the prevention of fungal infections that spread with the wind and excess moisture, but also provide rapid ripening of fruits. A fairly simple and very effective feeding of tomatoes is done using a mixture prepared on a milk basis: 1 liter of low-fat milk or kefir and 10 drops of an iodine alcohol solution are added to a 10-liter bucket of water. Plants are watered with the resulting composition: 1 liter for each bush.

If the first signs of fungal diseases were noticed on the plants, it is recommended to treat the bushes with Bordeaux mixture. In order not to make a mistake with the concentration when preparing the solution, experienced vegetable growers advise using this technique: in a container with a small amount of the prepared mixture, lower the nail and check whether a dark coating of copper has appeared on it. If the nail has darkened, then the solution is too concentrated and lime needs to be added.

In gardens that are regularly weeded, usually in large quantities weeds accumulate. It can also be used to prepare nutritious top dressing: a capacious container is one-third filled with grass (very good if you can use nettles), after which urea, superphosphate and wood ash are added there in a ratio of 1:2:6. The mixture is infused under the lid for a week, then a liter of infusion is diluted in a bucket of water and watered over the tomatoes.

Diseases of tomatoes in cold summer

Unfavorable weather conditions often lead to outbreaks of various diseases that negatively affect not only the quantity of the crop, but also its quality: the recovered fruits become sinewy, dry and ugly.

A good prevention of the appearance of phytophthora on tomatoes is soil mulching with hay: the bacterium "hay bacterium", which is a natural enemy of late blight pathogens, multiplies well in rotten grass. If it is not possible to collect enough grass to cover all the beds, then it is recommended to prepare a hay stick culture: do not a large number of hay is poured with water and infused until a cloudy film appears. The film is collected in a separate container, diluted with a liter of whey and tomatoes are processed.

If there is large amounts of wood ash on the site, then with its help it is necessary to process the beds and aisles during the seedling planting period, and then repeat the treatment when the plants fade and the formation of ovaries begins. All manipulations for the prevention of diseases are carried out only in dry weather, after sunset.

Growing tomatoes is not an easy task. No matter what crop you plan to harvest from your beds, plants require care. And if you know all the features and subtleties of this process, then it will be much easier to grow excellent fruits. Planting and care require special knowledge.

Growing tomatoes is not an easy task.

In order for labor not to be wasted and rewarded with a good harvest, it is worth considering growing tips in more detail, even if you are familiar with this process. The agricultural technology of growing tomatoes is improving every year, so everyone will definitely find useful tips for themselves.

Regardless of the variety and region of growth, there are general rules. It is important to observe a sense of proportion, in no case overfeed with fertilizers (especially nitrogen), avoid excess water and excessive sun, and know all the features of growing. If you decide to implement your project for growing tomatoes, you should know that the tomato will not tolerate a lack of watering and top dressing. The Kazarin method involves a limitation in watering, however, if your project is aimed at obtaining big harvest, then this method doesn't suit you.

It is best to plant on the southern high slopes, avoiding crowding, as it is a very heat-loving vegetable. You can grow it and get a good harvest by applying the following tips. Bushes should have enough light and space. You need to water when the soil begins to dry out, but you should not wait until the soil is completely dry. Otherwise, the death of the root system and the bush as a whole may occur.

Watering should be infrequent, once a week will be enough.

An important role in the cultivation of tomatoes is played by their top dressing, especially if you plant them in the same place for several years in a row.

Many novice gardeners and gardeners ask the question of how to care for tomatoes. Planting and care play an important role. Especially vegetables need water during the period of ovary and fruit pouring. If during this period they do not have enough water, then the ovaries will crumble, and the fruits of those that survive will be unusually small. It is advisable to prepare water in advance in buckets.

Tomatoes are very fond of drip irrigation, and if you have the opportunity to organize it in your beds, then you will certainly get a rich harvest. It will be useful to water the bushes with water with the addition of ash, this will not only increase productivity, but also protect vegetables from diseases.

Feeding plays an important role in growing, especially if you plant them in the same place for several years in a row. To get a good harvest of tomatoes, make fertilizer is a must. The soil is depleted, and the plant no longer receives all the necessary nutrients. Is it possible to plant tomatoes in a place where other vegetables used to grow? All experts will unequivocally say no.

You should not plant in the place where peppers, potatoes, eggplants used to grow, as they have many common diseases and pests. It is not recommended to plant beets nearby.

You need to fertilize 3 times for the whole time. Suitable for this different means, but there is one main rule: there should be less nitrogen in the fertilizer than other elements. Can be used bird droppings dissolved in water in buckets. During flowering, you can spray the bushes with a solution of boric acid.

Plants in the open field need the prevention of late blight. The best and most harmless way is to spray with infusion of garlic.

According to the technology of growing tomatoes, do not forget about the garter of plants. It must be done as soon as the seedlings planted in the ground are well rooted. Pegs for this should be 1-1.5 m long, depending on the variety. You need to tie a bush in two places - at the base of the trunk and at the top. Even for these purposes, you can use the wire stretched between the rows.

Growing tomatoes involves hilling 2-3 times per season and protection from weeds.

It is recommended to plant seedlings of several varieties of tomatoes so that you can harvest the fruits all season. This way you can determine which varieties are best for your soil. When harvesting, it should be remembered that the fruit must fully ripen on the bush, just then it will be as juicy and fragrant as possible.

Experienced gardeners they say that growing tomatoes is not a particularly difficult process, and if you properly care for the garden, then it will surely surprise you with the richness of the harvest. Experiment with growing methods and variety of varieties, and you will develop your own tricks and secrets in this interesting business. Caring for tomatoes is not such a difficult task, the main thing is to use the advice of experienced vegetable growers. Growing vegetables and caring for them will bring a worthy reward.

How to grow tomatoes: master class (video)

Growing in a greenhouse

All stages of growing tomatoes in a greenhouse do not differ much from the technology of growing in open ground. In a greenhouse, the risk of losing a good crop due to weather conditions and other disasters is reduced. Even if you have a large garden, vegetable garden, planting tomatoes in a greenhouse will be a more profitable option.

Stage one - seedling preparation

The cultivation of seedlings begins with the preparation of soil and seeds. So that planting tomatoes is not a waste of time, when choosing seeds, you should pay attention to the variety of tomatoes, they must be suitable for growing in greenhouse conditions.

Planting tomatoes will take some time. If the seeds are purchased in a specialized store, then when opening the package, you need to pay attention to whether they are colored or not. If painted, then no preparation is required. But if not, then they should be prepared before landing. First, they need to be soaked in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for several hours, then rinsed and soaked in any growth stimulant (see instructions for use). Next, plant the seeds in a container with prepared soil. Planting tomatoes can be carried out in small buckets.

The seeds are planted in the following way: the seed is placed in a container and gently pressed into the ground with some blunt object, for example, the end ballpoint pen or a pencil. A few weeks later, after the seeds in the buckets sprout, the seedlings enter the stage active growth. To prevent this process, you should lower the air temperature in the room where the seedlings grow. Landing should take place in the morning or evening hours, when there is no scorching sun. For irrigation, it is necessary to use water at room temperature, settled in special buckets or watering cans.

Stage two - planting seedlings in a greenhouse

The technology for growing tomatoes in a greenhouse is simple. The greenhouse must be ventilated, it must have opening windows - not only at the ends, but also in the roof. Tomato is a culture that loves a draft. The greenhouse should be located so that it is illuminated by the sun all day.

A few days before transplanting, you need to prepare the beds. Apply fertilizers to them, for example, humus or small sawdust, and dig everything up. The beds should be made along the walls of the greenhouse. On the beds you need to make moons. Tomatoes are planted at a distance of at least 6-8 cm. Planting tomatoes is the most crucial stage in growing a vegetable. The landing trench must be level. It is better to use a special landing device.

To prevent the spread of diseases, at least 1 liter of potassium permanganate solution prepared in buckets must be poured into each well. The temperature of the liquid for irrigation should be approximately 60 ° C. After transplanting, tomatoes should not be watered for 2-3 weeks so that the plants do not stretch in length. Proper care of tomatoes will surely bring a good harvest.

By the time the plants need to be planted, their height should be about 30 cm. If there are bushes that exceed this length, then they should be planted in the middle row. Growing features can be seen in the video, which will tell you how to plant tomatoes correctly.

Growing tomatoes without watering (video)

Stage three - tying plants

Tomatoes need to be tied up within a couple of weeks after planting. A thick wire must be pulled over the plants. You need to tie the tomatoes under the lowest sheets. It is better to take a plump rope for tying in order not to cut the plants.

According to the technology of growing tomatoes, do not forget about the garter of plants

It is hard to believe that although tomatoes, they are tomatoes, have been known to Europeans since the middle of the 16th century, they began to be eaten only at the very end of the 18th century. Prior to this, tomato bushes were grown exclusively as an ornamental plant, and their fruits were considered poisonous. As early as 1774, gardening manuals warned that tomatoes would drive those who eat them crazy. Perhaps they were not so far from the truth: a delicious, juicy tomato can really drive you crazy. true gourmet!

, or - these are herbaceous or semi-shrub, annual or perennial plants belonging to the nightshade family. The tomato has a very developed root system, and its seeds remain viable for about nine years.

Growing seedlings of tomatoes

For sowing tomatoes, you need to use separate area: plastic containers, seedling cassettes, etc., which need to be disinfected before sowing. Before sowing seedlings, it is necessary to provide good lighting, regular temperatures and air ventilation. Any seedling containers must have special drainage holes at the bottom, otherwise the plants will be susceptible to black leg disease.

For sowing tomato seedlings you can use any universal sowing substrate or compost from a mixture of sand and peat, taken in equal parts. It is not worth sowing tomato seeds too thickly, otherwise the seedlings will be thin and weak - they will stretch. If you are sowing seeds in a greenhouse, then sowing should be done in rows, this will allow you to use the lighting as much as possible.

Immediately before sowing, the substrate must be thoroughly moistened. The seeds themselves need to be warmed up - this will contribute to their disinfection, improve their sowing qualities and contribute to the appearance of faster, more friendly shoots. It is necessary to warm dry full-weight tomato seeds with variable temperatures: 48 hours - at a temperature of about +30 ° C, after that another 72 hours - at +50 ° C. Seeds can be sown dry or pre-soaked in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate. We lower the seeds into a glass with a solution and stand there for about half an hour. After that, the seeds must be washed in running water for about 10 minutes. Immediately after sowing, the substrate must be covered with a film or a 5 mm layer of vermiculite, this will help maintain soil moisture.

Before the appearance of the first shoots of tomatoes, it is necessary to maintain a temperature not higher than +23 ° C. And immediately after their appearance, the film from the seedling containers must be removed. In order not to expose still very weak seedlings to excessive evaporation, it is better to remove the film in the afternoon. When watering seedlings, which must be done with a finely sprayed jet, it is impossible to fill it with water heavily. It is necessary to follow and temperature regime seedling cultivation. So, as soon as the first shoots appear, the temperature should be reduced to + 8-10 at night and + 10-15 during the day - within 3 days, thus hardening the seedlings from the first days of its appearance. It is necessary to harden the seedlings until they are transplanted into a greenhouse, but not less than 15 days for the entire time of their growth.

planting tomatoes

For cultivation tomatoes it is better to choose the southern, southwestern or southeastern sections. Good yields are given by tomatoes planted near the southern wall of buildings or a fence. Tomatoes can be successfully grown in the same place even 2-3 years in a row, although then organic fertilizers must be applied for planting. The best predecessors for tomatoes are cucumbers, cabbage, zucchini and onions. It is not recommended to grow tomatoes after pepper, potatoes, eggplant and physalis. In those areas where these crops were cultivated, tomatoes can be planted no earlier than three years later. Otherwise, you will put the plants in danger of getting sick.

soil under planting a tomato in open ground it is necessary to prepare since autumn. So, if the acidity of the soil is increased, it is necessary to apply under autumn digging per 1 sq. m: 0.5-0.9 kg of lime, 5-7 kg organic fertilizers(you can take compost, bird droppings, peat or manure) and 40-60 g of superphosphate. If you applied a sufficient amount of fertilizer - about 10 kg per sq. m, under the previous crop, then the area allotted for growing tomatoes only needs to be dug up.

Spring tillage for preparation for tomatoes should include application per 1 sq. m of soil 30-40 g of superphosphate, as well as 25-30 g of potash fertilizers. Immediately before planting, already under the last loosening of the soil, it is necessary to add 1 sq. m 15-20 g of potash and 30-40 g of nitrogen fertilizers.

Planting tomato seedlings in the ground

from timely and quality fit hardened seedlings of tomatoes in the ground largely depends on obtaining a high yield.

It is necessary to plant tomatoes in the first decade of June, and only after the danger of frost has passed will warm weather be fully established. Both in ridges and on a flat surface, plants should be placed in rows, with a distance between them of 30-40 cm with a distance between rows of 30-50 cm.

Before planting on the site, it is necessary to make holes and thoroughly spill them with water - 0.9-1 l per hole. Try to purchase tomato seedlings a few hours before planting so that it does not wither - withered seedlings take root quite poorly and get sick, lagging behind in development. Those who grow seedlings on their own should not have such problems; they have the opportunity to plant seedlings in the garden immediately after they are taken out of the cups or selected from the greenhouse.

It is necessary to plant seedlings a little deeper than it grew in a greenhouse. Experienced gardeners are advised to cut off several lower leaves from the plant and, when planting, bury them as much as possible - you can bury the plant up to half of the stem, and you need to plant it slightly with a slope to the northwest. The roots of the seedlings must be carefully compressed with earth, without bending them at the same time, so that the ends of the roots are directed to the bottom of the hole. After the tomato seedlings are planted, the plants must be watered, and the hole itself must be sprinkled with dry earth on top.

Excellent results are obtained by growing under simple film shelters and on insulated soil - fallow ridges, this allows for higher yields of early tomatoes, and also accelerates the ripening of fruits.

To make steam ridges, it is necessary to dig a pit with a width of about 60 cm and a depth of about 20 cm. Inside the ridges, you need to load biofuel, in simple terms - heated manure (a layer of about 5 cm), and cover it with earth 15 centimeters from above . Seedlings on steam beds should be planted in the same way as on open ground, the only difference is that planting should be started 20 days earlier, somewhere in the middle of May.

Quite often, shelters made of transparent polyethylene film are also used, the use of which, especially when combined with fallow ridges, makes it possible to plant tomato seedlings as early as early May and, as a result, to harvest tomatoes as early as mid-July. Film-covered frames must be installed over the fallow beds immediately after, leaving them for the entire period of growing plants. Care for plants under the film is exactly the same as in the open field and consists of timely loosening, top dressing and the formation of bushes.

Tomato care

Caring for tomatoes primarily consists in hilling, loosening the soil, fertilizing and watering the plant, as well as forming a bush and timely control of diseases and pests.

The soil in the aisles and rows with tomatoes needs to be loosened - approximately every 10-12 days, but at least several times during the summer. When loosening, try to prevent the formation of a crust. If you are cultivating tomatoes in heavy soils, deep loosening is necessary in the first 10-15 days after planting.

The first time to spud tomatoes is necessary 9-11 days after the seedlings were planted. Watering should be done immediately before hilling: hilling the tomatoes with moist soil will accelerate the formation of new roots on the stem of the plant. The second hilling must be done 16-20 days after the first.

It is timely necessary to water the tomatoes. So, at first they are watered into the wells, the water consumption is 0.7-0.9 liters of water per plant. The best time for watering is the afternoon and cloudy weather. It is imperative to water the tomatoes during the flowering period of the 1st and 2nd brush, without fail before loosening the soil and after applying dry mineral fertilizers under them. During the summer, tomatoes need to be fed several times with mineral and organic fertilizers.

Plants are undemanding to air humidity, but if the humidity is excessively high, plants can get late blight and brown spot.

The first top dressing should be carried out 10-12 days after planting - with a mixture of mineral and organic fertilizers. So, for a 10-liter bucket of mullein solution (for one part of mullein or slurry, you need to take 8-9 parts of water), you need to add about 20 g of superphosphate. One bucket of this nutrient solution should be used for 10 plants. The second and third top dressing (with an interval of 2 weeks) should be carried out with dry mineral fertilizers immediately after loosening or for hilling. On a plot of 1 sq. m area, you need to add about 20 g of superphosphate, 15 g of potassium salt and 10 g of ammonium nitrate.

In the North-Western regions, in the process of caring for tomatoes, great attention must be paid to the formation of a plant bush - its timely stepsoning, as well as pinching the top of the stem. The practice of many gardeners has shown that excellent harvest mature tomatoes in the open field can be obtained by forming a plant bush into one stem, leaving 2-3 brushes.

Tomato plants need to be tied to stakes or a special rope stretched along the rows. Stakes should be placed on the north side with a distance of 9-11 cm from the stem. Plants must be attached to the stakes in three stages: the first time - immediately after planting the seedlings (not far from the first leaf), the second and third - as the plant grows - we raise the cord to the level of the 2nd and 3rd brush. If trellises are used to grow the plant, stakes must be driven in every four meters, between which a thread must be pulled.

Pests and diseases of tomatoes

The most common diseases of tomatoes: late blight, macrosporiosis, streak, septoria, late blight, stolbur and top rot.

Pests: wireworms, whitefly, mole crickets, gall nematode, scoops.

The lack of most nutrients in tomato plants can be defined as follows:

with a lack of nitrogen, the color of the stem, leaves, and also the fruits of tomatoes themselves change. The leaves become smaller, yellowish in color, the veins below the leaf become red-bluish, the fruits become harder and smaller;
if the tomatoes lack phosphorus, the leaves of the plant are wrapped inside;
with a lack of potassium, the sheets become curly;
a lack of calcium leads to the fact that young leaves are completely covered with yellow spots, and the old ones become larger and change color to dark green. Often in such cases, tomato plants undergo blossom end rot, most often this occurs when the humidity of the air is increased;
with sulfur starvation, the leaves first become pale green in color, after which they intensively turn yellow, and sometimes turn red. Sulfur starvation appears first on young leaves, while the stems of plants become extremely brittle and fragile;
lack of boron leads to blackening of the growing point of the stem, and the fruits are affected by brown spots;
if tomato plants lack molybdenum, the tomato leaves turn yellow, gradually twisting upwards, and the entire leaf blade is completely affected by chlorosis;
in case of iron deficiency, tomatoes completely stop growing. Their young leaves are affected by chlorosis. In the most severe cases, the leaves of the plants turn completely white.

harvesting tomatoes

Three weeks before the final harvest, both buds and flowering shoots plants must be removed, this will contribute to the early ripening of the bulk of the fruit. Harvesting of tomatoes must be done selectively, and first of all, ugly fruits must be removed. To keep the tomatoes for a longer time, they need to be harvested not red, but brown, and only then they are put to ripen. Tomatoes must be removed from the bushes until the nighttime air temperature drops below 8 ° C. This is due to the fact that at low temperatures the risk of diseases of tomatoes increases significantly.

Varieties and hybrids of tomatoes

According to the structure of the bushes, tomatoes are divided into non-standard, standard and potato-shaped. Non-standard tomatoes are distinguished by thinner stems that lie down during the fruiting period, as well as large, slightly corrugated leaves. Standard tomatoes are distinguished by compact bushes and, conversely, have a fairly thick stem, heavily corrugated leaves, medium in size, with short petioles. Potato-like, otherwise large-leaved tomatoes are quite rare, and they are called so because they have leaves that resemble potato ones in shape.

Today, there are more than 70 varieties and hybrids of tomatoes, and this is only for cultivation in open ground, as well as over 40 varieties for greenhouses. The most common of them are listed below.

Early ripe varieties

White filling- one of the most productive varieties. The bushes of the variety are relatively small and do not need pinching. The fruits are round or round-flat, fleshy, smooth, slightly ribbed at the stalk, weighing up to 130 g. Mature fruits are bright red in color, and milky white in the unripe state.

Ground Gribovsky A variety that is resistant to both diseases and low temperatures, drought-resistant, but at high humidity it is very susceptible to late blight. It gives high yields not only when grown through seedlings, but also by sowing seeds directly into the ground. The fruits of the variety are round or round-flat in shape, smooth, medium in size, and weighing up to 100 g.

sparkle- low, medium-branched tomatoes. The fruits are elongated-oval, their weight reaches 110 g, and the growing season is up to 115 days. The variety is one of the most high-yielding, with tender fruits.

Mid-season and mid-late varieties

These varieties are most suitable for outdoor cultivation, the fruits ripen in 100-130 days.

New in Transnistria- medium-late and extremely productive variety. The bushes have an average height and medium-sized fruits weighing up to 60 g. The fruits themselves are orange-red or bright red, elongated-oval in shape, smooth, have a thick and rather dense shell. Resistant to blossom end rot.

Torch- the variety is very high-yielding, characterized by friendly ripening of fruits. Bushes are compact, medium-sized. The fruits are very easy to separate from the stalk, round and smooth, red in color, weighing up to 100 g.

Late-ripening varieties

Late-ripening varieties tomatoes are best grown in the southern regions of the country, since their growing season reaches 150 days. Late-ripening varieties are significantly superior in yield to early and mid-season ones.

Ermak- a variety of low-growing tomatoes with round-oval and red-colored fruits, weighing up to 140 g and have a rough skin. It is steady against cracking, differs in stable high yields and amicable ripening. The fruits of the variety are stored on plants for a long time.

tortilla- indeterminal (tall), non-standard hybrid. It is best grown in a greenhouse, fruiting all season. It has flat-round fruits weighing up to 100 g. The fruits of the variety are extremely resistant to viruses, root rot and brown spot.

Plant tomato, or tomato (lat. Solanum lycopersicum)- a species of herbaceous annuals and perennials of the Solanum genus of the Solanaceae family, whose representatives are widely cultivated throughout the world as a vegetable crop. Tomato in everyday life is called the fruit of a tomato - pomo d "oro in Italian means a golden apple. And the word tomato comes from the Aztec tomatl, which the French improved to a modern form. The birthplace of tomatoes - South America where they still grow in the wild today. The tomato vegetable came to Europe in the middle of the 15th century. Seafarers brought it to Portugal and Spain, from where it got to Italy, France and others, more remote from sea routes. European countries. The tomato was bred as an exotic plant, for a long time considering its fruits to be poisonous. For the first time, a recipe for an allegedly Spanish tomato dish appeared in a cookbook in Naples in 1692. Tomatoes appeared in Russia in the 18th century and were grown at first as a decorative curiosity, since the fruits did not fully ripen in the Russian climate, and only the outstanding Russian naturalist, writer and philosopher Bolotov A.T. managed to achieve full ripening of tomatoes, thanks to seedling method their cultivation, as well as the use of the ripening method.

From our article you will learn how to grow tomato seedlings, when to plant tomato seedlings in the ground, how to fertilize tomatoes, how to combat diseases of tomatoes, what is the best fertilizer for tomatoes, how to pick tomatoes, what varieties of tomatoes exist for open ground, and get a lot of other interesting and important information that will help you grow a rich and high-quality crop of these beautiful fruits.

Planting and caring for tomatoes (in brief)

Landing: sowing seeds for seedlings - from mid to late March, transplanting seedlings into the ground, depending on the variety - after 45-60 days.
Lighting: bright sunlight.
The soil: loose, warm, moderately moist, rich in organic matter, neutral or slightly acid reaction.
Predecessors: good - carrots, onions, cabbage, cucumbers, zucchini, legumes; undesirable - tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant and other nightshade plants.
Watering: regular, drip. Consumption - 1 liter of water per plant.
Hilling: 8-12 days after planting in the ground, after watering, then 2.5-3 weeks after the first hilling.
Pasynkovanie: 3 weeks after planting seedlings in the ground.
Mulching: organic material - grass, peat or sawdust.
Garter: to stakes or trellises at the level of the first sheet, then at the level of the second brush, then at the level of the third brush.
Top dressing: 1st - 10-12 days after planting seedlings in the garden, 2nd - two weeks after the first feeding, and 3rd - two weeks after the second.
Pests: scoops, thrips, wireworms, slugs, mole crickets, gall nematodes and sprout flies.
Diseases: late blight, brown, brown, white and black spots, white, gray, top and stem rot, verticillium, tracheomycosis, streak, bacterial cancer and viral mosaic.

Vegetable tomato (tomato) - description

Tomatoes have a highly developed, rapidly forming branched tap root system, going a meter or more deep and growing 1.5-2.5 m wide. It is characteristic that when good conditions development, additional roots can form on any part of the stem, so in culture it is possible not only seed propagation tomatoes, but also vegetative - stepchildren or cuttings. The stem of tomatoes is branching, decumbent or erect, reaching a height of 30 to 200 or more centimeters. Unpaired tomato leaves are dissected into large lobes, in some varieties they resemble potato leaves. The flowers collected in the brush are inconspicuous, small, of varying degrees of yellowness, they are bisexual - in one flower there are both female and male organs. The fruits are multi-celled berries different forms- rounded, ellipsoidal, cylindrical. The mass of the fruit can be only 30 g, and can reach 800 g. The color of ripe fruits depends on the variety: it can be pale pink, orange, bright red, raspberry, white, light green, light yellow, bright yellow, golden yellow, brown, purple and almost black. Tomato seeds are flat and small, pointed at the base, different shades yellow, with pubescence, giving them a grayish tint. They do not lose their germination from 6 to 8 years.

In a botanical sense, tomatoes are berries, but in 1893 the Supreme Court of the United States, and in 2001 the European Union decided to consider tomatoes not as fruits, like all other berries, but as vegetables.

Growing tomatoes from seeds

Sowing tomato seeds

Growing tomatoes in open ground is carried out through seedlings, since when seeds are sown directly into the ground, the fruits do not have time to ripen during the season. Growing seedlings of tomatoes begins in winter in such a way that a month after the second picking it can be planted in open ground. In each climate zone planting tomatoes for seedlings is carried out on time, but in any climate, subject to all the necessary conditions, the period from the moment of sowing seeds to planting seedlings in the garden, depending on the variety, is 45-65 days. For example, in the middle lane, seeds for seedlings are sown from March 8 to March 20. If you are going to grow tomatoes not in the ground, but in a greenhouse, the seedlings will be ready for transplanting into a greenhouse in 30-35 days. By the way, in areas with a short summer in open ground it is better to grow large-fruited varieties tomatoes: even if they do not have time to ripen, they can be ripened by removing brown ones from the bush. Small-fruited tomatoes, when ripened, become tasteless and lethargic, and large-fruited ones, even after ripening indoors, remain juicy, sweet and tasty.

Before planting seedlings of tomatoes, the seeds are heated for two days at a temperature of 30 ºC, then for another three days at a temperature of 50 ºC, after which they are soaked for half an hour in a pink solution of potassium permanganate, then rinsed for 10 minutes in clean running water and kept for several hours in growth stimulant.

For sowing tomato seedlings, any universal soil is suitable, including one consisting of equal parts of sand and peat. You can grow seedlings of tomatoes in a substrate consisting of seven parts of peat, half of sawdust and one part of sod land. Seedlings also grow well in the soil of three parts of peat and one part of humus with the addition of sawdust and mullein in half. Whatever soil you prefer, it must be disinfected in the oven or microwave, and two weeks before sowing the seeds, it should also be shed with a one percent solution of the EM-Baikal preparation. You can also sterilize the soil by freezing: set the container with ready ground for seedlings in the frost at the beginning of winter, and in the spring bring it in, let it warm up and start sowing.

Boxes for growing seedlings of tomatoes should be at least 10 cm high. If you have enough space, try not to sow the seeds thickly, but it is even better to use peat tablets with a diameter of 33-36 mm for sowing, spreading 2-3 seeds in them, and then it will be possible to avoid picking seedlings. Do not plant the seeds too deep: sow them in moist soil and sprinkle on top with a layer of soil or vermiculite 3-4 mm thick. Cover crops with foil or paper.

Growing seedlings of tomatoes

Proper care of tomato seedlings has a positive effect on the quality and quantity of the future harvest. Until germination, the temperature in the room with crops is maintained at 25 ºC. As soon as sprouts appear, and this happens on average after 5-7 days, the film or paper is removed (it is better to do this in the afternoon), then the seedlings are arranged under bright diffused light, and the temperature is lowered during the day to 10-15 ºC for a week, and at night up to 8-12 ºC. After seven days, the temperature in the room on sunny days is set within 20-25 ºC, on cloudy days - 18-20 ºC, and at night - 14-16 ºC. Make sure that with regular ventilation, the seedlings do not fall into a draft.

Watering the substrate is carried out with settled water at room temperature through a fine sprayer once a week, however, from the moment the seeds are sown in moist soil until the first true leaf appears in the seedlings, the soil is not watered. When the seedlings develop 5 true leaves, they switch to the irrigation regime once every 3-4 days. Be prepared for the fact that you will have to organize additional lighting for the seedlings, since they need 12-16 hours of daylight hours for normal development, but if you do not have this opportunity, feed the seedlings potash fertilizers in low concentration. When the seedlings have grown, add a layer of soil 1-2 cm thick to the boxes to provide stability to the seedlings.

Picking tomatoes

The picking of seedlings is carried out in the phase of development of two true leaves. There are directly opposite opinions about the need to pick tomato seedlings, and the adherents of each of them have their own reasons. To understand whether the seedlings really need this procedure, you can do an experiment: dive some of the seedlings by transplanting them after pinching the central root into a cup with a volume of at least 0.5 l (if you use a container of a smaller volume, you will have to dive the seedlings twice ), and for the rest of the seedlings, just pour a little soil into the container for stability. This simple experience will allow you to determine which of the seedlings develop better and whether the picking of the seedlings is really necessary.

Before diving tomatoes, moisten the soil in the container with seedlings. When picking, transplanting seedlings into cups can be carried out individually, or two seedlings can be planted in one container, and when they stretch to 10-15 cm, their stems are tightly tied along the entire length with a synthetic thread. When two stems grow together into one, the thread is removed, and you get a plant with a powerful stem and two root systems.

After picking, the temperature in the room where the seedlings are kept is raised for a week to 25-27 ºC on sunny days, up to 20-22 ºC on cloudy days and up to 14-17 ºC at night, then they return to the previous temperature regime.

Two weeks before planting, seedlings begin to prepare for the conditions in which they will grow in open ground: watering is gradually reduced, seedlings are exposed daily for a short time. Fresh air under direct sunlight, feed with a solution of 1 g of ammonium nitrate, 7 g of potassium sulfate and 4 g of superphosphate in 1 liter of water, carry out preventive treatment against diseases and pests with 1% Bordeaux mixture.

Growing tomatoes on a windowsill

At home, you can grow various vegetable crops - tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, bitter peppers and others. Light-loving tomatoes are best grown on a southern windowsill, as they need good lighting and are not afraid of even direct sunlight. In the autumn-winter period, when daylight hours become short, for the normal development of tomatoes, you will need an agro-lamp or a fluorescent lamp. For growing in an apartment, it is better to choose dwarf or undersized varieties, for example, Little Florida, Oak, Red or Yellow Pearl, Pinocchio, as well as Balcony Miracle, Bonsai and Bonsai micro hybrids.

Soil is poured into the cups, consisting of peat, sand, humus and sod land in equal parts, it is poured with boiling water, and when it cools down, the seeds are laid out on it. Sprouted seeds are placed in a glass one at a time, unsprouted - 2-3 seeds each. Deepen the seeds by 2 cm. Germinate the seeds by wrapping them in a damp cloth for several days, until tiny sprouts appear on them. But before the start of germination, the seed is checked for germination: it is dipped for 15 minutes in a light pink solution of potassium permanganate - during this time, viable seeds will swell and settle to the bottom, and unsimilar ones will float.

Cups with crops are kept at a temperature of 25-30 ºC covered with glass or film, and after 3-5 days, when the seedlings hatch, the containers are transferred to the windowsill, on which a device for additional lighting. Before watering the tomatoes, make sure that the top layer of the substrate is dry. To moisten the soil, a rubber medical bulb is used, filling it with settled water at room temperature and introducing water between the walls of the glass and the soil. Thus, you will not wash out the soil and will be able to avoid waterlogging of its upper layer. To moisten the soil, you can use the method of watering in the pan.

When the seedlings get stronger, they are transplanted into larger containers: undersized varieties three to five liter pots will be enough, and for tall tomatoes, dishes with a volume of 8-12 liters are needed. A layer of drainage is laid on the bottom of the pot, then a layer of sand 2 cm thick, a tomato seedling with an earthen clod from a cup is transferred into a pot and so much earth is gradually added so that the pot is filled and does not contain voids. The seedling is buried along the cotyledon leaves.

As the tomato grows, you will have to pinch it - remove the shoots that develop in the axils of the leaves. Do not use cutting objects for this, break off the stepchildren with your hands, leaving a stump of 10-20 mm. This procedure stimulates the development of the main shoots and greatly increases the yield of the bush. The optimal daytime temperature after tomato transplantation is 28 ºC, and the night temperature is 15 ºC. Water the tomatoes 2-3 times a week with settled water at room temperature, trying not to erode the surface of the soil. Once a decade, fertilize tomatoes with mineral or organic top dressing, but carefully monitor the concentration so as not to provoke the growth of greenery to the detriment of fruit formation. Watch for the stability of the stem and, if necessary, be prepared to tie the bush to a support. To make sure your tomatoes are pollinating, gently shake the plant a couple of times a week. When most of fruits will be formed, it is advisable to remove the top of the bush and flowering brushes. tomato bush at home, with proper care, it can bear fruit for five years, but the first two years are usually the most fruitful.

Planting tomatoes in open ground

When to plant tomatoes in the ground

Planting tomatoes in the ground is carried out in June, when the danger of frost passes and warm weather sets in. By this time, the seedlings develop a root system, flower clusters appear, the number of leaves reaches seven or eight, and the stem grows to a height of 25-30 cm.

The site for the further cultivation of tomatoes should be well lit and warmed up by the sun and be protected from the wind. It is good if cabbage, legumes, onions, carrots, beets, turnips and other root crops were grown on it as predecessors. If pepper, eggplant or potatoes grew on the site, that is, representatives of nightshade, then you can grow tomatoes on it no earlier than in three years.

soil for tomatoes

Tomatoes love soil rich in organic matter, while they have the ability to quickly select all nutrients from it, so humus or compost must be added to the soil for tomatoes in advance in the amount of 4-6 kg per m², as well as mineral fertilizers: phosphorus and potash 20 g each six months before planting tomatoes for autumn digging and 10 g nitrogen fertilizers in the spring in the year of planting. In October, the year preceding the planting of tomatoes, the soil on the site is dug up with organic matter, and the larger the clods of earth, the better, and in the spring of the year of planting, two loosening of the soil up to 10 cm deep should be carried out on the site with embedding nitrogen fertilizer. Subject to the annual introduction of organic matter into the soil in one area, it is possible to grow tomatoes for 2-3 years, after which it is necessary to take at least a three-year break.

How to plant tomatoes outdoors

Before planting seedlings in open ground, they dig holes in the area as deep as the glass in which the seedlings are located, and spill them well with water. The holes are placed in a row at a distance of 30-40 cm, an interval of 50-60 cm is maintained between the rows. Seedlings 30 cm high are planted in holes at a right angle, elongated specimens or seedlings of tall varieties are planted at an inclination with their apex to the south, immersing a quarter or even a third of the stem. The soil is compacted, watered, a peg is stuck near tall tomatoes, which the plant may need as a support. Approximate density of plants per 1 m²:

tall varieties and hybrids - 3-4 bushes;
varieties with limited growth of the main stem, as well as those that form only one stem - from 6 to 10 bushes;
varieties that form 2-3 stems on a bush - 4-6 plants.

Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse

Planting tomatoes in the greenhouse is carried out in the first decade of May. However, at this time it is still cool at night, so cover the greenhouse with two layers of film with a gap of 2-3 cm between them. After the onset of warm weather, and this can happen as early as early June, the top layer of the film can be removed. Keep in mind that tomatoes are not grown in a greenhouse at the same time as cucumbers, since the ventilation mode necessary for tomatoes, lower air humidity and keeping temperature are completely unsuitable for cucumbers. In addition, growing tomatoes requires constant light, the slightest shading from trees or bushes can adversely affect the future harvest.

Do not plant tomatoes in the ridges after the predecessors, or at least replace the top layer of soil 10-12 cm thick after them to avoid infection with anthracnose, then disinfect the soil with a boiling solution of a tablespoon blue vitriol in 10 liters of water. Vitriol can be replaced with two Oxychoma tablets. In preparation for planting, 3 tablespoons of double superphosphate in granules, a teaspoon of potassium nitrate or carbamide, a tablespoon of potassium magnesia and potassium sulfate and a couple of glasses of wood ash are added to the soil.

Seedling transplant standard size in greenhouse soil carried out according to the same principle and in the same order as planting in open ground, but elongated or overgrown seedlings are planted in this way: in the bottom of the hole, they dig another hole the size of a pot in which a long seedling grows. Here they install a peat pot in it or roll over an earthen clod with overgrown seedlings and bury only this lower hole, and leave the upper hole open. After two weeks, when the seedlings take root, it will be possible to bury the second hole. Why do they do it? The fact is that the plant on the stem section buried underground immediately begins to form additional roots and, wasting strength on this, takes root for a long time and poorly.

After planting the seedlings, it is not watered for two weeks, after this period the seedlings are tied to a support up to 2 m high and form single-stemmed plants with 7-8 flower brushes from them, ruthlessly removing all the resulting stepchildren and leaving only stumps 1- 2 cm. To be sure that the pollination of tomatoes will be successful, they resort to lightly shaking the flower brushes, followed by watering the soil or spraying the flowers with water from a fine sprayer. A couple of hours after shaking and spraying, in order to reduce air humidity, airing is arranged in the greenhouse. By the way, in addition to doors and side windows in a greenhouse for growing tomatoes, it is necessary to install ceiling windows so that condensation does not accumulate on the film. The fact is that too high soil and air humidity reduces the amount of sugar and dry matter in tomato berries, which makes them watery and sour. Before the formation of buds, tomatoes are watered once every 5-7 days at the rate of 4-5 liters per m², from the moment flowering begins, the amount of water per unit area during irrigation is increased to 10-15 liters.

The optimum temperature for tomatoes in a greenhouse is 20-22 ºC.

During the growing season, tomatoes will need 3-4 root dressings. The first top dressing is applied three weeks after the seedlings are planted in the greenhouse, and it consists of a tablespoon of nitrophoska and half a liter of liquid mullein dissolved in 10 liters of water. The second top dressing in the form of a solution of a tablespoon of complete mineral fertilizer and a teaspoon of potassium sulfate in 10 liters of water is applied two weeks after the first top dressing. The third time the tomatoes are fertilized after another two weeks, dissolved in 10 liters of water with two tablespoons of wood ash and one tablespoon of superphosphate. Fertilizer consumption is approximately 6-8 liters per m². If you need to speed up the filling (ripening) of fruits, during full fruiting, add 5 liters of such a solution to each m² of beds: 2 tablespoons of superphosphate, a tablespoon of liquid sodium humate per 10 liters of water.

Tomato care

How to grow tomatoes

Like any other horticultural crops, tomatoes in open ground need loosening the soil, weeding, watering and top dressing, protection from pests and diseases. Necessary measures care for tomatoes are also hilling and shaping bushes.

Loosening the soil between the bushes and between the rows should be carried out several times per season - every 10-12 days, in order to destroy the crust formed on the surface. Simultaneously with the loosening of the site, weeds that have appeared are removed. The first hilling of tomatoes should be carried out 8-12 days after planting seedlings in the ground, the next day after watering. The second time they water and spud the tomatoes two and a half or three weeks after the first.

And do not forget about the formation of bushes. In the conditions of Ukraine or Stavropol, for example, you can grow bushes with several stems, but if you have a cool climate, it is better to grow single-stemmed tomatoes, leaving 2-3 brushes on them and removing stepchildren, otherwise instead of harvesting tomatoes you will grow a crop of tops. First time side shoots they are removed 3 weeks after planting the seedlings in the ground, when they reach a length of 5-7 cm. Tall varieties not only stepchild, they also pinch the growth point in early August. And in climbing varieties, the lower leaves are removed, which reduces the risk of fungal diseases and provides light and air access to the plant, and, therefore, guarantees an earlier and higher yield.

Watering tomatoes

Growing tomatoes in open ground involves regular watering of plants. Tomatoes are watered into the wells, spending up to 1 liter of water per plant. It is better to do this in the afternoon or in cloudy weather. Be sure to water the tomatoes before loosening, during the flowering of the first and second brushes and after applying dry fertilizers. The best way to water tomatoes is drip. In this case, water enters the soil slowly, so there is no sharp fluctuation in air humidity, which can harm plants. In addition, water does not stagnate on the surface of the site, but is absorbed into the soil, which reduces the risk of fungal diseases.

The soil in the area with tomatoes can be mulched with black covering material - this measure suppresses the growth of weeds and retains moisture in the soil. Mulching the site with organic matter (grass, sawdust or peat) will attract earthworms that loosen the soil and produce in the course of their life necessary for plants humus. However, make sure that moles do not appear on the site after the worms, for which earthworms are food.

How to tie tomatoes

Tomatoes can be tied to stakes or to stretched trellises. It is better to place the stakes on the north side of the row, keeping the distance between them and the stems 9-11 cm. For the construction of the trellis, the stakes are hammered every 4 m, ropes or threads are pulled between them. Tying is carried out in three stages:

immediately after planting seedlings in the ground at the level of the first leaf;
at the level of the second brush;
at the level of the third brush.

Top dressing of tomatoes

The first dressing of seedlings is applied 10-12 days after planting the seedlings in the ground, and it consists of a mixture of organic and mineral fertilizers: 20 g of superphosphate is added to 10 liters of mullein solution (one part of slurry to 8-9 parts of water) - this amount should enough for 10 bushes of tomatoes. The second and third top dressings are applied after the first with an interval of two weeks: dry mineral fertilizers are scattered over the area at the rate of 20 g of superphosphate, 10 g of ammonium nitrate and 15 g of potassium salt per m². After that, the site is loosened, embedding fertilizers, and then watered.

Sometimes you have to watch the changes appearance plants, due to a deficiency or excess in the soil of one or another element. For example, tomatoes turn yellow, or rather, their leaves turn yellow or red, and the stems become brittle against the background of sulfur starvation. From a lack of boron, the stems of tomatoes turn black at the point of growth, the cuttings of young leaves become brittle, and appear on the fruits brown spots. Tomato leaves turn yellow and turn up from a lack of molybdenum, in which case the plant can even be affected by chlorosis, as in the case of iron deficiency, in which the leaves become almost white, and the tomatoes do not ripen and do not even grow. If you find such symptoms, you can get rid of the deficiency of one or another element by foliar top dressing containing the missing element.

Tomato processing

In a cool climate, tomatoes sometimes do not have time to ripen. How, then, to save the harvest, on which strength was spent and hopes were placed? How to process tomatoes to speed up their ripening? We offer you such a simple way: young pine shoots, aged in the refrigerator for a week, chop, pour water in a ratio of 1: 2, boil and simmer over low heat for 5-10 minutes. After the broth has cooled, strain it and dilute it with water in a ratio of 1:3. This composition should be sprayed with bushes during the formation of buds.

Pests and diseases of tomatoes

The most common diseases of tomatoes are late blight (common and southern), from which tomatoes dry, spotting (brown, brown, black and white), rot (white, stem, gray and top), mosaic, from which tomatoes crumble, verticillosis, tracheomycosis, streak and bacterial cancer. We will tell you about the symptoms of diseases, how to deal with these diseases, how to process tomatoes in order to save the crop, what processing agents can be used to rid tomatoes of diseases, and which ones are undesirable to use, we will tell you in a separate article. Now we want to remind you that if you follow the agricultural technology of a crop, you can almost certainly avoid its infection with all these diseases.

Of the pests of tomatoes, most often you have to deal with scoops, thrips, wireworms, sprout flies, slugs, bears and gall nematodes. You can read more about pest control in this article. We will only say that in any case it is preferable to use natural, time-tested folk remedies to get rid of pests - decoctions, infusions of herbs that have insecticidal, fungicidal and anti-feedant actions.

Collection and storage of tomatoes

Cut off all buds and flowering shoots on tomatoes three weeks before harvest to speed up the ripening of already formed fruits. Harvesting is carried out selectively, as the fruits ripen - not complete, but to brown, pink, yellowish, or milky. Such tomatoes ripen perfectly in a week or two, retaining an excellent taste and sweetness. Green tomatoes taken from the bush will also ripen, but will not be as tasty. You need to finish harvesting before the night temperature reaches 8 ºC, as at this temperature the risk of disease damage to tomatoes increases. Many gardeners try to pick tomatoes before the "cold dawn" so that the crop does not die.

However, each variety matures at its own time. For example, early-ripening varieties can be harvested in mid or late July, mid-ripening varieties ripen in late July or early August, late-ripening varieties in August-September. ripe tomatoes put spouts down in cardboard boxes or plastic boxes lined with paper, trying to ensure that each container contains no more than 12 kg of fruit, otherwise the pressure on the bottom row will be too strong. The shelf life of ripe fruits before processing, canning as a whole or eating is not more than a week.

Harvested and placed for ripening, brown and pink tomatoes ripen faster than milky white and green ones. Large, intact tomatoes, taken from the bush along with the stalks, are suitable for storage and ripening. Tomatoes are also ripened in cardboard boxes covered with lids. In the middle of the box put 3-4 ripe fruits that produce ethylene, which speeds up the process of ripening tomatoes. If you ripen tomatoes in wicker baskets or plastic boxes, you need to cover them with burlap or some other dense material that prevents ethylene from escaping. If you want your tomatoes to ripen as quickly as possible, keep them warm. Pink tomatoes ripen in 5 days, brown ones in a week, fruits that are in the degree of milky maturity - in 10 days. But to keep the tomatoes until mid-December, spread paper between the layers of tomatoes and keep them in a cool room - a glazed balcony is quite suitable for this, like a dry cellar or cold veranda. However, when long-term storage tomatoes must be sorted from time to time to prevent any one rotting fruit from infecting all the others.

Types and varieties of tomatoes

There are several classifications of tomatoes. The classification of the American scientist C. Rick divides tomatoes into 9 types. We have adopted the traditional classification, in which tomatoes are divided into only three types: ordinary tomato, Peruvian tomato, hairy tomato.

Currently, there are over 70 varieties and hybrids of the common tomato, and these are only tomatoes for open ground. According to the structure of the bushes, tomatoes are standard, non-standard and potato-shaped. Standard tomatoes are compact bushes, with thick stems, corrugated, medium-sized leaves on short petioles. This is a very large group of medium-sized and dwarf varieties and hybrids that form few stepchildren. The leaves of non-standard tomatoes are large, slightly corrugated, their stems are thin, lodging under the weight of the fruit. Non-standard tomatoes can be both tall and dwarf. Now the so-called semi-standard tomatoes have appeared - a cross between the described species. Potato tomatoes with large, potato-like leaves are rare.

There is a division of tomato varieties according to the type of bush growth into low-growing (deterministic) and tall (indeterminate). In this group, superdeterministic and semideterministic varieties are also distinguished. The subtleties of this classification are of interest only to professionals.

According to the time of ripening, tomatoes are divided into early, mid-season and late varieties.

The early varieties are

Irma- medium and large-sized tomatoes, ripening in 100 days, on a bush 50-60 cm tall, not requiring stepsoning, with good keeping quality - the variety is ideal for canning in its own juice, for autumn salads and whole-fruit freezing;
Zest- bushes 50-80 cm high with dense red heart-shaped fruits, weighing about 100 g, excellent taste - with sweetish watermelon pulp. Good for both salads and canning;
Butuz- height of the bush is 50-60 cm, the yield is high, the mass of red barrel-shaped fruits is 100-200 g, the taste and keeping quality are good.

Of mid-ripening tomatoes, such varieties are popular

bull heart- soft, juicy fruits of large and medium size, pink-red color with a thin skin and an excellent sweetish taste. Productivity is good, but the variety is susceptible to brown spot infection;
Lady fingers- a bush about 50 cm high, not forming stepchildren, with a small number of leaves and pear-shaped fruits of red color with dense, firm flesh - ideal for canning;
– Koenigsberg- a tall variety, reaching from 1.5 to 2 m with elongated red fruits in the form of an eggplant of excellent taste and weighing up to 300 g.

Late tomato varieties worth growing

De Barao- a powerful plant up to 4 m high with plum-shaped, even, dense fruits weighing up to 70 g of high taste. The variety is cold-resistant and shade-tolerant, intended for fresh consumption, whole-fruit canning and long-term storage;
The finish- a bush up to 75 cm high with fruits of excellent taste quality of orange-red color weighing up to 90 g. The variety is distinguished by productivity and resistance to verticillium.
Cherry- a well-known and beloved by many variety with excellent decorative and high palatability of small sweet fruits weighing up to 30 g, collected in a brush. They can be preserved directly with a branch. They are suitable for growing both in open ground and on a balcony or in a greenhouse.

We offer you a description of several unusual varieties of tomatoes, information about which you may find interesting.

pepper tomatoes, which are also called banana-shaped, differ not only unusual view but also exceptional taste. Popular varieties: Jersey Devil, Auria, Uncle Styopa.
ribbed tomatoes large-fruited and productive, they are similar in shape to a peeled orange, but with convex slices. Varieties: Tlacolula, American Ribbed.
orange tomatoes, containing more sugar, lycopene and beta-carotene than regular varieties are indicated for people allergic to red fruits. The most famous variety is Persimmon.
yellow tomatoes have a rich taste and a golden, pleasing to the eye color. They contain lycopene and a large amount of carotenoids. These tomatoes are also suitable for allergy sufferers. The best varieties: Golden Domes, Honey Drop, Wonder of the World, Goldfish.
white tomatoes they have an unusual taste - they have a lot of sugar and no acid. Varieties: White Snow, Bull's heart white, Snow White.
black tomatoes- leaders in the content of ascorbic acid, beta-carotene and other vitamins, they are also valued for their extraordinary taste qualities, however, unfortunately, these hybrids do not differ high yield in addition, they are not cold-resistant and at the same time ripen late, so they can only be grown outdoors in a warm climate. Varieties: Raj Kapoor, Gypsy, Black Prince, Blue Sky.
green tomatoes, which never blush, have a unique taste. The most famous varieties: Emerald Apple, Swamp.

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Types of tomatoes and proper cultivation, given the type of bush

Sowing and growing seedlings of tomatoes

Planting tomatoes outdoors

How to grow tomatoes with a good harvest

Getting seeds for sowing

seed germination

How to grow tomatoes: transplanting into the ground and care

Top dressing of tomatoes

How to help tomatoes in a cold summer

How to feed tomatoes in a cold summer

Diseases of tomatoes in cold summer

How to grow tomatoes: master class (video)

Growing in a greenhouse

Stage one - seedling preparation

Stage two - planting seedlings in a greenhouse

Growing tomatoes without watering (video)

Stage three - tying plants

Growing seedlings of tomatoes

planting tomatoes

Planting tomato seedlings in the ground

Tomato care

Pests and diseases of tomatoes

harvesting tomatoes

Varieties and hybrids of tomatoes

Early ripe varieties

Mid-season and mid-late varieties

Late-ripening varieties

Planting and caring for tomatoes (in brief)

Vegetable tomato (tomato) - description

Growing tomatoes from seeds

Sowing tomato seeds

Growing seedlings of tomatoes

Picking tomatoes

Growing tomatoes on a windowsill

Planting tomatoes in open ground

When to plant tomatoes in the ground

soil for tomatoes

How to plant tomatoes outdoors

Growing tomatoes in a greenhouse

Tomato care

How to grow tomatoes

Watering tomatoes

How to tie tomatoes

Top dressing of tomatoes

Tomato processing

Pests and diseases of tomatoes

Collection and storage of tomatoes

Types and varieties of tomatoes

The early varieties are

Of mid-ripening tomatoes, such varieties are popular

Late tomato varieties worth growing

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