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If you have a summer cottage, most likely you have already grown tomatoes. This is one of the most common types of vegetables that almost everyone eats. The main thing in this matter is to choose the right variety that will suit the taste and will bear fruit well.
Varieties of tomato
There are many varieties of tomatoes. All of them are divided into 3 types:
- cherry tomatoes (mini tomatoes);
- medium-sized;
- beef-tomatoes (beefsteak or large-fruited).
Beef tomatoes include fleshy tomatoes that reach 150-250 grams. There are also larger fruits. If you remove the ovaries on the bush as much as possible, then the weight of the tomato can exceed 0,5 kg. This type of tomato is ideal for fresh salads. They are moderately sweet and juicy. They have a high content of solids, sugars and beta-carotene. Inside there are not two segments, like ordinary tomatoes, but 4, so they are easier to cut.
This species includes the Pink fleshy tomato. Like all representatives of the steak tomato species, it has its own characteristics that must be considered when growing. It is also worth considering the description of the Pink Fleshy variety of tomatoes (disease resistance, productivity, unpretentiousness to conditions) in order to understand whether it is worth planting it on your site or not.
Characteristic of the variety
This variety of tomato was bred by Altai breeders. It is classified as an early ripe variety, since only 90-110 days pass from the moment of germination to the full ripening of the first fruits. This factor distinguishes it from other types of tomato, and attracts more and more attention of gardeners.
Usually, these tomatoes ripen quickly and do not fall from gravity, due to their low stem. They can be safely grown outdoors. The stepchildren of standard tomato bushes ripen later and weaker than in other species. Therefore, they do not need pinching.
The height of the bushes “Pink Fleshy” reaches about 50-53 cm. So they are compact and stop growing very quickly. Usually, only a few inflorescences are formed on determinant bushes. But there is no need to worry that the harvest will be poor.
Tomatoes will not suffer from this in any way, and the yield of fruits, even in a small area, will increase significantly.
Such features of the Pink Fleshy variety provide high endurance.
Characteristics of fruits
Subject to all the rules of care, as well as the processing of plants to prevent possible diseases, after 90 days you can enjoy the first fruits of a tomato. From 1 m2 you can collect about 6 kg of tomato. The shape of the fruit is round, slightly flat. Tomatoes grow large and can weigh up to 350 grams. The section shows 4 segments, which is typical for beef-tomatoes. This makes slicing the tomato very easy. Due to the high content of solids, beta-carotene and sugars, the fruits are very fleshy and sweet. They have a pleasant taste and are beneficial to the body.
Most often, tomatoes of this variety are consumed raw and in salads. They can also be used for baking. Probably, the fruits are not preserved very often due to the fact that they are very large and simply do not fit into the neck of the jar whole. However, tomatoes are well suited for preservation, salads and sauces. For juice, it is better to use more juicy varieties.
Cultivation and care
The variety “Pink Fleshy” can be planted in open ground or under a film cover.
Sowing should begin in March-April. When the leaves appear, the seedlings must be transplanted into separate cups or a large box with a distance sufficient for development. After picking, the plants are fertilized with special mineral fertilizers. Water the tomatoes carefully. With an excess amount of moisture, the sprouts can stretch. One watering a day is enough, or just spray the soil to maintain moisture. Be sure to use warm, settled water. A week before planting in open ground, you can start hardening seedlings. The purpose of hardening is to accustom tomatoes to changes in air temperature and to ultraviolet rays. First you need to take the seedlings to the glazed balcony, and after a few days start opening the window for 15-20 minutes. Every day the airing time increases. 3-4 days before planting, you need to leave the plants on the open balcony for a day. Seedlings ready for moving to open ground should have 7-9 leaves and single flowers.
Tomatoes should be planted in a sunny but sheltered place. They do not tolerate the scorching sun very well. The soil for planting should be well warmed up.
In those places where potatoes, peppers or eggplants grew, it is better not to plant tomatoes.
The variety “Pink Fleshy” is planted at a distance of 40 cm from each other. The distance between the rows should be 50 cm. Tomatoes should be planted in the evening, when the sun is already setting. Fertilize the soil better in the fall. And before planting, you can additionally put fertilizer in the holes. This variety needs moderate watering and regular loosening of the soil. The peculiarity of the variety is that it does not need to be pinched. Tomato branches are well spreading and have a large number of leaves. In addition, stepchildren can also form ovaries and bear additional fruits.
Diseases and pests
The most common disease in the Pink Fleshy tomato variety is late blight. The risk of fruit infection is highest during rains, since late blight fungus spores are carried along with moisture. In hot weather, they quickly die. When a tomato is infected, the leaves are the first to suffer, they become covered with brown spots. The fungus then spreads to the stems and fruits of the tomato. After 2 weeks, the fruits begin to rot. To save your crop, you need to carry out prevention in advance. Advice! Usually, Bordeaux liquid or copper sulfate is used to treat infected tomatoes.
In order not to resort to poisons, you can from time to time treat tomato bushes with garlic tincture or a solution of potassium permanganate with various trace elements. Ordinary iodine, whey is good for these purposes (an acidic environment will prevent the fungus from multiplying).
Treatment of plants from late blight should begin immediately after planting and repeat every week. If the plants could not be saved and infection occurred, it is necessary to immediately remove the darkened leaves, and treat the bushes with special antifungal drugs. You can also use a 10% solution of common table salt.
There are a large number of tomato diseases, however, with proper care and regular prevention, they will not affect your crop. It is worth fearing precisely viral and fungal diseases that may appear from nowhere, infecting tomato bushes.
Fruit collection
You need to collect tomato fruits every 3-5 days.
If during the collection you notice inferior fruits, pluck them immediately. They will no longer become the best, but will only take strength from the bush.
According to the levels of maturity, tomatoes are divided into:
- Green.
- Dairy.
- Brown.
- Pink
Depending on how you use them, you can pluck the fruits at each of these levels. For further ripening, it is better to pluck milky-brown tomatoes, and for fresh consumption, of course, pink ones. Remember that for ripening, the fruits must be plucked along with the stalk, since when torn off, a wound forms on the tomato, where bacteria can then easily get through.
But after heat treatment, solanine is neutralized.
Reviews
To summarize
The pink fleshy tomato variety is gaining more and more popularity among gardeners. Due to their unpretentiousness and disease resistance, it will not be difficult to grow these tomatoes. They do not need a garter and pinching. The fruits are large and have excellent taste. And thanks to its early ripeness, by the end of summer you can enjoy an abundance of harvest.