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If you like to eat fresh vegetables from the garden before the onset of frost, then the tomato Alyosha Popovich will fulfill your dreams. The variety is quite new, but has already managed to establish itself as a high-yielding crop with tasty fruits, characterized by a long period of fruiting. The tomato is quite capricious, loves careful care. Outdoors can only be grown in warm regions.
Characteristics of a variety
Now we will try to consider the main characteristics and description of the Alyosha Popovich tomato variety, and also find out what vegetable growers think about the culture. Although there are not so many reviews about the tomato. The variety is a novelty, plus the conditions for its cultivation are limited. The tomato bears fruit before the onset of frost, and in the middle lane they begin early. We are not even talking about Siberia. In these regions, the crop will fully yield the crop only in the greenhouse. In the south, tomatoes can be grown outdoors without any problems. The cold here comes late, and before that time the culture manages to give all the fruits.
Alyosha Popovich belongs to the indeterminate group of tomatoes. Bushes grow up to 1,8 m high. The shape of the leaves is normal, as for most tomatoes. Adult plants are fixed to a support, otherwise the weight of the fruit will overwhelm them to the ground. Removal of stepchildren is mandatory. According to vegetable growers, a large tomato yield is observed when a bush is formed into two or three stems.
In terms of ripening, Alyosha Popovich belongs to mid-ripening tomatoes. After sowing the seeds, you can taste the first ripe tomatoes after three months. The fruits have a spherical shape with a slightly flattened top and a base near the stalk. Tomatoes are medium in size. Usually, the weight of the fruit varies from 160 to 200 g, but larger tomatoes weighing up to 300 g also grow. The tomato pulp is fleshy, juicy, and in a mature state acquires a uniform red color. Sometimes a pink tint may be present on the fruits. The walls of the tomato are even, only weak convolutions are observed near the stalk.
Tomato is more suitable for fresh consumption. The fruits are used to prepare salads, juice, to decorate dishes. Thanks to the fleshy pulp, thick paste and delicious adjika are obtained from tomatoes. In conservation, tomato is rarely used, but you can choose small fruits for seaming in jars.
The reviews found about the tomato Alyosha Popovich are most often positive. Although, there is a category of vegetable growers who want to get a huge harvest without investing labor and, moreover, quite quickly. Naturally, this variety of tomatoes will not work for such gardeners. The culture will bring a good harvest only with painstaking care. Tomato until late autumn throws out inflorescences. The fruits ripen gradually, unfriendly.
The video provides an overview of tomatoes, among which there is a variety Alyosha Popovich:
Positive and negative features of the variety
Based on reviews, photo of tomato Alyosha Popovich, let’s try to better characterize this variety. Traditionally, let’s start with positive qualities:
- Good immunity allows the tomato to fight common diseases. In particular, the plant is resistant to tobacco mosaic, as well as Fusarium.
- The variety is high yielding. Maximum from a plot of 1 m2 you can collect up to 15 kg of ripe tomatoes.
- Fruiting lasts until late autumn, until the first frost hits.
In addition to good qualities, the tomato has negative traits, and there are many of them:
- Variety Alyosha Popovich loves a lot of sunlight. In a shaded area, you can not even try to grow this tomato.
- The culture is sensitive to the weather. A bad summer, cold, rain, a protracted spring will affect fruiting. Under such conditions, the tomato will not give even half of its crop.
- The plant instantly reacts to the mistake made by the vegetable grower. Violation of the irrigation regime, improper feeding or bush formation will affect the withering of the tomato. Inflorescences may partially fall off or the ovary of fruits will stop.
Such serious shortcomings indicate that the Alyosha Popovich variety is not intended for lazy vegetable growers.
Ground requirement
This variety of tomatoes is recommended to grow seedlings. Store-bought seeds are usually disinfected and ready for sowing. If there are no corresponding marks on the package, it would be useful to dip the tomato seeds in a 1% manganese solution. This tomato variety is very sensitive to the composition of the soil. To grow strong seedlings, it is not enough just to mix garden soil with humus. You need micronutrient supplements. It is very difficult to accurately maintain all proportions at home, so it is easier to go to the store and buy a soil mixture.
An adult tomato also reacts to the composition of the soil, which can be seen in the yield. Variety Alyosha Popovich will give the maximum fruit if it grows on loamy or sandy soil. Before planting seedlings of tomatoes, the ground in the garden needs to be fertilized.
Seed sowing
The gardener determines the time for sowing tomato seeds for seedlings individually, taking into account the climatic conditions of his region. It is necessary to calculate in such a way that by the time the plants are planted in a permanent place, the earth should warm up well. Each conscientious producer of tomato seeds on the package indicates the date of sowing. It usually falls at the end of February beginning of March.
Before sowing, the soil mixture in containers is moistened. Tomato seeds are laid out in grooves in 2–3 cm increments. From above, the grains are covered with loose soil 1–1,5 cm thick. The soil is again watered from above from the sprayer, after which the container is covered with film or glass. In this state, they stand at an air temperature of +25оFrom until sprouts appear.
After the emergence of seedlings, they get rid of the shelter. The container is placed on the windowsill, plus artificial lighting is organized. When two full-fledged leaves grow in tomatoes, the plants swoop down in separate cups.
Planting tomatoes in a permanent place of growth
At the time of planting, the tomatoes have fully formed leaves under the first brush. By this time, the seedlings should undergo a hardening procedure. Planting tomatoes is carried out in the prepared soil. The procedure involves the introduction of humus and fertilizers. If the earth is heavy, sand is added to loosen it.
For the Alyosha Popovich variety, a planting pattern of 60×70 cm is recommended. Tomato bushes grow tall, but not sprawling. Thanks to the maintained distance, the grower has access to each tomato. Plus, good ventilation is provided, which reduces the risk of damage to plants by late blight.
Care instructions
To get a good harvest from a tomato, a vegetable grower will have to devote a lot of time to the culture. Cultivation errors will lead to plant disease. The fruits will grow small, sour and semi-dry.
If you decide to grow the Alyosha Popovich variety, you should adhere to the following rules:
- The tomato is very photophilous. Growing seedlings can not do without the organization of artificial lighting. Plants are even badly affected by shade.
- The soil under seedlings and adult tomatoes must be constantly loosened. Mulching gives good results. From this, the roots of tomatoes receive more oxygen.
- The culture is susceptible to frequent feeding. Store-bought fertilizers containing potassium and nitrogen, as well as organic matter in the form of humus, are suitable. You can use manure.
- Preventive measures must be taken, especially from the fungus. Solutions not only spray the aerial part, but also water the roots of tomatoes.
- A tall tomato requires stepsons. This is a prerequisite for a good harvest. To increase fruiting, the plant is optimally formed with two or three stems, but such a number of branches increases the foliage density. Green mass draws a lot of nutrients from the plant. Here you need to approach the formation individually. You can reduce the foliage by removing it or by growing a tomato with one or two stems.
- Weeds are the first enemy of a tomato variety. They should not be in the garden.
- In cold regions, even with greenhouse growing of tomatoes at night, plants are covered with agrofiber or film.
- Regular watering is useful for tomatoes, but you can not pour a lot of water to prevent silting of the soil.
Compliance with the rules for caring for a crop will enable the vegetable grower to grow the Alyosha Popovich variety in almost any region.
Pest control and disease prevention
The strong immunity of the tomato does not give the vegetable grower the right to relax. There are diseases and pests that can destroy the plant:
- Store-bought preparations serve as prevention against late blight. The most common is a solution of Bordeaux mixture. It is also necessary to ensure optimal ventilation of plantations and constantly loosen the soil.
- The Colorado potato beetle sharpens not only potatoes and eggplants, but also loves tomatoes. And in the course are leaves and fruits. You can fight the beetle by spraying the bushes with drugs or manually assembling the enemy. Deferred larvae are crushed together with the leaf.
- The whitefly causes considerable damage to the leaves of tomatoes. Sprinkling bushes with tobacco dust or ash will help get rid of the pest. There are also store-bought sprays.
- Aphids suck juice from leaves and young stems. The method of struggle is the same as with the whitefly. You can also spray tomato bushes with a solution of washing soap.
If a tomato bush is severely affected by a viral disease during an epidemic, it is almost impossible to cure it. It is better to remove such a plant, and fill the place where it grew with a disinfectant solution.
Reviews
Summing up, let’s read the reviews of vegetable growers about the tomato Alyosha Popovich.