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When planning to plant tomatoes, every gardener dreams that they will grow large, productive, disease-resistant and, most importantly, tasty. Beef tomatoes meet all these requirements.
What tomatoes belong to the beef group
This group of tomatoes is very diverse. They differ in color, size, strength of growth and maturity. But one thing unites them: all beef group tomatoes have many seed chambers, therefore, the amount of pulp significantly exceeds the total mass of juice and seeds. Most of the tomatoes in this group have few of them. Not without reason, translated from English, the name of the group – beef means meat. All of them have an excellent taste, in which sweetness prevails. They have more dry substances, vitamins and everything useful, for which these vegetables are valued: lycopene, beta-carotene, and anthocyanins in dark-colored tomatoes.
As a rule, steak tomatoes are poorly stored and transported even worse due to their thin skin. But when eaten, this disadvantage turns into a virtue – the skin in salads is not felt at all. It is unlikely that you will be able to eat beef group tomatoes bought in a store, since it is difficult to bring them and save them. Such tomatoes need to be grown in your own garden.
What are beef tomatoes good for
These tomatoes have many advantages. Among them:
- excellent taste;
- high content of vitamins and nutrients;
- a wide variety of varieties and hybrids;
- high yield;
- large fruits, there are champions up to 2 kg in weight;
- suitability for many culinary delights;
- good resistance to major tomato diseases.
In order not to get lost in a wide variety of varieties and hybrids, we will help you with the choice and recommend one of the best tomatoes in this group – Beefsteak, give it a complete description and description. The reviews of most gardeners about the Beefsteak variety tomato are positive, and the photo below gives a complete picture of its fruits.
Description and characteristics
The variety was created by the seed company Poisk. Other companies also sell its seeds: Aelita, Sibsad.
The tomato variety Beefsteak was included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2009 and is recommended for cultivation in all climatic zones.
Features of the variety:
- tomato Beefsteak belongs to indeterminate varieties, that is, not limiting their growth;
- tomato variety Beefsteak can be grown both in a greenhouse, where it grows up to 2 m, and in open ground, but here its height will be somewhat less;
- the bush at the Beefsteak tomato is powerful, it can grow up to 1 m wide, so plants should be planted sparsely to provide them with the nutritional area necessary for the formation of large fruits;
- in terms of ripening, the Beefsteak tomato belongs to the middle early ones, but, according to gardeners, it often behaves like a mid-season variety; the period from planting seedlings to the first ripe tomatoes is from 80 to 85 days;
- tomato Beefsteak requires shaping and garters, not only the bush itself, but also each brush;
- it gives the best results in regions with cool summers when formed in 1 stem with the removal of all stepchildren; in the south, you can also lead in 2 stems, where all the fruits will have time to ripen;
- the brush of the Beefsteak tomato is simple, there are up to five fruits in it, but they will be the largest if you leave no more than 2 or 3 tomatoes in each brush, and remove the rest of the ovaries;
- the fruits of the tomato Beefsteak are bright red in color, have a flat-round shape, often with noticeable ribs;
- the average weight of one tomato is about 300 g, but with proper care it can be much more;
- the skin of the Beefsteak tomato is thin, the seed chambers are up to 6, there are few seeds. Due to the thin skin, Beefsteak tomatoes are stored for no more than a week, and they are completely unsuitable for transportation.
- Beefsteak tomato fruits are intended for fresh consumption, they make delicious juice, they are suitable for preparing various dishes, primarily for pizza and sandwiches, you can make excellent preparations for the winter from them, you just have to cut them into pieces;
- the yield of the Beefsteak tomato is not bad – up to 8 kg per square meter. m.
Finishing the description and characterization of the Beefsteak tomato variety, it must be said that it has a high resistance to many tomato diseases. It is practically not affected by alternariosis, cladosporiosis and tobacco mosaic virus.
Agrotechnics
The future large harvest is laid at the stage of growing seedlings. It is then that the ability to tie a sufficient number of flower brushes is formed, and a Beefsteak, with proper care, can have up to 7 of them.
Therefore, everything must be done so that the seedlings do not stretch out, grow stocky and strong.
We grow seedlings
How to grow quality seedlings? There are several ingredients for success:
- properly selected and treated soil. It should not only be loose and breathable, the optimal nutrient content is the main condition for successful growth and proper development of plants. To ensure the health of seedlings, the soil is steamed or frozen, destroying all pathogens;
- seeds processed according to the rules. They need to be calibrated – only a large seed is able to give a healthy plant, pickle to destroy all possible pathogens, wake up with the help of growth stimulants, germinate to select only viable seeds;
- correct sowing: the depth of immersion of a tomato seed in moist soil is about 2 cm;
- greenhouse conditions before germination. In order not to lose moisture, the seed container is placed in a plastic bag, a constant temperature of about 25 degrees ensures keeping in a warm place;
- spartan conditions after germination. The temperature is about 16 degrees during the day and a couple of degrees at night – what is needed for the roots to grow and the stem not to stretch, the maximum amount of light will also contribute to this;
- comfortable conditions for growth in the future: the temperature is about 22 degrees during the day and a little colder at night, enough light, regular moderate watering with non-cold water, liquid top dressing with low concentration mineral fertilizer solutions 2 to 3 times during the growing season. Often, when growing seedlings, they maintain the desired air temperature, but they forget that the roots of tomatoes need warmth. A cold window sill is a common cause of poor seedling development. It must be insulated from drafts with foam or penofol;
- sufficient distance between plants, pots can not be placed close to each other, the struggle for light will lead to the inevitable stretching of seedlings.
Criteria for the readiness of seedlings for planting:
- age from 50 to 60 days;
- at least 7 true leaves;
- the presence of the first flower brush.
If by this time the soil in the greenhouse is warm, it is time to move the seedlings to a permanent place of residence.
Peculiarities of growing
Tomatoes from the beef group have certain requirements for keeping conditions. If they are not observed, you can not count on a good harvest of large fruits.
Planting rate for tomato Beefsteak – 3 plants per square. m. Even before planting, you need to provide everything for gartering a plant – pegs or trellises.
For a tomato of this variety, soil fertility is very important. To form a large crop of large fruits, the plant takes a lot of nutrients out of the soil. In the first phase of development, green mass is growing, so the need for nitrogen is high. With its lack of plants develop slowly and a large harvest from them can not be obtained. But with an excess of nitrogen, it can not be obtained at all. Not only does the rapid growth of shoots inhibit the laying of flower buds and the formation of a crop, plants overfed with nitrogen have weak immunity and become defenseless against pathogens of fungal diseases. Phytophthora begins to rage, from which it is very difficult to save plants.
Mulching plants with fresh sawdust will also help reduce the nitrogen content in the soil during overfeeding. They draw excess nitrogen from the earth for their decomposition. After 1,5 or 2 weeks, sawdust from the greenhouse must be removed.
In the stage of budding and fruit set, potassium should predominate in top dressing. At the same time, it is necessary to feed the plants with calcium nitrate – prevention of blossom end rot. Feeding is repeated after 2 weeks.
The soil should always be under a 10 cm layer of organic material mulch. It provides many advantages for plant development: stable soil temperature and moisture, maintaining its loose structure, preventing weed growth.
Proper watering is very important. If there is not enough moisture, plants experience stress, their development is delayed. With an excess of moisture, the content of solids and sugars in the fruit decreases, which adversely affects the taste of the fruit. High humidity in the greenhouse contributes to the development of phytophthora.
If you follow these simple rules, you can hope for the maximum yield of tasty and large fruits.
You can see more about the characteristics of the Beefsteak tomato variety in the video:
