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With the approach of spring, gardeners are again thinking about planting vegetables, including tomatoes, on their plot. Since the varietal assortment is huge, it is very difficult to make a choice even for experienced vegetable growers. As a rule, they grow not one, but several varieties of tomatoes, so that later they can decide which is more suitable.
Many tomatoes on the market are still newbies, not everyone knows their pros and cons, so you have to experiment. It is clear that it is better to know the correspondence to the description and characteristics of a certain variety after its testing. We want to help gardeners and present Labrador tomato variety to their judgment.
Variety description
The Labrador tomato variety is relatively young, but it already has a lot of fans. This is due to excellent properties. It should be noted that at present Labrador has not yet been included in the State Register of the Federation. But vegetable growers who planted a variety on their plots speak positively about the Labrador tomato.
Since Labrador tomatoes are newcomers to the vastness of Our Country, it is necessary to imagine what kind of plant it is. We will give a description of the bush and fruits, and also name the possibilities of using tomatoes.
Bush description
According to the characteristics and description of the variety, Labrador tomatoes are not hybrids. This is a determinate plant with early maturation. As a rule, 78-105 days pass from germination to the removal of the first fruits. The gap, as you can see, is rather big, it all depends on the climatic zone in which Labrador tomatoes are grown, as well as on the planting site. After all, tomatoes can be grown in open or protected ground.
Tomato bushes are low, sprawling, powerful. In adulthood, Labrador tomatoes are slightly more than 50 cm (slightly higher in the greenhouse). The stem is strong, with a large number of shoots. There are few leaves on the variety, they can be green or dark green.
The inflorescences of the Labrador tomato are simple brushes. The first of them appears above the seventh leaflet. Then they form through the leaf to the very top of the shoot. There is no need to pinch tomatoes of the Labrador variety, since it limits itself in growth, as gardeners say, it is done.
We propose to save a memo about the Labrador tomato, which gives a brief description and characteristics of the variety. It will be useful not only for beginner gardeners, but also for people with experience.
Description of fruits
Fruiting is plentiful, because up to 10-15 fruits are tied on one brush. They are rounded, reminiscent of the shape and original color of an apple. The fruits are not ribbed, smooth. The weight of each of them is about 80 grams, but there are also a little heavier. Some specimens grow up to 120 or even 150 grams.
The return of the crop is friendly, it can be clearly seen in the photo. This feature is noted in the reviews of vegetable growers. Moreover, the yield is almost the same both in ordinary ridges and in greenhouses.
The skin of Labrador tomatoes is thin. The fruits themselves are fleshy, juicy, not multi-chambered. At technical maturity deep red. The taste, according to the reviews of those who planted, is excellent, sour-sweet. You could say it’s a classic.
Characteristic of the variety
As can be seen from the description, and also, according to gardeners, Labrador tomatoes have many advantages that add popularity to the variety.
We present them now:
- Early maturity. When grown in seedlings, the crop in the greenhouse can be harvested in June. Fresh tomatoes on the table will appear before the fruits on other varieties begin to ripen.
- Ability to plant in open and protected ground.
- Stable yield from year to year, from 2,5 to 3 kg from each bush.
- Excellent taste and wide use in cooking: in salads, for making juice, tomato paste, as well as canning in pieces (photo). Salads for the winter are awesome.
- Temperature fluctuations do not negatively affect either the growth or the yield of the Labrador tomato variety. Almost all flowers are tied under any conditions.
- Plants are easy to care for, and they don’t need to be pinched or tied to supports. Although in fact, due to the severity of the fruit, the plants may fall. So you still have to tie it up.
- The plant has excellent immunity to fungal and viral diseases that affect neighboring tomato varieties. Thanks to early ripening, the variety, as gardeners say, “manages to escape” from phytophthora.
- If Labrador tomatoes grew separately, you can collect your seeds, as varietal qualities are preserved.
Of course, it is difficult to find a tomato variety that does not have any flaws. There are they, in accordance with the description and, according to the reviews of gardeners, and Labrador tomatoes:
- short shelf life;
- difficulties with transporting ripe tomatoes due to thin skin, which is why they need to be plucked blanched;
- difficulties with canning whole fruits: the skin bursts.
In the open field above the plantings, you can make a greenhouse for planting plants in the early stages. And if the bed is also warm, under the covering material, as in the photo, then the tomatoes feel comfortable even when the temperature drops.
As you can see, the variety is wonderful, especially since tomatoes can be grown in a seedless way, sowing seeds immediately in a permanent place.
Description of the tomato Labrador of a gardener in love with him:
Cultivation and care
A good harvest of Labrador tomatoes can only be obtained if healthy seedlings are grown.
Preparation of seedlings
To obtain an early harvest, sowing seeds for seedlings is done 55-65 days before planting tomatoes in the ground. This is the last decade of March and the first decade of April.
For sowing tomatoes for seedlings, you can use a ready-made soil mixture enriched with the necessary elements, or prepare the soil yourself. They take garden soil, add peat, sand, dolomite flour, wood ash and humus to it.
For three days, the earth is poured with boiling water, adding a few crystals of potassium permanganate to it. To make disinfection more effective, boxes with earth can be covered with a film.
Seeds, if they have not been processed under the conditions of a seed company, are also processed. There are different ways:
- in a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate;
- in aloe juice;
- in Fitosporin solution.
Then rinse the Labrador tomato seeds in clean water and lay them out on a napkin to dry.
Seeds are sown to a depth of no more than 1,5 cm, with a step in the groove of 1 cm. The next groove is made after 3 cm. In this case, the seedlings will feel comfortable until the pick itself. A piece of cellophane is pulled over the boxes and put away in a warm and lit place. With the advent of the first hook, the shelter is removed. Water Labrador tomato seedlings as needed.
They dive as usual when three true leaves appear on the Labrador variety tomatoes. Further care of seedlings consists in watering, surface loosening of the soil. You can feed tomatoes at the seedling stage by extracting their wood ash.
Landing in the ground
When the soil warms up to +17 degrees, seedlings can be planted. It is pre-hardened. When planting tomatoes in open ground, choose the ridges on which they have grown before:
- eggplant and peppers;
- garlic and carrots;
- cucumbers and cabbage.
These predecessors do not suffer from late blight, which will help to avoid the disease of Labrador varieties of tomatoes.
If the seedlings were planted in open ground, then you need to worry about sheltering the plants for the night, because the spring weather is unpredictable.
It is advisable to plant Labrador tomatoes in two lines. Holes are made at a distance of 40 cm, between rows – up to 60-70 cm. According to the rules, 5-6 bushes are planted in one square place.
Watering
After planting, watering is carried out after 3-4 days. It is advisable to carry out mulching: this will retain moisture, relieve loosening and weeding.
The photo shows the mistake of gardeners.
If you water the tomatoes irregularly, then the plants can be affected by phomosis (brown rot of the fruit), cladosporiosis (brown spot), fruit cracking, and verticillium wilt of the leaves.
Additional fertilizing
You need to feed the plants during the growing season several times:
- The first time Labrador tomatoes are fed when planting. Before digging the soil, up to 20 kg of humus or compost is added, 2 liters of ash for each square of the bed.
- Tomatoes are fed three times with the special fertilizer “Sudarushka” and so many times with the universal fertilizer “Universal”.
- Dusting bushes with dry wood ash or watering with infusion gives the plant almost all the necessary trace elements.
Foliar top dressing can be done using boron-magnesium fertilizers. Plants respond well to top dressing with iodine solution both on the leaves and under the root. In addition, when spraying with an iodine solution, the likelihood of late blight is reduced.
Despite the fact that the Labrador tomato variety is resistant to diseases, preventive measures must be taken. Indeed, in addition to this variety of tomato, other tomatoes are also grown on the site, which often get sick. Preventive treatment is carried out with special preparations.
