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Once upon a time, a fresh tomato in the middle of winter seemed exotic. Now the store shelves are filled with tomatoes all year round. The variety of colors, sizes, shapes is simply impressive. But there is no difference in taste, basically it is mediocre. Yes, and how to demand from a tomato that lived in greenhouse conditions that it compares in taste with a vegetable grown in the summer in the wild.
What should be the best tomatoes
For personally planted tomatoes, the requirements of the farmer are increased. You won’t get the usual taste here. The tomato should be such that from one appearance the saliva flowed.
Sugar on a break, with a large amount of dry substances that give a rich taste, the tomato just asks for the table. These are all the tomatoes of the “sugar” series from the company SEDEC. Bred at different times, they differ not only in color, but also in terms of ripening. One thing is constant: the rich, sweet taste of the vegetable. Tomatoes of the “sugar” series belong to the steak group and have all the advantages of beef tomatoes:
- rather big size;
- a large number of seed chambers;
- rich taste, dominated by sugars;
- good yield;
- resistance to tomato diseases.
Let’s talk in more detail about one of the representatives of sweet tomatoes – brown sugar tomato. This tomato stands out from the entire series not only for its unique color, but also for its high content of anthocyanins. Such a vegetable has special benefits for the body. Let’s make a detailed description and characteristics of the Sugar brown tomato variety and admire its photo.
Sugar brown tomato was bred by SEDEC. It was registered in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2009, like other tomatoes of this line of varieties: white sugar and red sugar. In 2010, Pink Sugar was added to them, and in 2015 – Raspberry Sugar F1. These tomatoes can be grown in all climatic zones of our country.
Features of the variety:
- it belongs to the indeterminants and does not stop its vegetation itself as long as the weather conditions permit, the gardener will have to make sure that all the tomatoes that have started ripen;
- originators position this variety as mid-season, but, according to those who planted it, it is rather medium-late, since the first fruits ripen only 4 months after germination;
- it is possible to grow brown sugar tomato varieties in the open field, but it works better in a greenhouse;
- in greenhouse cultivation, brown sugar tomato can grow up to 2 m, and with good care, up to 2,5 m, so a garter is required. This variety of tomato shows the best results when kept in 2 stalks, so stepping for it is a mandatory procedure.
- the tomato brush is simple, up to 5 fruits are tied in it, the first inflorescence is laid under the 8th or 9th leaf;
- the fruits of this variety can have both a cuboid and flat-round shape, the color of the tomatoes is very beautiful – reddish-brown, the weight of each fruit reaches 150 g in the first brush, on the rest they are slightly smaller;
- the purpose of tomatoes is universal: they are good in salads, for making sauces, juices and any preparations for the winter;
- fruits have many seed chambers and, as a result, more tasty pulp and few seeds.
To give a complete picture of the plant and complete the description of the Sugar brown tomato variety, it must be said that it is cold-resistant, ripens almost to frost, giving a good yield – from 6 to 8 kg per square meter. m.
Agrotechnics tomato
Brown Sugar tomato seeds can be bought at almost any store, but collected from plants grown in your garden, they will already be adapted to certain growing conditions, the main of which is the composition and structure of the soil. Plants grown from their own seeds will develop better and give a consistently high yield, they resist diseases well, and finally, the germination rate of such seeds, unlike store-bought ones, is much higher.
Tomato is a facultatively pollinated plant, that is, only flowers growing nearby are pollinated by pollen. But in hot weather, the situation changes, and neighboring plants can also pollinate. Often, gardeners grow different varieties of tomatoes in close proximity, so as not to collect seeds from a pollinated tomato variety, that is, a hybrid, you must adhere to the following rules:
- choose a strong brown sugar tomato plant that fully meets the varietal characteristics in advance and take good care of it;
- choose for seeds the fruit from the lower brush, most of all corresponding to the varietal description; the flowers on the rest of the flower brushes have a high probability of cross-pollination, since they bloom at the time when bees and bumblebees are most active, and no one will prevent them from flying into the greenhouse;
- the fruit is plucked in full ripeness or slightly unripe, but by no means overripe – the strongest seeds in it can germinate, and as a result weak offspring will be obtained.
Selected and dried seeds should be sown on seedlings. In a tomato variety Sugar brown seedlings by the time of planting should be 60 days old. For planting in greenhouses under polycarbonate, seeds should be sown already at the end of February, in film greenhouses – at the beginning of March, and for open ground – closer to its end.
Rules for getting good seedlings
For tall tomato varieties, including Brown Sugar, it is very important that the seedlings do not stretch out, otherwise this will affect the yield. To prevent this from happening, you must strictly adhere to the following rules:
- carry out a complete processing and germination of seeds – dressing, soaking in a biostimulant solution;
- sow seeds in fertile loose soil, similar in composition to the ground in your garden;
- reduce the temperature for the shoots that have appeared for several days, it should not be higher than 16 degrees during the day;
- provide the maximum amount of light for the entire time of growing tomatoes;
- a week after germination, increase the temperature and maintain it within 23 degrees during the day and a little cooler at night;
- do not water too often, but do not let the soil dry out completely;
- pick the sprouts when they are just about to release the third leaf;
- keep tomato plants from starving Sugar brown and provide 2 or 3 top dressings using a weak solution of complete mineral fertilizer;
- keep warm not only the “head”, but also the “legs” of tomatoes, for this, insulate the window sill so that the soil temperature is not below room temperature;
- keep some distance between the pots of tomatoes. Competing for light, seedlings will inevitably stretch.
- accustom plants to the open air gradually, so that by the time of planting they acclimatize.
Post disembarkation care
The soil in the beds and in the greenhouse is prepared in the fall. Organics are introduced, but not fresh manure, from which the tomatoes fatten and grow tops instead of fruits. Phosphate fertilizers are also supposed to be applied in the fall, they are poorly soluble, they will be transferred into a form convenient for plants by melt water. But nitrogen and potassium fertilizers are applied during the spring loosening of the soil.
Acidic soils require lime. They do this in the fall, but not simultaneously with the introduction of organic matter, otherwise it will lose a lot of nitrogen.
Scheme of planting tomato plants Sugar brown – from 40 to 50 cm between plants and about 50 cm between rows. The soil under the tomatoes planted in the greenhouse must be immediately mulched to ensure a comfortable existence for them.
Further care includes the following:
- moderate watering before fruit filling – once a week, but with complete moistening of the entire root layer; when the fruits begin to pour, the frequency of watering increases to 2 times a week. In order for the dry matter content in the fruits of the brown sugar tomato to remain high, it is impossible to be zealous with watering, otherwise they will become watery and greatly lose their taste.
- top dressing with a full complex fertilizer intended for tomatoes; their frequency depends on the fertility of the soil in the greenhouse, plants are usually fed once every 10–14 days;
- the formation of plants in 2 stems; for this, all stepchildren are removed, except for one, located under the first flower brush – from it the second shoot is formed;
- preventive treatments against phytophthora.
You can see the benefits of brown sugar tomato varieties in the video:
