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Tomato Bull’s heart can be called a well-deserved favorite of all gardeners. Probably, in the middle lane there is no such person who does not know the taste of this tomato. The Bull’s Heart variety has earned its popularity precisely because of its special taste: the tomato pulp is very sweet and fleshy. These tomatoes have many advantages, but they also have their drawbacks, features and requirements for growing conditions – the gardener should know about all this even at the stage of buying seeds.
Characteristics of the Bull’s Heart tomato and a detailed description of the variety can be found in this article. It will also talk about agricultural technology and the stages of growing these tomatoes.
Features
As already mentioned, these tomatoes are loved for their great taste. Indeed, no matter how hard the breeders fought, they failed to bring out a more saturated, fragrant and sweet tomato. Bull’s heart is a great tomato option for fresh consumption. This tomato is delicious on its own, you can eat fruits with salt and sunflower oil, they are good with sour cream or mayonnaise, excellent salads and aromatic sauces are prepared from heart-shaped tomatoes.
The characteristics of the Bull’s Heart variety are as follows:
- the tomato belongs to the determinant type, that is, the bushes stop their growth on their own, they do not need to be pinched. Usually the growth of a tomato is limited to three or four shoots with an ovary.
- Tomatoes Bull’s heart are tall, bushes are powerful, well branched. Sometimes the height of the tomatoes exceeds 170 cm, while the standard height of the bushes is about 100-120 cm.
- The ripening period of a tomato can be called late, since the fruits need from three to three and a half months for full maturity (120-135 days after the appearance of the first sprout).
- Agrotechnics of the Bull’s Heart variety is ordinary. You can grow these tomatoes both in the greenhouse and in the open field. Planted tomatoes seedling method.
- The shape of the fruit is elongated, may be flat. They are painted in crimson color, the flesh of the tomato is also bright crimson. There is little water in the Ox Heart Fruit, which is why they are so sweet, their taste is concentrated. The mass of fruits can be different, but they are all quite large, often reaching a weight of 400 grams.
- Variety Bull’s heart can not be called unpretentious. Still, this tomato loves the sun and heat, it does not tolerate high humidity, in many regions the fruits of the late variety do not have time to ripen. To grow large and tasty tomatoes, you will have to fertilize the soil well, as well as regularly water the beds with tomatoes.
- The yield of a variety is highly dependent on growing conditions. So, in the open field it turns out to collect up to five kilograms of tomatoes from each bush, and in the greenhouse you can harvest up to 12 kg of crop from one plant.
To date, several varieties of Bull’s heart are known., because breeders are trying in every possible way to diversify this unusual variety. Divide new hybrids according to the appearance of the fruit into:
- black;
- pink;
- yellow;
- white.
The above description indicates that the Bull’s Heart tomato variety deserves the attention of every gardener. This is also evidenced by the rave reviews of those who have already planted these tomatoes in their garden.
Cultivation
To grow a decent crop of tomatoes, it is not enough to take into account all the features and properties of a particular variety, you must also follow the rules of agricultural technology. This is not to say that the Bull’s Heart is a particularly capricious variety, but this tomato has its weak points, and this must be taken into account.
The disadvantages of the Bull’s heart include the following nuances:
- The need to tie bushes due to their high growth and large mass of fruits.
- Due to the fact that the bushes are very sprawling, they often do not have enough air, therefore, in the open field, the Bull’s Heart is planted with an interval of at least a meter between the bushes, and the greenhouse must be ventilated.
- The variety is able to withstand many diseases, but the Bull’s heart is often infected with late blight, therefore, it needs to prevent this fungal disease and follow the rules of cultivation.
- Tomato ripening dates are late, not in all climatic conditions the fruits will have time to ripen before the onset of autumn cold weather. The way out of this situation is greenhouses and greenhouses.
Preparing the seeds for planting
Like all late tomatoes, Bull’s Heart is sown for seedlings in early March. Tomato seeds need to be prepared for planting, then their germination will be higher, and the seedlings themselves will be healthier and stronger.
The preparation of Oxheart seeds is as follows:
- soaking seeds in melt water to stimulate growth. Getting melted water is simple: pour water from the tap into a plastic bag and freeze for several hours. When most of the liquid turns into ice, you need to drain the remaining water. Ice is melted and tomato seeds are placed in the resulting water. Keep them for 12-14 hours at room temperature.
- To disinfect tomato seeds, they are placed in a solution of potassium permanganate. The solution should be weak, pinkish. The seeds are kept here for a short time – 15-20 minutes, after which they are washed with running water.
- If expensive seeds are bought, you can use growth stimulants or feed them with special mineral complexes – this will significantly increase the number of sprouted tomatoes.
Prepared seeds of the Bull’s heart are laid out on a moistened cloth or cotton pad, cover the container with a lid and put in a warm place. After a few days, the tomatoes should germinate – the seeds will peck.
Planting seeds for seedlings
It is recommended to plant tomato seeds in a special purchased soil intended for seedlings. It is likely that there is soil in the store, the composition of which is ideal for Bull’s Heart tomatoes – you need to ask the seller about this.
The soil is heated to room temperature, laid out in plastic cups so that the layer of earth is uniform and is about 3 cm. Now the earth is watered with settled water at room temperature. Take the tweezers and lay out the seeds of the Bull’s Heart in each cup. Sprinkle the seeds with a thin layer of dry soil.
Containers or cups with tomato seeds are covered with a film or airtight lid and put in a warm place for germination. When the first sprouts appear, the lid is removed – this should be done gradually. Tomatoes are transferred to a cooler and brighter place (a window sill on the south side is perfect).
Tomato dive
When two true leaves appear on the seedlings of tomatoes, it is time to swoop down, that is, plant them in separate containers. Dive has a beneficial effect on seedlings: plant roots are strengthened, tomatoes become hardened, they are prepared for subsequent transplantation to a permanent place.
Before diving, seedlings need to be watered. After a couple of hours, the sprouts are carefully removed and transplanted into large containers with the same soil composition.
Planting seedlings of the Bull’s heart in a permanent place
If you plan to grow a Bull’s Heart in a greenhouse, you need to plant seedlings in the first days of May. The height of the tomatoes by this moment should be 20-25 cm, there should be 7-8 strong leaves on the bushes, the first buds of inflorescences can be observed.
Growing Bull’s heart in the open field, it is worth considering the climate of a particular region. As a rule, only gardeners in the south of the country grow this variety in the beds, in other areas it is better to prefer a greenhouse, since the tomato may not ripen.
The distance between the holes is not less than a meter. The depth of the hole should be such that 3-4 cm remain from the ground to the first leaves. It is better to water the seedlings less often, but more abundantly. Mulch or cardboard should be used to keep moisture in the ground.
Reviews
Conclusion
Bull’s heart is an excellent variety that has been cultivated in the gardens of the country for many years and has established itself as one of the most delicious and productive tomatoes. The fruits of this tomato are very tasty, but they cannot be preserved, as they are quite large. Juice from the Ox’s heart is also not made, since these tomatoes have a lot of sugary pulp.
Given all of the above, for their own needs, a gardener and his family will be enough for a few bushes of these tomatoes to get enough of fresh and tasty fruits.