Tomatoes: how to grow a good crop

There are currently about 3 tomato varieties in the State Register of Breeding Achievements, and their number is growing every year. They are of different shapes, sizes and for different purposes – salad, pickling, cherry. Different maturity and different height. And all this leaves an imprint on the features of care. Each group of varieties needs its own approach. Let’s find out what needs to be done to get a good harvest of sweet and fragrant fruits.

Growing tomatoes

Tomatoes are heat-loving plants (1), so they are usually grown through seedlings. In the southern regions, where the summer is hot and long, they can be safely planted in open ground. In the northern regions, it is better to grow tomatoes in greenhouses – this is a guarantee of a good harvest. Moreover, you need to choose early or mid-ripening varieties – they will definitely have time to give out their full potential.

The plot for tomatoes should be sunny – they love an abundance of light. The soil is fertile (2).

planting tomatoes

In the middle lane, tomato seeds are sown for seedlings in 3 terms:

• late varieties – at the end of March;
• mid-season varieties – in early April;
• early varieties – in mid-April.

In the southern regions, as well as in the north in greenhouses, early and ultra-early varieties can be sown directly on the beds, without seedlings – this is done at the end of April. With this method of sowing, tomatoes ripen a little later, literally for a week or two, but you don’t have to bother with seedlings.

Seeds for seedlings or in open ground are sown to a depth of 1 – 2 cm.

There is another way to sow tomatoes – before winter. In this case, not seeds, but whole fruits are sown in open ground. Do it in early November. Beds with tomatoes in the winter are mulched with sawdust or peat with a layer of 10 cm. In the spring, in mid-April, the mulch is removed. And usually at the end of April sprouts appear – they sprout in a bunch, since all the seeds were in one tomato. Seedlings will need to be covered with a non-woven fabric, and when they have a couple of true leaves, they will need to be planted on the beds.

With the classical method of growing, tomato seedlings are planted in open ground in early May – under cover with a film or non-woven fabric. Or in early June, when the danger of return spring frosts has passed – in this case, shelter is not needed.

Tomatoes can be planted in the greenhouse from mid-April.

When planting seedlings, it is useful to deepen it into the soil by 3-4 cm (3), as a rule, this is up to the first true leaves – then additional roots form on the shoot, which will help the plants to better extract nutrients and water from the soil.

Caring for tomatoes outdoors

Tomato care includes 3 important activities:

• watering;
• top dressing;
• bush formation.

Watering. Tomatoes love abundant watering, but not all summer. Water them like this:

• from the moment of planting in open ground or a greenhouse until the beginning of the formation of fruits – 1 liter per plant once a week;
• during the pouring of fruits – every 5 days, 3 liters per plant.

Tomatoes should be watered strictly under the root (4) so ​​that water does not fall on the leaves – this will increase the risk of developing diseases. And it is better to do this in the morning, so that by the evening, when it becomes cool, the soil surface is slightly dry – this again reduces the possibility of pathogen reproduction.

When the fruits begin to sing, watering is stopped, otherwise the tomatoes will begin to crack.

If it is not possible to water the tomatoes every 5 days (this problem occurs with weekend summer residents), the beds should be mulched and best of all with hay – it will retain moisture in the soil longer and protect plants from fungal diseases, since a hay bacillus develops in hay, which suppresses development of pathogens.

Feeding. There are different schemes for feeding tomatoes, but, in fact, they only need 3 top dressings per summer:

• when planting in a hole – half a bucket of humus or rotted compost;
• during fruit growth – 5 teaspoons of ammonium nitrate and 4 teaspoons of potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water, watering rate – 3 liters per plant;
• 20 days after the second – the same fertilizers in the same doses as in the second top dressing.

Bush formation. It all depends on the type of growth of tomatoes, and on this basis they are divided into 3 groups:

• superdeterminant (undersized);
• determinant (with limited growth);
• indeterminate (with unlimited growth)

Superdeterminant tomatoes are the shortest, they lay only 3 flower brushes on the main shoot and give very few stepchildren, so in principle they can not be stepchildren. But it’s better not to let the plants take their course – the extra shoots will take away the nutrients from the bush, and the fruits on them may not have time to ripen if the summer turns out to be short. Therefore, it is better to leave 2 shoots on each plant: the main and lowest stepson (for open ground) or 3 shoots each: the main and two lower stepsons (option for greenhouses).

Determinate tomatoes have an average height and are characterized by limited growth – after they form 3 – 6 fruit brushes, they stop growing. Such tomatoes are usually formed in two ways – this also depends on where they grow: in open ground or in a greenhouse. On the beds, they are usually formed into one shoot – only the main one is left. On the side in a short summer, the crop may not ripen. And in greenhouses, you can leave 3 shoots – the main and two lower stepchildren.

Indeterminate tomatoes are the tallest, they can reach a height of 1,5 – 2 m and would grow indefinitely if frost did not kill them in autumn. Another feature of these varieties is that they lay the first flower brushes very high, only over 10-12 leaves. Therefore, they are formed exclusively in one shoot – on stepchildren, the fruits will not have time to ripen even in greenhouses. In addition, for such tomatoes, it is necessary to normalize the number of fruit brushes: only 5 are left in the open field, 7 in the greenhouse. 1 leaf is left above the topmost one, and the top is cut off. And throughout the summer it is necessary to cut out all stepchildren.

Harvesting tomatoes

Tomatoes on the bushes ripen unevenly – first tomatoes ripen on the lower brushes, then higher and higher. Therefore, they need to be removed gradually, as they mature. If the fruits are planned to be taken somewhere, then it is better to shoot them a little unripe – so they will not wrinkle on the road. If tomatoes are intended for eating right now or for juice, then they must be harvested at full maturity.

It is desirable to harvest the crop completely before the moment when the air temperature begins to drop below 7 ° C – the fruits in such weather cease to ripen.

Harvesting is best done in the morning, after the dew has come down – at this time they are the most juicy and fragrant.

Tomato storage rules

Tomatoes can lie for some time in the apartment, depending on the degree of ripeness. There are four in total:

• dairy: the fruits have reached their typical size, but have not yet begun to turn brown – they ripen for 10 – 17 days;
• blange: the fruits begin to lighten, their top is barely stained – they ripen in 7-10 days;
• technical: the fruits are brown and begin to acquire their typical color for the variety – these are ripened for 5-6 days;
• biological: the fruits are fully ripe and have acquired their typical color.

Knowing these features of fruit ripening, you can guess the shelf life, for example, bring fruits from the garden in milky ripeness and get ripe tomatoes in 2 weeks.

Ripe and brown tomatoes can be stored in the refrigerator. Shelf life depends on temperature:

• at 1 °C – 2 – 4 weeks;
• at 4 – 6 ° C – about 10 days.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about growing tomatoes with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Pantielev Ya.Kh. ABC vegetable grower // M .: Kolos, 1992 – 383 p.
2. A group of authors, ed. Polyanskoy A.M. and Chulkova E.I. Tips for gardeners // Minsk, Harvest, 1970 – 208 p.
3. Shuin K.A., Zakraevskaya N.K., Ippolitova N.Ya. Garden from spring to autumn // Minsk, Uradzhay, 1990 – 256 p.
4. Gavrish S.F. Tomatoes // M.: NIIOZG, publishing house “Scriptorium 2000”, 2003 – 184 p.