Advantages and disadvantages of the Mammoth tomato

The variety of tomato varieties is amazing. Every season gardeners face a choice: use old proven crops or try new breeding achievements. The Mammoth variety was bred more than ten years ago. It has been successfully tested in different regions of Russia. The variety has not gained much popularity, but it has loyal fans.

Consider the advantages and disadvantages of the Mammoth variety and find out whether it is worth growing it.

Characteristics and description of the variety

Before growing a new variety, you need to know its main characteristics. This will save you from offensive breeding mistakes.

The main feature of the Mammoth variety is indicated by its name. It is famous for its large fruits weighing from 300 to 500 g. The tomatoes are sweet, pink and raspberry colored. But there are also unevenly colored tomatoes, the so-called "marble".

The fruits are semicircular, flattened, fleshy and starchy. There are few seeds in them and they are small. The cut may have white streaks.

Ripe tomatoes are soft, pronounced ribbed. Due to their size, they can crack.

The variety is early maturing, which is not typical for such large fruits. It is used for food and for preparing fresh vegetable salads. It is not suitable for preservation because of its size.

Bush characteristics:

• The bushes grow up to 2 m. To bring the shoot to such a height, it is necessary to grow them in two trunks.
• The leaves are dark green, medium to small in size. There are few of them, and the giant fruits on the bush are clearly visible.
• On the bushes, 4-5 brushes are formed, 3-4 tomatoes are tied on each. The normal output from one bush is 20 fruits. But what kind! The crop weight from one bush can be about 10 kg.
• The average time from sowing to fruit ripening is 110-115 days. Can be grown both in a greenhouse and in the open field.

Black Mammoth variety

There is a variety similar in characteristics - Black Mammoth... Refers to mid-season medium-sized species. Fruits are fleshy, dense, when ripe they have a maroon color. Fruit weight varies from 200 to 500 g. Large berries can crack.

A bush of the Black mammoth cultivar is formed into two to three stems. But to get giant fruits, farmers leave one stem. Tomatoes are not recommended to be used for harvesting, or canned in slices. Preferred use - fresh consumption in salads, making juices.

The rules of agricultural technology for growing the Black Mammoth variety are the same as for the Mammoth variety.

Pros and cons of the variety

Pros of the Mammoth variety:

• high productivity throughout the season;
• large sweet fruits;
• early maturity and early maturation;
• suitable for growing in any region;
• unpretentiousness - drought and heat resistance;
• resistance to diseases and pests.

Minuses:

• requires care - tying bushes, cutting off excess inflorescences;
• cracking of the largest tomatoes;
• not suitable for canning and long-term storage.

As you can see, the pluses of the variety outweigh its minuses. Disadvantages can be easily corrected if you pay attention to them in time, harvest on time and use the fruits correctly.

How to grow

We bring to your attention instructions for growing a crop from planting seedlings to harvesting.

Seedling period

So that all the seeds germinate and the seedlings do not die, follow basic rules.

Sowing Mammoth should be in late February - early March. In the beginning, it is better to germinate the seeds in a common box with soil. For this, the seed is pre-soaked in a solution potassium permanganate or in a growth promoter. Both can be purchased at garden and flower shops.

Then the treated seed is planted in the soil to a depth of 2 cm. The container is covered with film or glass and placed in a warm place until the first shoots. The soil does not require watering, but it is better to slightly moisten it with a spray bottle to prevent drying out. After the sprouts appear, the seedlings are placed in a well-lit place.

After the first true leaves appear, the seedlings must be dived into separate cups. Peat bogs are perfect.

Seedlings are watered as the soil dries. Organic and inorganic dressings are added 2-3 times.

Important! For subsequent acclimatization, the seedlings need to be hardened.

A couple of weeks before planting in the ground, the seedlings are taken out into the street. Hardening starts from 20-30 minutes, gradually increasing the time to several hours a day. This is how tomatoes get used to open air and temperature changes. If you plan to grow tomatoes in a greenhouse, hardening is not necessary.

Planting and fruiting

The breeders who bred the variety draw the attention of farmers that to obtain large mammoth fruits and high yields, the following activities must be carried out:

• prepare strong, healthy seedlings;
• plant it in the ground for 50-55 days;
• observe the distance between the bushes;
• be sure to timely pinching;
• monitor the number of brushes and inflorescences;
• fertilize and feed tomatoes regularly.

Saplings are placed in the garden with the calculation of three bushes per square meter. Add one tablespoon of fertilizer to each tomato hole. Usually it is a mixture of superphosphate and potassium sulfate.

Reference! In open ground, seedlings are planted at a distance of 50 cm. So the plants will not interfere with each other and take the nutrients they need from the soil.

Abundant watering for the Mammoth variety is not needed and even harmful. Excess moisture leads to cracking of the largest fruits. Watering once a week is enough.

Before watering, it is recommended to loosen the soil and remove weeds.

Observe the appearance of the tomatoes carefully. Ovaries will not form on weak bushes. This variety needs feeding all the time.

The most effective and harmless fertilizers are organic: manure, humus, chicken droppings, compost. They are diluted with water and watered with bushes. However, remember that a high concentration of fertilizer can burn the plant.

The yield and size of the fruit directly depend on the correct formation of the bushes. Keep track of the number of inflorescences and leave three to four flowers on each brush.

Attention! After the appearance of inflorescences from the bushes, it is necessary to periodically remove dry and dying lower leaves.

During the formation of fruits for their growth and rapid ripening, experts recommend using magnesium sulfate fertilizing.

Magnesium accelerates plant growth and increases yields. It improves the palatability of the fruit and the health benefits for the human body. Magnesium is harmless to plants and is part of chlorophyll.

Lack of sulfur is visible by the discoloration of the leaves. From dark green, they turn pale. If this sign is noticed, the bushes need to be fed.

Also nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus are used as fertilizers. Fertilize Mammoth tomatoes every two weeks. It is important to monitor the composition of fertilizers: nitrogen should be less than phosphorus and potassium.

Prevention of diseases and pests

The Mammoth variety is resistant to disease, but it is better to carry out prevention at all stages of cultivation.

Let's consider the main diseases of tomatoes.

In the first place in terms of prevalence are fungi. They attack the plant from the inside and outside. They parasitize on stems and leaves, reproduce by spores.

Major fungal diseases:

• late blight;
• blackleg;
• white leaf spot;
• fusarium wilting;
• different types rot (black, gray, white).

Methods for treating tomatoes from fungus:

• spraying seedlings with copper chloride;
• timely removal of dead leaves;
• fertilization of the soil with trichodermine a week before the intended planting.

The risk of fungal infections in seedlings can be reduced by paying attention to the soil. It is necessary to disinfect open ground and choose high-quality soil for seedlings (preferably in a store from a trusted manufacturer).

Another group of diseases is viral.

Causes of occurrence:

• infected seeds;
• insect vectors of diseases;
• contaminated soil.

Fighting viruses is more difficult and easier to prevent in the following ways:

• change of landing sites for seedlings;
• processing of greenhouses and seedling containers;
• insect control;
• weed control.

Bacterial diseases - bacterial black spot, brown leaf spot, columnar and others.

Ways to fight:

• use of quality antibiotics;
• purchase of quality seeds.

In addition to these diseases, tomatoes have other problems. They are associated with a deficiency of minerals in the soil and a violation of planting technologies.

Reviews of gardeners

Farmers who have already grown this variety are mostly happy with the result. Here are a few reviews.

Irina, Tambov: «Incredibly large fruits, as in the photo from the seed package, and high yield of the variety. A few bushes are enough for a large family to eat sweet tomatoes all summer. Grown in a greenhouse. I will plant next year too. "

Valentina, Penza: “Tomatoes have grown the way I like most - fleshy, without excess juice and with invisible seeds. Ideal for salads and main courses. It tastes sweet, you can eat it in a country style, just with bread and salt. "

Vyacheslav Ivanovich, Oryol: “I would not say that it is an early variety. Rather, mid-early. But here dependence on the region is possible. Maybe my conditions didn't suit this sort. The fruits are large, but not gigantic, unlike the declared ones. It tastes sweet. Color from pink to deep crimson. I used seeds from Aelita-Agro.

Conclusion

Mammoth tomatoes are large and high-yielding varieties and produce tasty, healthy, vitamin-rich fruits. The variety is suitable for different climatic conditions, cultivated in the ground and in greenhouse structures.

However, high yields are only achievable with proper care. Among the disadvantages of the culture is the short storage of ripe fruits. In addition, the mammoth is not suitable for canning whole fruits. Nevertheless, experienced gardeners appreciate this variety for its taste and use it in the preparation of salads and other dishes.