A universal variety of tomatoes for salads, pickling and drying - "Metelitsa" tomato

The variety of tomatoes for your garden should be selected taking into account the plans for the harvest. When planting, it is important to know whether you are going to use tomatoes in salads and other dishes, will you salt or dry them. What if you have a small area and it is difficult to place many beds of different varieties of tomatoes? You have to choose - plant more tomatoes for pickling, salads or drying.

Fortunately, at the beginning of the 21st century, the Siberian Research Institute of Plant Production bred a tomato variety - Metelitsa. Tomatoes of this variety are suitable for salads, and for pickling, and for pickling, and drying - they even make tomato jam from them.

Tomato Blizzard characteristics and description of the variety

Tomato Blizzard is not a hybrid F1.

It is included in the State Register and is recommended for cultivation in the open air, although it gives a good harvest in greenhouses. The fruits ripen in 105-108 days from the moment of sowing seeds for seedlings.

Blizzard is determinant a variety with a height of 45 to 70 cm, does not require pinching. The inflorescences are simple, 5-6 fruits are formed on each of them.

Blizzard tomatoes are flat-rounded, slightly ribbed, red. The average weight of fruits varies from 60 to 100 g. They are covered with a smooth skin, under which a dense fleshy pulp with four nests of seeds is hidden. The sugar content of the fruit is from 1.9 to 2.9%. Dry matter in fruits is 4.2-4.6%. The taste of the fruit is pleasant with a slight sourness.

The yield of the variety differs from region to region and growing conditions. In the Ural region, from 172 to 244 centners of tomatoes are harvested from one hectare of planting, and from 72 to 487 centners per hectare in the West Siberian Territory.

Distinctive features

The Metelitsa tomato is distinguished by:

• high resistance to the most common diseases;
• yield up to 17-20 kg per square meter;
• the yield of marketable fruits is 97%;
• cold resistance;
• versatility of use;
• the possibility of long-term storage.

How to grow seedlings

Tomato is a thermophilic culture with a long growing season. In central Russia, it began to be grown from the end of the 18th century thanks to the famous agronomist Andrei Timofeevich Bolotov. After lengthy research, A.T. Bolotov has developed a technology for growing tomatoes that is not much different from the modern one.

A.T. Bolotov identified three stages in growing tomatoes:

• getting seedlings in rooms or greenhouses until the last spring frosts;
• growing plants from seedlings in open ground before the onset of cold weather;
• ripening fruits at room conditions.

Thanks to the modern achievements of breeding, the third stage (ripening of fruits in room conditions) can be skipped, since the fruits of the Metelitsa variety, when properly grown, ripen on the bushes.

Seed preparation

Growing seedlings begins with preparing the seeds for sowing. To do this, select large, full-weight seeds and in small portions, stirring, immerse them in a 5% solution of table salt (50 g of table salt per 1 liter of water).

After 2 hours, full-weight seeds sink to the bottom, and small and empty ones float. After removing the floating seeds, the solution is drained, and those seeds that have sunk to the bottom are thoroughly washed and dried.

Capacity and soil

A week or two before sowing seeds, the soil is watered with a solution of "Fitosporin". This helps to get rid of diseases, moreover, during this time bacteria will begin to work in the soil, which has a beneficial effect on the growth of seedlings.

Any capacity is suitable: a large plastic container, coffee cups, mayonnaise containers, etc. If each seed is planted in a separate container, then picking the tomatoes will not be required.

Soil for growing seedlings is sold in any flower shop, but some prepare it themselves in the fall, mixing turf soil with humus or compost and adding a little river sand and wood ash.

Sowing seeds

Many novice farmers mistakenly believe that there is no need to observe the timing of sowing and growing seedlings. However, failure to meet the deadlines leads to poor-quality seedlings. Seeds of the Metelitsa variety should be sown for seedlings 50-60 days before the intended planting in the ground, that is, in late March - early April.

The soil is watered with water before sowing. The seeds are pressed into the soil to a depth of 1 cm, observing the distance between them - 5-10 cm. Before the seedlings emerge, the container with the seeds is covered with glass or a plastic bag, and placed in a room with a temperature of 25-30 ° C.

Growing and care

The first shoots of tomatoes appear in 5-6 days, sometimes earlier.

Attention! Don't forget to remove the film or glass after germination.

At this stage, you should take care of full lighting. To increase the effect of lighting, in containers with seedlings opposite the window, install a reflective screen, for example, of thick cardboard covered with foil. The daylight hours of plants should be 12-14 hours. Install the phytolamp.

Water the seedlings as the soil dries. Watered warm, settled water. The temperature for the growth and development of seedlings is lower than the temperature required for their germination - 20-25 ° C.

Once a week, seedlings are fed. Before feeding, the ground must be lightly watered with ordinary water so as not to burn the fragile roots with fertilizers. They are fed with such drugs as: "Agricola", "Effecton", "Fitosporin", "Gumi", as well as folk remedies: ash, yeast solution.

From time to time it is necessary to carry out the prevention of diseases by watering the soil with a solution of "Trichodermina", "Glyocladin", "Fitosoprin" and other similar preparations.

When 2-3 leaves appear on the plants, they must be cut into separate containers in order to increase the feeding area and enable them to evenly develop the aerial part.

Remember! Tightening the picking of seedlings leads to the fact that the plants are stretched out, become more fragile, especially with thickened sowing.

When seating, the plants are buried to the cotyledons and the roots are cut by 1/3 of the length. After picking, the plants must be shaded for the first 3-4 days, before rooting.

Before planting in open ground or a greenhouse, seedlings are hardened, accustomed to new growing conditions. This procedure prevents stretching of plants, promotes the development of the root system, and improves adaptogenic properties. It starts around the first half of April. Seedlings are placed in the refrigerator and kept there for about an hour. After a week, repeat the procedure and increase the time to 3-4 hours.

How to grow tomatoes

Healthy seedlings are the key to a good harvest, but improper care of tomatoes after planting in a permanent place in open ground or a greenhouse can negate all your efforts.

Although tomatoes are unpretentious plants, in order to get healthy, large, ripe "on the bush" fruits, you will need to pay some attention to the culture.

Open ground transplant

Plants are planted in open ground when the danger of frost has passed, usually in late May - early June. Tomatoes are planted in the greenhouse earlier. If the time for planting seedlings in the ground has approached, and you cannot plant them in a permanent place, limit watering.

To improve the survival rate of seedlings, 5 days before planting in a permanent place, they are fed with a solution of calcium nitrate in the ratio of 2 g of calcium nitrate per 1 liter of water.

Prepared seedlings are planted in wells with the addition of a tablespoon of double superphosphate, handfuls of wood ash, handfuls of compost or rotted mullein, several bird feathers (source of silicon). When planting tomatoes, they are lowered into the holes, deepening by 2-5 cm.

If the seedling has a too long main stem, it is deepened into the ground by 2/3 of the length. The planted seedlings are well watered andmulch any organic matter.

When planting, you should adhere to the scheme: at least 50 cm between the bushes and 40-50 cm between the rows. It is considered optimal to have no more than 6 plants per 1 sq. M.

Care

Further care of tomatoes consists in regular watering with warm water after sunset, maintaining a low humidity, making additional fertilizing and loosening the soil.

Top dressing of tomatoes is carried out every 10 days. Before the fruiting phase, it is necessary to choose fertilizers with a high nitrogen content, and after setting the first fruit cluster and during the ripening period, potash fertilizers.

In August, 2 weeks before harvesting, all top dressing must be stopped in order to avoid the accumulation of nitrates in tomato fruits and to speed up the ripening of tomatoes on the bushes.

Remember! The use of fertilizers for growing tomatoes favors not only an increase in yield, but also an increase in the content of nutrients in fruits, improves keeping quality of fruits, increases resistance to various viral and fungal diseases, and increases resistance to negative environmental influences.

Features of cultivation and possible difficulties

It is relatively easy to take care of the Blizzard - just like the rest of the tomatoes, it must be watered, weeded, loosened, hilled, and fed.

The main difference from other varieties is that no pinching and garter of the stems are required... However, some gardeners note that the best results were obtained by pinching the plant to the first flower cluster, which appears above 6-8 leaves.

Diseases and pests

Blizzard shows good resistance to the main diseases of tomatoes, but it is recommended, especially when the weather is humid and cool, to treat the plants with a solution of "Fitosporin".

Harvesting and application of the crop

The fruits are harvested in milky ripeness, as they ripen well without losing their beneficial properties.

Harvesting

Ripe tomatoes are harvested in dry, sunny weather, put them in boxes or boxes and put in a room with room temperature.

Keep harvested tomatoes are best outside the refrigerator. The lowered temperature during storage impairs the taste of the fruit and causes rotting.

As already mentioned above, Blizzard tomatoes, according to the description of the variety and reviews of gardeners, have a universal purpose. They are good for pickling and drying (drying), they are even used for making tomato jam.

Recipes

Below are the most popular recipes pickling and drying tomatoes. They will be obtained by any hostess.

Pickled tomatoes "Blizzard"

For marinating you will need:

• 2 kg of tomatoes;
• 1.5 tbsp salt;
• 6 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
• 1 tsp citric acid;
• 3 peas of allspice;
• 1 pod of sweet pepper;
• 10 black peppercorns;
• 1 tbsp. l. grated garlic;
• 1.5 liters of water;
• 2 sprigs of parsley.

Preparation:

1. Put all the ingredients in a sterilized jar, except for a spoonful of grated garlic.
2. Fill a jar with tomatoes and pour 1.5 liters of boiling water.
3. After 15 minutes, drain the water into a saucepan, bring to a boil, and refill the jar with it for 15 minutes.
4. Again drain the water into the pan, add salt there - 1.5 tbsp. spoons, granulated sugar - 6 tbsp. spoons and bring to a boil.
5. Put one tablespoon of grated garlic and one teaspoon of citric acid in a jar.
6. Pour boiling brine with salt and sugar into a jar of tomatoes and roll up with metal lids.

Dried tomatoes (sun-dried)

In Italy, tomatoes are dried in the sun, sprinkled with rosemary, thyme, marjoram, basil, oregano and sage. Dried tomatoes are added when preparing pizza, soup, minced meat.

To prepare dried (sun-dried) tomatoes you will need:

• 2 kg of tomatoes with a dense skin, not very juicy, no damage;
• 1 liter of refined sunflower oil;
• 1 package of Italian herbs spice;
• 20 sweet peas;
• salt to taste.

Preparation:

1. Rinse the fruits thoroughly, then cut each in half and take out the "tail" and the center with the seeds with a knife, cut into 3-4 more slices and send to an electric dryer, oven or in the hot sun.
2. For those who do not have an electric dryer and the sun does not indulge, you need to take a large baking sheet, cover it with parchment, put the tomato slices with the skin down and in the oven. Dry over low heat, with the oven open for several hours.
3. When the tomato slices are three times smaller, they are ready.
4. Carefully examine the dried tomatoes, add a bag of Italian herbs, salt. Top your sun-dried tomatoes with allspice.
5. Sterilize the tomato jars for 10 minutes by placing them upside down in a bowl of water. Lower the can lids there so that they become perfectly clean too.
6. Place tomato slices on hot jars, not filling all the space with them (during storage, the tomatoes will “straighten out” a little and take up more space).
7. Add seasonings to distribute them evenly over the jars.
8. Pour refined oil into each jar, also not reaching the very top. Screw the lids back on immediately.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

As mentioned above, Blizzard is not a hybrid, but a variety of tomatoes... Nevertheless, it has increased vitality, productivity, tolerates unfavorable growing conditions, disease resistant, versatile in use, transportable, fruits are well stored (almost until the New Year).

Blizzard has practically no shortcomings, apart from subjective ones.

Reviews of farmers about the tomato variety Blizzard

Despite the laudatory characteristics of the producers, it is interesting to know the reviews of amateur gardeners regarding how the Blizzard shows itself in life.

Svetlana, Yekaterinburg: “My favorite tomato is short because it is much easier to care for than tall bushes. I have been growing the Blizzard tomato for five years. Excellent tomatoes with high yield and excellent taste. Suitable for fresh consumption and for winter harvesting. I advise you to plant at least 2-3 bushes, you will not go wrong. "

Victor, Irkutsk region: “My wife and I plant tomatoes in a greenhouse and in open ground. Last spring I saw seeds with an interesting name. I got acquainted with the description, characteristics and bought a bag. Not at all disappointed. The fruits were enjoyed by all my family. I left one tomato for seeds. Let's see what happens. "

Ekaterina, Trans-Baikal Territory: “When I bought seeds of Metelitsa tomatoes, I watched a video about growing this plant. Most of all I liked that tomatoes can be grown in a lying position. It was a discovery for me. I didn't tie the bushes, the fruits lay on the mulch. None of them went bad. Outdoor harvest is excellent. But most importantly, a minimum of care, truly a grade for "lazy" summer residents, employed at work. "

So, reviews of gardeners characterize the variety as cold-resistant, more suitable for open ground. According to most reviews, the variety is resistant to diseases and the vagaries of the weather.

Conclusion

As you can see, the variety Metelitsa has an excellent taste and is easy to care for. Despite this, some gardeners have difficulties in growing it.We hope that the article and video below will help you grow a rich harvest of this tomato variety and prepare it for the winter.