Characteristic features of the "Stick" variety that will appeal to every summer resident

There is no gardener who would not like to grow a unique product in his garden. And if the vegetable is unpretentious in care and pleases with the harvest, then there will be no price for it. A little-known tomato variety - Palka - corresponds to all these parameters. This culture was bred in the United States in 1958, but only in the 21st century does it begin its journey across our country. Few people know about this variety, and even fewer those who grow it.

In the article you will find a detailed description and description of the variety of columnar tomatoes.

Description of the variety

Stick tomatoes differ from the usual varieties of tomatoes by the non-standard structure of the bush... The long stem resembling a column is devoid of leaves and side shoots. Plant height can reach 1.5 m. The leaves are small, form a bunch.

Fruits are arranged on tassels extending directly from the stem. 5-6 fruits grow on one inflorescence. With good care, up to 1.5 kg of crop can be harvested from 1 bush.

Pros, cons and features of the variety

View advantages:

• the time from the moment of sowing seeds to harvesting will be 3.5-4 months;
• the columnar structure of the tomato creates additional advantages when growing;
• suitable for growing in a greenhouse and outdoors;
• does not require pinning;
• gives a good harvest regardless of the region of growth;
• dense tomatoes are transportable and have a long shelf life;
• tolerate diseases typical of the nightshade family;
• the ability to collect your own seeds for planting next year.

Compared to other members of the nightshade family, Stick has practically no drawbacks in cultivation and care. The only drawback can be called a weak trunk, which must be tie up... Without regular monitoring, the plant will bend and break.

Fruit characteristics and yield

The absence of side shoots allows planting bushes densely, which increases the amount of the harvested crop from 1 m² - it can reach 30 kg.

Palka tomatoes are round, firm, with juicy, fleshy pulp, bright red.

The weight of one tomato ranges from 50 to 100 g. Even with strong overripe, it does not crack or fall apart due to its dense shell.

How to grow

If you want to have Palka tomatoes on your site, seeds can be purchased at a store, in the market, or collected on your own.

To collect seeds, it is necessary to select the correct original fruit. It should be ripe, fleshy and fully consistent with the shape of the variety. Working seeds are collected from female fruits: they have a small depression at the bottom.

Growing instructions:

1. Select a tomato and treat it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate to avoid contamination of the seeds with possible pathogens.
2. Remove for a week in a dark and warm place for ripening.
3. Upon reaching maturity, the seeds are removed along with the pulp into a clean cup and covered with a piece of material. You need to remove them to a dark place. It is forbidden to add water in the absence of juice, otherwise the seeds will die.
4. After a couple of days, the composition will ferment, the seeds will go down, and a thin film with bubbles forms on top.
5. In a glass, pouring warm water several times, rinse the seeds.
6. Put the contents on a clean cloth and dry.
7. Pour each variety separately into labeled bags.
8. Store in a dry, dark place.

You can use harvested seeds with your own hands for 5 years - as long as they retain their germination.

Planting seedlings

Seeds are planted 2 months before planting in the garden: depending on the region, from the end of February to the end of March. For growing seedlings, special boxes or containers are first purchased.

Suitable soil compositions can be purchased at the store or prepared yourself in the fall. Before planting, the container and the ground are treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. The seeds are washed with 1% boric acid solution.

Stages of work:

1. Make grooves 1 cm deep over the entire width of the container, every 3 cm.
2. Spread the seeds along the grooves at a distance of 1.5 cm from each other.
3. Cover slightly with earth.
4. Cover with foil.
5. Place on a windowsill, illuminated by the sun.
6. When sprouts appear, get rid of the film.

Shoot picking is carried out when 2 curly bundles appear. Grow tomatoes of the Palka variety should be on a sunny windowsill, regularly turning in different directions to the sun.

Features of transplanting into the ground

Seedlings are transplanted after the final completion of frosts and the establishment of stable sunny weather.

Before planting, it is necessary to loosen the soil well with the addition of compost and wood ash. The permissible distance of planting seedlings is from 15 cm between the bushes, if planted in 1 sprout. If 2 or 3 sprouts are planted in one hole, then the distance increases to 25-35 cm.The distance between the rows is 0.5 m.

Such close proximity will not affect the quality of the harvest, since the plant is well lit and aired due to the absence of leaves. Up to 30 bushes can be planted on 1 m².

Deep planting is not recommended in order to avoid excessive development of the root system, which will delay the ripening time by 2 weeks.

Attention! Planting in the evening and on cloudy days is more conducive to planting the seedling.

First you need to fill a container or box with seedlings with warm water and leave to soak. This will help to pull out the grown seedlings without damage without damaging the roots.

It is necessary to prepare the land for planting, choose a suitable site according to the rules of rotation. When rotating different crops, it goes:

• exchange of microscopic elements necessary for each plant;
• the plant kills its harmful microflora;
• pests buried in the winter period, not finding their usual nutrition in the spring, die;
• when consuming some elements, plants secrete others, thereby enriching the soil.

Fertilizer should be prepared for the soil. As a fertilizer, you can use compost, humus and the following solution:

• 25 g superphosphate;
• 10 g of ammonium nitrate;
• 15 g of potassium chloride;
• 10 liters of water.

Plants in a greenhouse need feeding twice as much as in a vegetable garden. The table will help to understand mineral fertilizers.

After fertilization, the soil is dug up.

Landing procedure:

1. Make grooves of any length and width 25-30 cm, the distance between them is not less than 0.4 m. The depth of the groove should be convenient for regular watering.
2. Fill the grooves with water. Wait until the water is absorbed.
3. Carefully, without damaging the root system, remove the seedlings one plant at a time from the box.
4. Make a small seedling hole with a small spatula.
5. Plant seedlings in the hole.It is not necessary to bury the seedlings too deeply so that the forces of the young plant are directed to growth upward, and not to the development of an additional root system.
6. The distance between the holes should not be less than 15 cm.

Further care and watering

Further care for Palka tomatoes consists of watering and weeding. It is necessary to regularly treat plants from insects and diseases. Further fertilization is carried out with the addition of a mixture of sodium, phosphorus and potassium in a ratio of 1/1/1.

A mixture of humus and turf is suitable for greenhouses. The feeding procedure should be repeated no more than 2 times per season.

Reference! Watering is recommended once every 2 days.

If a sick plant is found, the diseased bush should be removed along with a lump of earth.

Planting tomatoes in the same place is allowed no more than once every 3-4 years. Before planting, it is necessary to treat the soil with boiling water.

Prevention of diseases and pests

If the rules for processing plants are not followed, the yield of the Palka variety can be significantly reduced. Fight against pests tomatoes are carried out not only with pesticides, but also by hand.

The fight against the Colorado potato beetle, the worst enemy of tomatoes, consists not only in processing plants against deferred larvae, but also in manual collection and destruction of individuals.

Reviews of gardeners

Marina, 34 years old, Orenburg region: “I accidentally met the Palka variety in the store, bought it for trial. When I saw the first shoots, I almost threw it away, it seemed to me that some kind of disease was on them. I decided to wait. I got the harvest wonderfully well. I advise everyone to have such an unusual product in the garden. It is interesting to grow new varieties. "

Peter, 54 years old, Krasnodar Territory: "I bought seeds at the market because of the unusual photo on the package. 7 seeds sprout out of 10 seeds. The seedlings are good and strong. The whole family was delighted with the corrugated leaves instead of the usual ones. Fruits pleased: even fleshy. I immediately decided to collect the seeds for myself and shared with my friends. And the harvest mothballed, it turned out delicious, and tomatoes are stored well. "

Veronica, 46 years old, Transbaikalia: “I decided to grow a new variety in a greenhouse in order to quickly enjoy the result. The bushes are well lit, since there are almost no leaves. The harvest is good, but did not have time to ripen to the end, the rest were harvested brown. The houses were maturing. Tomatoes are delicious, without acid, they are good both fresh and in jars. I made a salad of halves of tomatoes with onions and bell peppers, all the halves remained intact. I advise all gardeners, you will not regret it. "

Conclusion

The new Palka tomato variety has earned the respect not only of amateurs, but also of professionals due to its unpretentious character, unique stem structure, high productivity and universal use of tomatoes in home cooking.