What can you remember about “Masterpiece” tomatoes and how to get a decent harvest

Tomato is a welcome guest in any garden. What other vegetable will add the appetizing red color and fresh juiciness to summer salads? What can we say about conservation, without which no housewife can imagine her life. However, the abundance of tomato varieties can confuse even an experienced gardener. The best solution is to choose selected collection varieties. For example, tomato Masterpiece. In the article, you will learn the characteristics of this crop and the rules for its cultivation.

Description and characteristics. Yield indicators

The authorship of the Masterpiece variety belongs to domestic breeders. Taking into account the climate of different regions of Russia, they set themselves the task of obtaining a universal variety. And they did it.

The masterpiece has the following characteristics:

• cold resistance;
• resistance to common diseases - late blight, root rot;
• mid-ripeness - 120 days pass from the moment of germination to the first harvest;
• high yield - 3-6 kg per bush and 6-12 kg per sq. m, respectively;
• excellent taste - meatiness, predominance of natural sugar content over acids;
• good keeping quality and suitability for transportation;
• long shelf life - 3-6 months.

These indicators among gardeners differ slightly depending on agricultural technology, which is partly determined by the climate of the region.

Breeders took the trouble to create a whole collection so that it would be more convenient for amateurs to choose the right variety of tomatoes - Masterpiece Hybrid F1, Masterpiece Early or Masterpiece Altai. The most important indicator remains unchanged - high yield.

Other signs:

• a medium-sized variety always forms many ovaries;
• fruits weigh 300-800 g;
• indeterminacy tomato makes it possible to pinch or extend the bush in order to increase the ovaries.

Ripe fruits are distinguished by their flat-round shape, large size and pomegranate color. When cut and consumed, it turns out that the tomato is fleshy and sweet.

Pros and cons of types of tomato Masterpiece

The masterpiece is a relatively young variety. But in just a few years of its spread, he managed to evoke responses from thousands of gardeners. Moreover, these responses are ambiguous.

First, about the good:

• suitable for growing in open and closed ground, which allows you to get an early harvest and grow in extreme conditions;
• divided into traditional varieties and hybrids for a simplified selection for personal requirements;
• unpretentiousness;
• excellent initial vegetative properties of the plant.

However, among the reviews, there are also disadvantages:

• unsuitable for canning whole fruits due to its large size;
• tying is necessary as the bush develops.

These disadvantages are conditional, because they apply to individual varieties.

Masterpiece Early

The name of the tomato indicates early maturity. The variety is interesting for those who want to harvest 10-20 days earlier than usual. Growing seeds through seedlings is encouraged. In the process of development, an average number of dark green leaves grows on the bush.

The Early masterpiece reaches a height of no more than 50 cm and produces medium fruits weighing 120 g, up to 6 pieces per cluster. The harvest volume from one bush per season is up to 5 kg.

In terms of application, the tomatoes of the Early Masterpiece can be safely called universal: for salads, tomato purees, blanks. Taste and preservation are at a high level.

Altai masterpiece

This variety is in the greatest demand due to its tallness and frost resistance. Hence the following advantages:

• resistance to viruses and fungi;
• high yield - up to 10 kg per bush;
• good marketability and taste of fruits weighing up to 600 g.

The predominantly indeterminate Altai Masterpiece is grown indoors so that the fruiting period is long. But if the tomato is planted in the southern region, you can do without greenhouses.

Hybrid

An advanced hybrid of the Masterpiece collection aims to set records. Therefore, gardeners must definitely appreciate:

• the suitability of growing in open-closed ground;
• average height - about 120 cm;
• resistance to diseases of nightshade crops;
• yield up to 12 kg per bush;
• the weight of one fruit is up to 1000 g.

The fruits of the F1 Masterpiece ripen in 100-110 days.

How to grow

The growing periods for all representatives of the Masterpiece tomato are the same, the seeds are grown in seedlings:

1. In early March, when daylight hours increase, planting material is prepared - shop soil or a mixture of peat, turf, ash (3: 4: 1).
2. Seeds are disinfected in solution manganese within 20-30 minutes, then soaked for a day in clean water at room temperature.
3. The seeds that have hatched are planted to a depth of 1-1.5 cm, after which they are watered, and the earth is compacted (the depth of the common soil layer should be at least 4 cm, the sowing area is 30-50 seeds per 40-50 sq. Cm).
4. When the first shoots appear (5-7 days after planting the seeds), the seedlings are exposed in a well-lit place without drafts.
5. Every 5 and 20 days the seedlings are watered and fed with nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizers;
6. For 50-60 days, adult bushes are planted in the ground.

From this point on, the gardener should be guided by the growth rates of the Masterpiece. If the bush reaches 50-60 cm, it is suitable for planting in the ground. Medium-sized Altai Masterpiece and F1 Masterpiece oblige to prepare twines or trellises for garters.

These crops are preferable to grow indoors. The rest of the rules of agricultural technology are unchanged:

1. Preparation of holes 20 cm deep for seedlings - peat, humus, ash are added to each (4: 1: 1).
2. Planting adult plants at a distance of 50-80 cm from each other and 1.0-1.2 m between the rows (when planting, watering with warm water is required, it is advisable to use a Kornevin solution so that the tomato quickly hardens in a new place).
3. Watering every 5 days or as the soil dries.
4. Weekly loosening for root ventilation and weeding.
5. Tying a plant when reaching a height of 30-50 cm.
6. Pinching stepsons if necessary.
7. Monthly top dressing with phosphorus-potassium or organic fertilizers.

The last feeding held 2 weeks before the first harvest.

Attention! Spraying with nutrient solutions is best avoided as it has unpredictable effects on flowering and foliage.

Prevention of diseases and pests

Tomato Masterpiece resistant to phytophthora and root rot. These diseases can only develop in open ground and with improper agricultural technology:

• with waterlogging of air and soil;
• when pests appear.

Spraying the leaves with a solution of non-toxic biofungicides "Phytocide", "Trichodermin", "Mikosan" will help prevent an attack. They are processed in clear weather in a week from the moment of planting the seedlings, until the flowering becomes massive. Re-spraying is allowed 3 weeks before harvest.

From pests it is better to use bioinsecticides that do not poison bees and animals. Treatment type - spraying. The graph is the same as for biofungicides.

Reviews of gardeners

Oksana, 36 years old (Rostov-on-Don): “The climate of our region allows us to grow different tomatoes. But I still focus on the "giants". I tried to grow a Masterpiece Hybrid and received fruits weighing 1 kg. Children are delighted! "

Fedor Matyukhov, 47 years old (Cheboksary): “I want to contribute to public opinion about the Masterpiece. The variety is really frost-hardy and unpretentious. But for marketable products, it is better to use indoor ground and Early Masterpiece.I use the rest purely for collection (I grow more than 30 varieties). "

Nadezhda Viktorovna, 52 years old (Penza): “I have never seen such sweet and large tomatoes in my entire life, as in the photo in the magazine! I grow it in the open field, so some of them do not have time to grow before frost. It is necessary to plant the seeds at the end of February so that in August it is possible to harvest in full, and leave the half-red fruits to lie in the sun until they are completely red. There are small tomatoes, and I canning them. Banks don't explode. The masterpiece is one of the best varieties! "

Conclusion

Tomato Masterpiece met the hopes of breeders. The prevalence of this variety throughout Russia testifies to its positive qualities. However, the Masterpiece collection can be further developed to shorten the growing season and improve the tomato's resistance to the surprises of the northern climate.