You will not believe your eyes when you see it - tomato "Blue bunch f1" for lovers of exotic varieties

Blue tomatoes are one of the most interesting nightshade crops for gardeners. They have an original color and often have an unusual taste. These fruits contain anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant. In addition, such tomatoes are less allergenic than red ones, so they are allowed to be included in the children's diet.

There are dozens of varieties and hybrids with dark fruits. And the brightest color among them is the Blue bunch tomato. The brushes of this hybrid are strewn with small blue cherry blossoms. How to grow such a miracle in your garden - read on.

General description of the hybrid

The blue bunch is a first generation tomato hybrid... This is evidenced by the designation f1. It was bred by crossing cultivated and wild-growing tomatoes.

This tomato crop was released on the market quite recently. It is not included in the Russian register, but it has already gained popularity among gardeners around the world. This tomato is also produced by domestic companies.

note! The seeds from the hybrid fruit are not suitable for sowing.

Distinctive features of the Blue brush

The main distinguishing feature of the Blue Brush tomato is the unusual color of the fruit. Its berries are deep blue. Because of this, they resemble a ripe plum.

Such tomatoes belong to cherry. They are tiny and are formed by brushes.

A characteristic feature of the Blue brush is its high keeping quality. Ripe fruits are stored for several months.

The taste of the berries is also quite unusual. It is sweet, with a slightly sour taste. Tomato notes are combined with a plum aftertaste.

Blue cherries are good for fresh consumption. When preserved, the fruits do not crack, but change their beautiful blue tint to brownish brown.

Note the benefits of dark blue fruits. They contain a strong antioxidant anthocyanin. Contains other beneficial substances. Thanks to this composition, the Blue Bunch has the ability to cleanse blood vessels, improve heart function, positively affect the condition of the skin and hair, and improve immunity.

A negative feature of an exotic hybrid is the difficulty of growing it. It needs to be shaped, pinned and tied up. The choice of a place for beds with such tomatoes and top dressing matters. If the agrotechnics of the Blue bunch are violated, the fruits are hard and tasteless.

Despite its unusual appearance, the Blue Bunch has a high immunity to tomato diseases. This hybrid does not even affect late blight, which is considered one of the most dangerous and common tomato diseases.

Specifications

Characteristics of the Blue bunch tomato will impress experienced gardeners. It will be quite difficult for beginners to grow such a hybrid.

Description of the hybrid:

Growing seedlings

The blue bunch in our country is grown in seedlings. Seeds are sown 2 months before the tomatoes are planted in the ground. Picking seedlings to a permanent place is possible when the soil warms up.

In most regions, seeds are sown in March. In this case, you need to familiarize yourself with the indicators of the lunar calendar.

Seed preparation

To get healthy seedlings, you need to properly prepare the planting material. There are several mandatory pre-sowing stages:

1. Checking planting material for germination. Check the expiration date before purchasing seeds. At home, seeds are soaked in a saline solution. To do this, add a teaspoon of salt to a glass of water. After half an hour, the emerged specimens are collected and thrown away. Those seeds that have sunk to the bottom are washed and used for sowing.
2. Seed dressing. This procedure will disinfect the planting material, reducing the risks of plant diseases. For this, the seeds are soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate, soda or "Fitosporin". Aloe juice is also considered effective.
3. Growth stimulation. This step is necessary to speed up seed germination. As a stimulant, either purchased products, such as Epin, or homemade preparations, such as honey water, are used.

Note! Producers often pickle expensive and rare seeds at the factory. This will be evidenced by the inscriptions on the packaging and the green or orange color of the planting material.

The choice of capacity and soil

Large, shallow containers are used to plant seeds in the usual way. They are bought in a specialized store or made from improvised means.

After the appearance of real leaves, the seedlings dive into individual containers. To do this, use pots and cups with a volume of at least 300 g.

Homemade containers are in no way inferior to purchased options. When using scrap materials for planting seeds, remember to make drainage holes.

All containers that will be used for growing seedlings are treated with a disinfectant solution. To do this, it is soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate, in copper sulfate, or wiped with alcohol.

Advice! The blue bunch is an expensive and rare hybrid. Therefore, it is advisable to grow it in peat tablets. This method allows you to achieve the best seed germination.

Soil for tomatoes is chosen light, nutritious and slightly acidic. To achieve the ideal composition, humus and black soil are mixed in equal proportions. Peat, sawdust, shredded coconut fiber or sand are used to loosen the substrate. With the help of ash, they reduce the acidity of the soil. Superphosphate will help make the soil more nutritious.

A suitable potting mix is ​​also available in the store. Choose a soil for tomatoes and peppers.

The soil is cultivated before use. To do this, it is watered with a solution of copper sulfate or potassium permanganate.Another option for soil disinfection is calcining in an oven at 100 ° C.

Sowing seeds in peat tablets and boxes

Most often, seeds are sown in the usual way. To do this, water the soil abundantly in boxes. In it, grooves are made for seeds with a depth of 1 cm and at a distance of 2 cm from each other.

Seeds are placed in the grooves at a distance of 1.5 cm from each other. From above, the planting material is covered with a layer of soil.

The seed boxes are covered with foil and placed in a warm place. Germination times vary from 3 to 7 days depending on the room temperature.

When growing seedlings in peat tablets, another technology is used:

1. The tablets are put in a deep container with the holes down. After that, such an amount of boiling water is poured so that it slightly covers the workpieces.
2. When the liquid is absorbed and the tablets swell, add the same amount of water to the container. The pills should enlarge even more.
3. Then peat blanks are removed from the container. One seed is pressed into each of them with a toothpick.
4. All peat tablets with seeds are placed in one container. It is covered with foil and removed to a warm place.

Seedling care

It is not difficult to grow seedlings if you follow the basic rules for its care:

1. The film on the seed containers creates extreme humidity conditions. Such conditions are considered ideal not only for planting material, but also for germinated plants for the first 7 days. Therefore, after the sprouting of tomatoes, the film is not removed, but only opened daily for several hours for 7 days. Then the impromptu greenhouse is dismantled.
2. Water the seedlings as the soil dries. It is important that the water does not get on the green of the plant. The watering fluid should be at room temperature.
3. I dive tomatoes after the appearance of two real leaves... They are carefully removed from the pots, taking care not to damage the root system. It is important not to deeply bury the plants, so as not to cause rotting of the legs. A drainage layer is poured into the bottom of individual containers for transplanting tomatoes.
4. For the entire period of growing seedlings, three dressings are made. The first one - two weeks after the pick, the last one - 3 days before planting tomatoes in open ground, and the second between 1 and 3. Complex mineral fertilizers or vermicompost are used for seedlings. It is important that the last dressing includes phosphorus.

Growing tomatoes

The blue bunch is grown primarily in a greenhouse. Therefore, in most regions, planting plants in a permanent place is possible already in mid-March.

In the southern regions, the hybrid is also planted in open ground. Depending on the temperature outside, this is done at the end of April or in the first half of May.

Planting tomatoes in a permanent place

For tomatoes, the beds are prepared in the fall. They are cleaned of plant residues. The soil is mixed with mullein, humus, or other organic fertilizers. To reduce the acidity of the soil, dry lime is added to it.

In the spring, the beds are dug up again. Check the acidity of the soil. If it is still elevated, it is corrected with ash. All roots that have formed during this time are removed.

Then dig holes. They are placed in rows in a checkerboard pattern. For 1 sq. m plant no more than 4 plants. 1 tbsp is poured into each hole. l. granular mineral fertilizers or ash.

3 days before planting, the seedlings are watered and fed. When the time comes for picking, it is removed from the pots and placed in the holes. Plants need to be slightly deepened by cutting off the lower leaves.

After that, the tomatoes are watered abundantly. Up to 1 liter of water is used per bush.

Plant care

The bushes of the Blue cluster reach 1.5-2 m.Therefore, they are definitely needed tie up... For these purposes, wooden supports or plastic trellises are used. Plants are tied up as they grow. Use only synthetic thread to avoid stem rot.

Forming a blue tomato is a must.Gardeners advise leaving 1 or 2 stems. In this case, the harvest will be good, and the fruits will have time to ripen before August.

Stepping is carried out regularly. In the process of this procedure, not only unnecessary stepsons are removed, but also the wilted lower leaves.

The soil is moistened as it dries, Watering should be abundant, but infrequent.

For feeding tomatoes, mineral and organic fertilizers are used. Mullein or chicken manure diluted with water is used as organic matter. Mineral fertilizers are purchased in stores.

Mineral and organic fertilizers alternate. If long-acting mineral granules were added to the wells, then the first mineral dressings are skipped.

During the season, plants are sprayed with foliar compositions twice. For this, fertilizers are used that include iodine.

The nuances of caring for the Blue bunch

Tomato Blue bunch is picky about care. To get a bountiful and tasty harvest, you need to know a few nuances of growing this hybrid:

1. The fruits of this hybrid turn blue precisely under the influence of sunlight; this factor also affects their taste. Therefore, the most illuminated part of the garden is chosen for such tomatoes. In a greenhouse, the roof must be transparent. The lack of light is compensated for with special lamps.
2. The blue bunch is demanding on the composition of the soil. These tomatoes are fed every two weeks.
3. Be sure to regularly loosen the soil of the tomatoes. Do this after each watering. Otherwise, due to a violation of air exchange, the yield indicators of the hybrid will significantly decrease.

Diseases and pests

Hybrid Blue bunch is highly resistant to most tomato diseases. Despite this, it is important to follow the basic rules for the prevention of such diseases:

1. Processing of planting material, soil and garden tools. When growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, the walls of the room are also treated.
2. Compliance with the rules of crop rotation... Tomatoes are not planted in the beds where nightshade crops grew before. It is not recommended to grow tomatoes in one place for more than 2 years.
3. Correct neighborhood... Potatoes are not planted near tomatoes. Crops with different maintenance requirements cannot be grown in the same greenhouse.
4. Compliance with the rules glaze and pinching... These procedures are not carried out during the hot part of the day.
5. Weed removal. Weeds are considered carriers of pathogens.
6. Preventive spraying... To do this, use "Fitosporin", "Bordeaux liquid", Solution potassium permanganate.

Protection from pests. Large beetles are collected by hand. They get rid of small ones by spraying the bushes with soapy water and infusion of celandine.

The nuances of growing in open ground and in a greenhouse

The blue bunch is predominantly grown in a greenhouse. Before planting plants in such conditions, the room is treated with a disinfectant solution.

In the greenhouse, the issue of maintaining optimal humidity is relevant. To do this, open the vents in the room every day.

In the open field, tomatoes are covered with foil overnight for the first two weeks after the pick. If there are cold snaps during the summer, then the plants are covered during the day.

Open field mulching is mandatory. It will protect plant roots from cold, pests and diseases.

Harvesting and application of the crop

The ripe fruits of the Blue cluster are harvested in August. They are removed individually or with brushes - it depends on the amicability of their maturation.

It is often difficult for a gardener to understand how ripe the fruit is. From the ripeness of the berries, not a blue skin will testify, but a reddish barrel. Ripe tomatoes are softer to the touch.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Blue Bunch

Hybrid advantages:

• deep blue fruit color;
• unusual taste;
• high keeping quality and transportability;
• immunity to tomato diseases.

Among the disadvantages is the difficulty of growing.

Gardeners reviews

Reviews of gardeners about the Blue bunch tomato are ambiguous. Many are unhappy with their whimsical care and the unusual taste of the fruit.

Galina Kireeva, Belgorod: “I planted the Blue Bunch because of the extremely unusual color of the fruit and the promised pronounced fruity aftertaste. It formed into three stems. Grown in the open field. Fed up for the season 3 times. The result was not impressive. The fruit had small blue patches and tasted tasteless. I suspect they haven't matured yet. "

Irina Lebedeva, Mr. Peter. “For two years I have been growing several Black bunch in a greenhouse. Yes, you have to tinker with the tomato. I form tomatoes into one stalk, feed them every two weeks, use additional lighting in greenhouses. But it's worth it. The tomatoes are dark blue, as in the photo. It tastes sweet with a tomato-plum scent. Good for salads. Stored practically until the New Year. I determine the ripeness of the fruit by the red area on one side. I noticed that the more sun the fruits receive, the darker their shade. The price, of course, is not budgetary - 150 rubles for 10 seeds. "

Conclusion

Hybrid Blue bunch is one of the most unusual tomatoes. It grows dark blue cherry tomatoes. When unripe, the berries are blue. They contain a large amount of antioxidants and other beneficial substances. Therefore, it is suitable for dietetic food.

An exotic hybrid with blue tomatoes will appeal to experienced experimental gardeners. This tomato is picky about care. When agricultural technology is violated, the taste of its fruits suffers significantly.