Delicious, juicy and fragrant giant in the garden - the "Volovye Heart" tomato
Every vegetable grower wants to grow the largest and most delicious tomatoes in his garden. Fragrant, fleshy, juicy tomatoes of the "Volovye Heart" variety - they will be discussed in this article. You will learn how to properly plant and grow giant tomatoes.
The content of the article
Characteristics and description of the variety
"Volovye Heart" is an excellent salad variety. Among gardeners, he is recognized as one of the best large-fruited tomatoes. The population starts at 111-116 days. The average height of the bush is one to three meters. But when grown in greenhouses can grow up to two meters. The foliage of these tomatoes is sparse, the leaves are green, of medium size.
During the season, one bush can produce up to 7 kg of fruit in the open field and up to 11 kg in greenhouses.
Fruit weight - 150-300 g and 350-500 g - in greenhouse conditions. The yield is high - from 6 to 8 kg per meter. The taste is sweet, with a slight sourness. The shape of the fruit is conical or heart-shaped. The pulp of the "Volovyi Heart" is multi-chambered, fleshy and dense, without white or green veins, without large seeds and liquid. And the color of these large-fruited tomatoes ranges from pink (raspberry) to slightly red.
How to grow seedlings
"Cow's heart", like all tomatoes, grows well in light fertile soil, consisting of humus, peat and sand. The beds should be in a sunny area without wind.
Preparing for landing
Before planting tomatoes in open ground or in greenhouses, seedlings are preliminarily grown. The seeds can be bought at the store, but experienced growers advise saving them from the previous harvest.
When choosing seeds from suppliers, pay attention to the integrity of the packaging and the expiration date. Throw out small seeds immediately. Healthy, sturdy plants will only grow from a large, whole seed.
reference... On the market you can find seeds ready to plant. They have already been treated with disinfectants and growth-promoting agents.
If you decide to prepare the planting material yourself, follow the instructions:
- Perform a germination test two to four weeks before sowing. To do this, wrap a few seeds in a wet cloth and soak in warm water for a day. Leave the seeds uncovered on a damp cloth for three to four days. Then they can be sown.
- The planting material should be disinfected with a solution of potassium permanganate (1%), "Fitosporin" or other means. Dip the seeds wrapped in gauze in the solution for 15-20 minutes, then rinse with clean water. If you are using potassium permanganate, then take 1 g of the substance for 1 liter of water. If using other disinfectants, follow the instructions on the package.
- In order to increase disease resistance and germination of tomatoes, treat the seeds with ordinary wood ash or ready-made trace elements. Use one teaspoon of ash for 250 g of water. Insist one day. Then soak the seeds for 3-4 days. Then they should be rinsed. In order for the seeds to germinate better, put them on a damp cloth a day before planting and leave them in a warm place.
Volovye heart tomatoes are sown two months before planting under a film, in a greenhouse or open ground - in the first decade of March.
Care
The planting material is sown in moist soil to a depth of 2-2.5 cm and placed in a warm, sunny place. The temperature should be maintained between 20-22 ° C.The box with seedlings can be covered with foil, so the tomatoes will sprout faster. When the second leaf appears, the seedlings dive into separate containers with nutrient soil.
Before planting in the ground, the seedlings are hardened. For 10-12 days, it is taken out into fresh air. At first, the plants are left for a couple of hours, gradually bringing this time to 12 hours. If there is no frost, then the seedlings can be taken out to fresh air overnight in the last days before planting.
reference... Tomatoes can be transplanted into a greenhouse as early as April, into a greenhouse under a film - at the beginning of May. In the second or third decade of May, it can be transplanted into open ground. In general, one should focus on the climatic features of the region.
How to grow Volovye Heart tomatoes
Volovye Heart tomatoes are grown on non-heavy fertile soils. It is undesirable to plant tomatoes from year to year in the same place. Use soil after carrots, peas, onions, or radishes. This applies to tomatoes growing outdoors.
In a greenhouse, where it is difficult to comply with the rules of crop rotation, it is recommended to prepare the soil in the fall. It is dug up with humus and mineral fertilizers. The plant is fed 2-3 times during active growth. A potassium-phosphorus mixture and a small amount of nitrogen fertilizers are used as fertilizers.
Planting, care and cultivation features
For transplanting, the seedlings are ready for 55–65 days. The soil is considered good after planting onions, radishes, peas, carrots, beans. After them, tomatoes bear fruit well and do not get sick. The soil temperature should be above +8 ° C, but it is still recommended to wait until it is 12-15 ° C.
Volovye Heart tomatoes are planted at a distance of 35-50 cm from each other. The hole should be no more than 20-25 cm deep. The distance between the holes is 45-50 cm. A gap of up to 90 cm should be left between the rows. Immediately after planting, the trunks are tied up. Planting density should be no higher than four bushes per 1 square meter. The bush is formed from one or two trunks.
For the formation of the second stem leaves the stepson below the first brush. All other stepsons are removed. Watering should be done after the heat subsides (in the evening), and only with warm, settled water. Mulching protects from drying out of the soil (laying various special materials on the beds).
reference... To accelerate the growth and ripening of tomatoes, the soil is often loosened and weeded, and fed with mineral fertilizers.
Be sure to tie the bushes to a vertical support so that heavy fruits do not break the branch. After the fifth or sixth brush with an ovary has formed, after three to five leaves, the crown is pinched.
If you leave all the set tomatoes, the fruits will be small and unripe. In greenhouses, conditions are more favorable for plant development, the temperature remains longer. Therefore, up to seven brushes with ovaries are left on the shoots.
Important! If tomatoes are grown annually in the same greenhouse, the earth must be dug up in the fall, be sure to add mineral fertilizers and humus.
Diseases and pests
The "Volovye Heart" variety is resistant to late blight and other fungal diseases. If the plant is sick, it could be due to an inaccurately broken branch, bottom leaf, or stepson. The appearance of a fungus can provoke a neighborhood with cucumbers or potatoes.
If you see signs of late blight or rot infection, treat the shoots with special preparations. With the majority diseases of tomatoes (white, brown, gray rot) early can be dealt with by spraying the plants potassium permanganate solution with garlic. For 10 liters of water, take one head of garlic and 1 g of potassium permanganate.
If the tomato looks unhealthy, there are some indications that the cause can be identified. Let's consider the possible options.
If the leaves on the trunks began to turn yellow
The yellow leaves are cut on the main stem. The reason for this is the lack of moisture in the root system. Planted in the ground seedlings should be watered in the hole, and not poured onto the surface of the earth after hilling... It is this method of watering that contributes to the formation of root growth at the top (it reaches for moisture).
Weak shoots growing close to the ground dry out quickly, resulting in yellowed leaves.
Experienced gardeners advise: when planting plants in the ground next to the hole (at a distance of 20 cm), deepen plastic bottles with holes made in them. If you pour water into them during watering, then it will spread just at the level of the roots. This will have a beneficial effect on the condition of the plants.
If the leaves are curling
Tomato should not be sprayed with water from sprayers. Moisture on leaves under the scorching sun is a conductor of heat. This damages the leaves of the plant.
Harvesting and application of the crop
The very first and, as a rule, the largest fruits of the Volovye Heart tomato variety ripen in early August. Harvesting ends in mid-late September, depending on climatic conditions.
If the weather has already turned bad, and there are unripe tomatoes on the branches, it is better to pick them. They will perfectly fit on a sunny windowsill. Tomatoes of this variety can be stored in a cellar or refrigerator as they rarely crack.
This feature is very much appreciated by farmers: tomatoes are stored for a relatively long time and tolerate transportation well.
Due to its large size, this variety of tomatoes is not suitable for salting. It is more suitable for soups and salads. They give great taste and aroma in sauces, pastes, juices, cocktails. From one kilogram of fruit, you can get up to 800-900 ml of tomato juice.
Look at the photo to see how a ripe "Volovye Heart" tomato looks.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
Like any variety of tomatoes, "Volovye Heart" has its pros and cons.
The undoubted advantages will be:
- huge fruit sizes;
- great taste;
- good productivity;
- resistance to various diseases;
- excellent marketable appearance.
The disadvantages of this variety of tomatoes include:
- long growing season, not suitable for all climates;
- the plant requires constant care;
- it is very important to observe the temperature regime - "Volovye Heart" does not tolerate temperature fluctuations.
Reviews
Most of the reviews about the Volovye Heart tomato variety are positive. Rare negative ones are associated with unwillingness or inability to provide the plant with proper care.
Afanasy: «Cow's Heart "is a late-ripening variety of tomatoes that have an exceptional" tomato "and sweet taste, therefore it is very popular among gardeners. The variety is unpretentious, well stable, only its only drawback is that it is not stored for long. It is most often used in summer salads. It grows up to 2 meters. "
Hash: «His leaf, like Ephemer, is thin and unhappy, and the tomatoes are light pink hearts. The yield turned out to be twice that of the Bulls. Apparently, all health was spent on fruits, and not on tops.«.
Fialkova: «Tomatoes differ in taste. Professionals say that "Volovyi Heart" has a juicy and dense juice, very rich in taste«.
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Conclusion
Tomatoes of the "Volovye Heart" variety are the best invention of breeders. With proper care and observance of the temperature regime, the fruits will delight vegetable growers until the end of September. The impressive size and pronounced tomato taste of this variety will not leave anyone indifferent.