Recently, summer residents are increasingly paying attention not only to the taste of tomatoes, but also to their appearance. Often on beds and in greenhouses you can see tomatoes of bright orange, saturated chocolate, sunny yellow hues. Among the most original is the Golden Fleece variety. Today we present to your attention information about the features of growing Golden Fleece tomato, its characteristics and reviews about it. Let's talk about how to choose land and prepare planting material!
Grade characteristics
This variety can be attributed to the earliest varieties of tomatoes for open ground and greenhouses. On average, it ripens on 80-90 days from the date of planting seeds for seedlings. "Golden Fleece" refers to the category of determinants, in the open ground its height does not exceed 40-50 centimeters. True, in greenhouse conditions, bushes can stretch up to 60 centimeters. They are quite compact, the leaves have standard sizes and a rich green color.
Fruit Description
The fruits of the Golden Fleece tomato are egg-shaped, below them a small spout-process. Unripe fruits have a light green hue; upon reaching maturity, it turns into a rich golden yellow. The average weight of one tomato is 100 grams, from one bush you can collect about one and a half kilograms of fruit. Experienced gardeners say that with one square meter you can get about 10 kg of fragrant tomatoes, without having to put much effort into it.
In general, the Golden Fleece tomato was included in the State Register of Vegetable Varieties of the Russian Federation 11 years ago - in 2008. Since then, he was deeply fond of summer residents. The thing is that it is ideal for open and closed ground, on an open bed it can be grown in the southern middle zone of Russia, in a greenhouse it will develop and bear fruit even in colder regions.
Pros and cons of the variety
Tomato "Golden Fleece" has many advantages, the earliest stages of ripening, excellent taste, the original appearance of the fruits can be called the most bursts. We must not forget that low bushes do not require garter and pinching. And the Golden Fleece is resistant to major diseases that affect the nightshade family. As for the shortcomings, the gardeners say: there are practically none. True, someone calls the lack of too low yields. However, it should be borne in mind that the bushes of this tomato are quite compact, therefore for this size the yield of the Golden Fleece variety is quite acceptable.
Growing Features
Like most other varieties of tomatoes, this variety can be classified as thermophilic. That is why in most regions of Russia it can only be grown by seedlings. However, before you start planting seeds, you need to do some preparatory work to get a healthy and tasty crop. The following stages can be distinguished: preparing planting material, preparing the soil, caring for seedlings, replanting it in open ground and caring for it until the harvest.
Seed preparation
You can purchase ready-made planting material immediately before sowing seeds into the soil, or you can start harvesting at the end of the current season. In the second case, you need to select ripe fruits, rinse them and carefully suppress, and then leave for a couple of days. After this, the tomatoes must be washed in warm water, rubbing through a fine sieve. The seeds remaining in the sieve must be dried on the windowsill, put in a bag of paper or cloth and put in a dark place.
The month before sowing, the seeds must be calibrated. The easiest way is to remove every spoiled seed. Delete is also too large. Another way is to use a solution of ordinary salt. One tablespoon will require 1 liter of water. In the resulting solution you need to pour the seeds and leave for 5 minutes. During this time, all seeds unsuitable for sowing float to the surface, while good seeds remain at the bottom.
In any case, it is extremely important to disinfect the Golden Fleece tomato seeds. For this, it is necessary for a short time to place them in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide. You can use growth stimulants: the seeds need to be folded into a thin bag of tissue and left in a solution prepared according to the instructions for up to 6 hours. Rinse the seeds after this is not required, just enough to dry them thoroughly. If you do not want to use growth stimulants, you can use an ash solution. It contains about 30 nutrients useful for tomatoes. All you have to do is dissolve a tablespoon of ash in a liter of water and mix well.
Soil preparation
For planting seeds, the most ordinary soil from your garden is suitable, which in different parts should be mixed with humus, sand, peat and turf soil. On a bucket of such a nutrient mixture, you can add half a glass of ash. If you decide to use the land from your site, you should treat it with fungicides or spill it with a weak pink solution of potassium permanganate. Another way to disinfect is by baking in the oven. The temperature should not exceed 100 degrees, otherwise all the nutritional properties of the soil are lost. The prepared soil can only be decomposed into prepared containers. Please note: the boxes or pots must be thoroughly washed with laundry soap and held in a potassium permanganate solution for about half an hour.
Seedling Care
Tomatoes of the Golden Fleece variety must be planted in open ground after seedlings turn 50 days old. Therefore, you need to correctly calculate the time for sowing. Before this, pour water into the tanks, add a small amount of mineral fertilizer. Organics at this stage are better not to use. Sunflower seeds need to be deepened by 2 centimeters, covered with glass or film on top. As soon as the first shoots appear, the shelter should be removed. The Golden Fleece will also require picking: this should be done after two real leaves appear. Tomatoes of this variety have no special requirements: they just need to be watered in a timely manner, immediately after that, loosen the earth.
Features of tomato care before harvest
Each gardener knows that it is not necessary to plant tomatoes in the area where peppers, tomatoes or other nightshade cultivated last year. The best predecessors are bean root vegetables, cabbage and greens. Before planting the Golden Fleece tomato in a greenhouse or on a bed, the ground should be cleaned of weeds. A distance of 70 cm must be observed between the rows, and 35 between the bushes in a row. Each hole must be watered and fertilized. Care after planting seedlings includes weeding, loosening the soil and hilling. Watering is required once or twice a week, in cool cloudy weather or rainy days it is better to reduce the amount of watering. It is not recommended to water the stems of the bushes, leaves and ovaries, otherwise the plant may begin fungal diseases.
Fertilizers can be applied two to three times. Solutions of bird droppings or mullein with water in a ratio of 1 to 10 are well suited. In addition to organics, mineral complexes that include potassium, nitrogen, and phosphorus are also suitable.
Reviews about the tomato "Golden Fleece"
In their reviews, summer residents note the original shape and color of tomatoes, their unusual sweet taste. They say that the variety is quite unpretentious, therefore even beginners will cope with the cultivation. Speaking about the characteristic of the Golden Fleece tomato, gardeners note its resistance to diseases, the main preventive measures that can protect the plant from late blight and fungal diseases are confidence in watering, loosening of the soil and timely removal of weeds. A big plus is the fact that the "Golden Fleece" does not require garter and stepson. In addition, summer residents note that the plant bears fruit better after abundant top dressing.