When buying tomato seeds, every gardener thinks about which ones to buy, because today there is a huge selection on the market. Often gardeners choose the variety Cheerful Gnome. Tomato Cheerful gnome (reviews, photos and characteristics are presented in the article) is quite popular because of its unusual appearance and excellent taste.
Variety Characteristics
The tomato variety Cheerful Gnome was bred on the territory of Russia. Breeders spent a long time breeding this variety, and after a few years were able to surprise everyone with a unique plant.
Tomato Cheerful gnome grows well in a cool climate, perfect for the middle lane and northern regions, where summer is short and most of the year is cold.
Grade description
In terms of ripening, this variety is considered mid-early. From the first germination to harvesting, it takes about 110 days. The bush itself is determinant and suitable for growing in open ground.
The height of the bushes is very small - only 40-50 cm, the plant does not need to be planted. But you need to tie up the bushes, as the branches do not withstand the weight of tomatoes. Foliage is standard, color is deep green.
Fruit Description
This variety has an elongated shape with a small nose at the end, often this nose is pressed inward. An interesting form is once again demonstrated by the photo of the tomato Cheerful Gnome. The peel is red, even and smooth. The weight of one fruit, as a rule, reaches 70-90 g. The peel is very dense, so the tomatoes do not crack when ripe.
The taste of the fruit is rich, sweet. The variety differs not only in form, but also in versatility. Tomatoes are used both fresh and for the preparation of salads, as well as their salt and pickle. The best taste is manifested in brine and marinade.
Pros and cons of the variety
Tomato Cheerful Gnome has many advantages, and the main ones are as follows:
- Fruit versatility,
- The uniqueness of marketability and taste,
- High yield of the variety (about 7 kg per 1 sq. M.),
- High resistance to diseases.
Serious deficiencies in this variety have not yet been identified.
Growing tomatoes
Characteristics of the tomato The cheerful gnome shows that the variety does not require special care when grown. Seeds of this variety are not planted in open ground, so you will have to pay attention to seedlings.
To get a good harvest, the seedlings must be healthy and strong, and therefore it is better to grow it yourself.
Before sowing, the seeds must be disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate and treated with a growth stimulator. Growth stimulator can be bought or used for this purpose aloe juice.
The mixture for sowing should be loose and light, usually summer residents mix ordinary garden soil with compost and ash.
Sowing begins two months before transplanting seedlings into the ground, that is, around the beginning of April. The soil needs to be moistened, sowed in rows in rows, sprinkled with earth on top and slightly compacted. Close the box itself with foil, and after a few days the seeds will already hatch. After this, the film needs to be removed, and the box put in a bright place so that the seedlings do not stretch out.
In the next two weeks, seedlings need to be tempered - to maintain a temperature of about 15-16 degrees and moderate watering. After hardening, the temperature is increased to 22-24 degrees, and when these leaves appear, seedlings can be dived.
The Tomato Cheerful Gnome has compact bushes, so you can plant them every 30 cm, leaving a distance between rows of about 50-60 cm. The holes are fertilized with rotted manure, mineral fertilizers, ash. Seedlings are planted in the ground when the threat of frost passes.
Tomato Care
After planting seedlings in the soil, tomato care will be completely standard: weed weeds, loosen the soil around the bushes so that the root system receives nutrients, oxygen and moisture.
It is important to carry out watering in the evening, so that moisture is better absorbed and does not evaporate from sunlight. For watering, it is better to use warm water.
You can feed bushes with organic and mineral fertilizers. First, it is better to use organics, during flowering, you can feed with nitrogen-containing substances, and after the formation of ovaries, potassium and phosphorus compounds are used.
Diseases and pests
Tomato The cheerful gnome is resistant to most diseases, but, like many varieties of tomatoes, it is affected by some fungal and viral diseases - alternariosis, late blight, mosaic.
To protect plants from diseases, it is necessary to treat the soil and seeds with special disinfecting solutions, as well as carry out preventive treatments during the growing season. For this purpose, you can use phytosporin, Bordeaux liquid.
In order to prevent the development of diseases, it is important to observe simple conditions for the maintenance of tomatoes - moderate watering, feeding plants with nutrients and trace elements.
The most dangerous pests for tomatoes are slugs, whiteflies, spider mites, Colorado potato beetles, wireworms. From these pests, tomatoes can be treated with both chemical means and herbal decoctions (wormwood, pepper, dandelion, mustard). Slugs and Colorado potato beetles are removed mechanically.
Conclusion
Many merits of tomato Cheerful gnome, reviews of summer residents confirm this. Its makes its unusual appearance, and high rates of immunity, and taste, and its versatility. The variety is not demanding in care, so it is suitable for both beginners and specialists in the field of vegetable growing. When the summer season is over, healthy bushes can be gently dug up and planted on the windowsill, then the Cheerful Dwarf can delight its fruits much longer.